Hello fellow Kossacks,
Greetings from Ghana where there is fever-pitch anticipation of President Obama’s scheduled 24-hour visit from Friday July 10th through Saturday the 11th. The title of a brand new jingle that has been blaring endlessly here on the airwaves, really capture the mood of the whole country – Ghanaians have literally been "Jump[ing] up high for Obama." I have been here in Ghana all summer and thought I should fill you all in on some context and tidbits related to the US President’s visit; stuff that the White House reporters may or may not cover. Their track record on coverage of Africa and its complexities rarely warrants their ink unless it’s about the usual fare of conflicts, disease and recently "War on Terror." This is Part 1 of a two-part diary, and Part 2 will be posted after Pres. Obama's visit.
Anyway, I must state my own biases up front. Ghana is my native country (I'm now a US citizen), and that love of homeland (both the good and the bad parts) certainly colors what I am writing here.
As I said, Pres. Obama’s visit is a VERY BIG deal here in Ghana!!!!.....
[More after the jump]
The mood of the country Ghana is so elevated that, even as torrential rains and floods have devastated, and still continue to flood many parts of the country including the capital, Accra, Ghanaians are determined to pull out all the stops to display the legendary "hospitality" this country is known for, as depicted in the ubiquitous posters sold to tourists featuring a woman dressed in traditional kente cloth holding out a calabash (like a gourd) filled with water in one hand, and a clay pot in the other. The build up to this coming Friday's and Saturday's visit has seen both private and state-owned radio and television stations saturating the airwaves with jingles in both English (the official language) and indigenous Ghanaian languages around the clock, welcoming President Obama "Son of Africa" with footage of the historic Obama campaign and inauguration. Billboards line the principal streets with pictures of the presidents of Ghana John Attah-Mills, and US Barack Obama, as well as First Lady Michelle Obama, screaming "Akwaaba" (which means "Welcome" in the Akan language), or "Change" or "Hope". Some news outlets have been reporting that Michelle’s roots have been traced to the Fante people of Cape Coast, where the Obamas will also go visit the slave forts.
President Obama’s choice of this relatively small country for his first trip to SubSaharan Africa has certainly caused many on the African continent to ask "why Ghana?" and not the continental giants – oil-rich West African neighbor Nigeria, and the cosmopolitan business-friendly South Africa –, or Kenya where President Obama has biological roots? Indeed, to one-up the Obama visit to Ghana, Nigeria loudly announced its gas pipeline deal signed with Gazprom during Russian President Medvedev four-nation African tour last week.
The choice of Ghana as President Obama’s gateway to "black" Africa has been billed as a sort of "pat on the back" treat for Ghana’s rising image as the "beacon of democracy," "island of Peace" on a continent infamously known for conflicts over natural resources (diamonds, tropical timber, uranium, oil), natural disasters, coup-d’états (Guinea Bissau, Mauritania, Guinea Conakry, Cote d’Ivoire, Madagascar etc.) or botched elections (Kenya 2007, Zimbabwe 2008), or manipulating constitutions to prolong leaders’ stay in power (Niger 2009). President himself reiterated the point about seeking to highlight Ghana's democratic credentials in an extensive interview with the popular website for African news AllAfrica.com .
...part of the reason is because Ghana has now undergone a...very close election. I think the new president, couple of successful elections in which power was transferred peacefully. president Mills has shown himself committed to the rule of law, to the kinds of democratic commitments that ensure stability in a country.
Incidentally, President John Attah-Mills was himself also a law professor for many years at Ghana's premier university - University of Ghana.
On a question about the role of Africa's colonial past and the West's culpability, Obama stated that he was quite familiar with Africa's troubled history...
I'd say I'm probably as knowledgeable about African history as anybody who's occupied my office. And I can give you chapter and verse on why the colonial maps that were drawn helped to spur on conflict, and terms of trade that were uneven emerging out of colonialism.
