President George W. Bush did a lot for Africa with his PEPFA initiative which saved the lives of millions and protected them from aids and his AGOA initiative which helped African businesses to grow by opening up the American market to their products. By way of contrast President Barack Obama has done next to nothing for Africa and has in fact dramatically reduced aid, trade and support for our continent.
It is ironic that Bush, who has no links with Africa and who is a conservative Republican, did so much for us whilst Obama, who is of African descent and who is a liberal Democrat, has done the opposite. The only things that Obama appears to want to export to Africa are “homosexual rights”, “same sex marriage”, “same sex parenting”, drone attacks and the PRISM spying system. His disdain for Nigeria in particular is interesting and significant. He has snubbed us twice on his two visits to Africa by not coming here, he has refused to designate Boko Haram as a terrorist organisation and, worst still, between 2005 and 2006, he was one of the few American senators who openly opposed the campaign for debt relief for our country.
Yet despite all this the African people, and the Nigerian people particularly, continue to idolise him and slobber all over him as if he were the Messiah citing the fact that he has a beautiful pepsodent smile, that he is a black man, that he is good looking, that he has a beautiful wife and that he is a great orator that delivers brilliant and inspirational speeches as their reasons for doing so. Gosh…..what a country and what a people! Do we have to bring sentiment into everything?
When will we be governed by our head