Obama on Africa: Is He Sending Mixed Signals?

In today's British Independent, Eric Kabendera suggests as much:

The initial signs from the Obama presidency were far from encouraging as far as promoting good governance was concerned. The first of the continent's leaders to be granted an Oval Office meeting with the new black occupant of the White House, was my own president: Jakaya Kikwete, of Tanzania.

He had just finished his stint as the rotating head of the African Union, so it might have been a matter of diplomatic protocol, but it was a disappointing choice nonetheless. While at the AU helm, President Kikwete was far from impressive. He stuck to the Africa old norm of "respecting your elders even when they are convicted thieves". So even when ordinary Zimbaweans were suffering at the repressive hands of Robert Mugabe, Mr Kikwete failed to denounce the rigged election and call him to account.

I am not sure Mr Obama grasped the signals he was sending by choosing the Tanzanian leader as his first African guest. This was a man who rabble-roused the AU into refusing to cooperate with the International Criminal Court regarding the indictment of the Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir for his role in the genocide in Darfur. The AU's refusal was a blessing to corrupt criminal leaders around the continent.

You can read the rest of the article here

Wait! But I am way cooler than him!

At least that is what Kenyans are thinking after President Kikwete became the first African leader to meet with the new kid on the block, President Obama. Or as The Daily Nation put it, 'Tanzania elbows Kenya to become darling of US. It continues:

Tanzania President Jakaya Kikwete this week claimed the honour of being the first African head of state to visit President Obama’s White House, in a move that will further highlight Kenya’s diminished status on the international scene.

The visit came on the back of a public snub by President Obama, who has opted to make Ghana the destination of his first visit to Sub-Saharan Africa.

The Sunday Standard got all hot and bothered, whining, like an insecure child, that Mr. Obama and Mr. Kikwete were gossiping about Kenya:

[US Ambassador to Kenya] Ranneberger spoke against the backdrop of a closed-door meeting between Obama and Tanzania President Jakaya Kikwete. It is believed Kenya’s troubled coalition and the gradual loss of grip by the weak-kneed Somali government featured at the meeting.

Our Kenyan brethrens can be so self-involved. Not everything is about you, man. Now I know this must hurt. You've always thought of yourselves as a more civilised peoples than us folks down south: better educated, more sophisticated, possessors of a more cultured sensibility. So the prospect of seeing Obama, someone whom you've embraced as one of your own, making nice with the Tanzanian President must sting a little. But this doesn't have to mean that you've lost your mojo. It's just that we have that 'peace' thing. Nowadays, that will get you a lot of play. Ask Obama, he'll tell you. No need to cry, though. We'll show you how its done, okay. Wipe them tears, now. Its all gonna be fine. 

IN THE NEWS: A SCANDAL AT BOT, EAC DITHERING

• The Controller and Auditor General, Ludovick Utouh, finds evidence of inflated insurance payments and other suspicious irregularities in the Bank of Tanzania (BoT) accounts.

• The East African Community (EAC)-Burundi, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda- again fail to reach a consensus on the regional common market. Sukhdev Chhatbar lays out the challenges facing the EAC at their upcoming meeting in Arusha.

• Via The New Yorker Book Bench, Canadian women would rather read a book than have sex with their partners. (I wonder if Tanzanian women hold similar views).

• According to The New York Times Barack Obama's presidency is having a profound impact on the way Americans view race relations.

• Over at Louder Than Swahili, Ms. Pernille Baerendtsen relays some useful advice.
  

Obama's 100 days

Joe Klein is on point. Money quote:

The most important thing we now know about Barack Obama, after nearly 100 days in office, is that he means to confront that way of life directly and profoundly, to exchange sand for rock if he can. Whether you agree with him or not — whether you think he is too ambitious or just plain wrong — his is as serious and challenging a presidency as we have had in quite some time.

Also take a look at this wonderful photo essay by Callie Shell documenting the man's historic first three months in office.

UPDATE: Gary Younge, over at The (British) Guardian offers a more sombre analysis:

His pledge to take on both the immediate (the financial crisis and economic recession) and the apparently intractable (healthcare, Cuba, immigration, the environment) even as he ramps down one war, escalates another and raises taxes on the rich, is epoch-defining in its ambition.

So far it seems to be popular. When Obama took the presidential oath, 78% thought the country was heading in the wrong direction; today that is down to 48%. His approval ratings are around 65% - only Reagan was in better shape at this stage (and even that was within the margin of error).

But this popularity is precarious. People like Obama far more than they like his policies. And even though they think the country is moving in the right direction, polls show this to be one of those rare periods where those same people remain unsatisfied with their lives. In other words, people are suffering and are optimistic at the same time. And the reason for their optimism is Obama himself. In a reprise of the spirit that distinguished his primary and presidential campaign, people have embraced who he is as a portent of what he might do.

Pondering History

   President Obama welcomes the 'first dog', Bo, with a short stroll inside The White House (Photo:Pete Souza/AP) 

With all that has been going on in the world, it's been easy to forget the astonishing fact of President Barack Hussein Obama. So just wanted to remind folks how cool this new reality is.