And yet the fact is we're in 2009. The West and the United States has not been responsible for what's happening in Zimbabwe's economy over the last 15 or 20 years. It hasn't been responsible for some of the disastrous policies that we've seen elsewhere in Africa. I think it's very important for African leadership to take responsibility and be held accountable
.
Certainly, these words are likely to be vehemently challenged by many scholars and commentators on the continent who argue that the global economic and political order is still stacked against African interests whether some of the continent's leadership is corrupt or not, especially when as the interviewer asks:
What's the balance between assistance and investment? Most businesses get a bigger return on their investment in Africa than any other part of the world. So should that receive more emphasis than it's been getting? What kind of balance in your mind exists in development assistance?
..and President Obama responds:
Well, a couple of points I would make. Number one, you're not going to get investment without good governance. So that's part of the reason why we emphasize it. Again, this is a very practical, hard-headed approach to how we're going to see improvements in the daily lives of the peoples of Africa. If government officials are asking for 10, 15, 25 percent off the top, businesses don't want to invest there. That's point number one.
Point number two, I think that when my father left Kenya and traveled to the United States back in the early '60s, the GDP of Kenya and South Korea weren't equivalent - Kenya's was actually higher. What's happened over that 50-year period? What you've seen is Korea combine foreign investment, integration with the global economy, with a strategic sense of certain industries that they can promote for export; great emphasis on education for a skilled workforce; insisting that foreign investment is accompanied by technology transferring so that homegrown industries can be built and nurtured.
Part 1
Part 2
For the full text of the interview see here.
Well, President Obama may believe that it is time African countries stopped "blaming" colonialism and neo-colonialism for their present woes, but that history needs to be known, anyway since the structural frameworks for the relations of power between Africa and the West has not changed very much. Also the specificity of each country's evolution needs to be considered. Africa is not monolithic, and neither are the internal dynamics of each country.
Ghana had an earlier pioneer role more than five decades ago when it emerged as the first nation in Sub-Saharan Africa to gain independence from colonial rule, under the leadership of the pan-Africanist Kwame Nkrumah. But, a CIA-backed military coup d’état in 1966 that ousted Nkrumah (see declassified State Department Documents here and keep clicking "next document" at the bottom of the page till you get to Document #235 onward), would begin the 25-year streak of military and weak civilian rule. Ghana like many African countries during the Cold War became a pawn in the ideological tug of war between the USA and the USSR.
Economically, the country buckled under neo-colonial structural distortions carried over from British colonial rule that placed it at the mercy of world commodity markets where its exports of non-value-added cocoa beans, gold ingots, rough diamonds, bauxite ore, and tropical timber brought in diminishing revenue, but rising debt and poverty. The toxic mix of external economic and political pressures with internal power tussles between military and civilian governments would plunge Ghana to its lowest depths of despair during the 1970s and 1980s. During the 1980s and early1990s the twin economic midwives – the World Bank and IMF – prescribed ill-fated "Structural Adjustment Programmes" that neither truly liberalized trade nor resuscitate the fragile economy. What these programs accomplished was open the floodgates to the wholesale divestiture of state-owned institutions to private foreign entities and their local cohorts whose touted business efficiencies never materialized. However, the social cost paid for derailing whatever minimal social spending previously existed in the state sector (education, healthcare, employment) has been inestimable and devastating. This period also saw the largest exodus of the country’s brains and talent to distant shores looking for economic opportunities.
In spite of these problems, Ghana successfully transition into a stable democracy that has seen two successful turnovers of power between different political parties since multiparty democratic elections restarted in 1992. The recent elections of December 2008 tested the mettle of the electorate’s sophistication and independence of the electoral commission (a rough equiv. of the US Federal Electoral Commission). The first round of presidential and parliamentary elections on Dec 7, 2008 resulted in the erstwhile opposition party (the National Democratic Congress [NDC]) gaining a narrow majority in parliament, and the need for a run-off election for the presidency. The run-off three weeks later was toughly contested ending in a popular vote difference between the candidate of the ruling NPP party and the that of the NDC opposition so narrow within the statistical margin of error, that the electoral commissioner had to schedule a by-election on January 2nd in one constituency that had been technically disqualified during the first round. The final vote difference came to 40,000, and the candidate of the ruling party had to concede defeat. All this happened without violence erupting despite heatedness of the partisan charges and countercharges. In addition, the local media, both private and state owned played a very important "traffic cop" role on all platforms -- print, radio, television, and online – in monitoring vote-counting, reporting polling problems, investigating and cautioning the public against violence when tensions rose.
So, with envy and admiration pouring across its borders, Ghana is all agog in frenzied preparation, cleaning up the capital city Accra and the former colonial capital Cape Coast where the US President is expected to visit. A piece of disappointing news came just in that the venue for the major policy speech that President Obama was slated to give at a grand durbar of chiefs, dignitaries and the public at the Independence Square (where national parades have been held since the country’s independence in 1957) on the afternoon of July 11th, would be changed to an indoor facility earlier in the day where he will address Ghana's Parliament because of the unpredicatability of the weather. Nevertheless, security concerns for the US President addressing an unpredictably large outdoor gathering could be an unpublicized factor (local security debate) in the changed schedule.
According to the new official schedule, President Obama will arrive Friday evening and be met by Ghana's president and entourage, before retiring for the night. On Saturday morning, Obama will have bilateral meetings with the host president and government officials, address Parliament. After that, the US First Family will tour the former colonial capital, Cape Coast, (90 miles from the Accra capital) where one of the oldest slave forts is located. During this trip to the Cape Coast, the First Family will meet a retinue of Kings, Queenmothers, and other royal leaders of the various ethnic groups from that region, as well as visit the Cape Coast (slave) Castle, one of the major slave forts in which millions of Africans slaves were housed and transshipped to the "New World." The latter will certainly be a heart-wrenching experience for the First Family on a personal level. Many visitors, but especially African Americans, who make this pilgrimage to these sobering reminders of the cruel Slave Trade never come back the same, not after seeing the infamous "Door of no Return", the last exit point for slaves before being packed aboard the slave ships.
Residents of both Accra and Cape coast are practically speechless, some calling what they are seeing a "miracle." For the first time in years, even decades, state buildings that had been in disrepair for ages are being renovated and painted. Clogged streets and drains are being cleaned up by volunteers and local authorities. One local newspaper reports residents thanking "God" for Obama’s visit and praying he returns "every other week" so local politicians will fulfill their promises to improve amenities for the people. The losers though, in the recent "decongestion" exercises in the Accra capital have been street hawkers and vendors operating out of kiosks, shipping containers and other temporary structures that clog pedestrian and vehicular traffic. Those vendors who thought that the Metropolitan Chief Executive’s (i.e. the mayor) prior evacuation notices were empty threats lost their bet when on the June 30th deadline the MCE’s team began a midnight operation clearing the structures off the central business districts and impounding wares stored in them. One landowner lamented to television reporters last week, the demolition of his clients’ kiosks since his property was nowhere near "the route President Obama was likely to pass."
Personally, I am of two minds about the "decongestion" exercise. A part of me is relieved about the fact that pedestrians are not forced to compete for space on the streets with vehicles because hawkers and vendors had completely taken over the sidewalks. The absence of the unauthorized structures also makes it easier for drivers to safely make turns. The other side of me sympathizes with the vendors for their economic loss in such difficult times, especially when 40 year floods have also devastated many parts of the capital city in the last couple of weeks. The roads have practically been torn up by the ferocious torrential rains cutting off villages, property has been damaged, and lives lost. According to the published schedule, President Obama will be making the 180-mile round trip from Accra to Cape Coast and back on Marine One. But one would hope that he might get a "bone-shaking" taste of the crater-sized potholes on some of our roads despite the comfort of "the beast" (i.e. the presidential limo). I giggle at the thought of Robert Gibbs and Rahm Emanuel being tossed about like rag dolls riding along some of the roads here.
So, beyond the expected pomp and pageantry that will greet this historic visit, what does President Obama’s trip here really mean? He will be the third U.S president to visit this country, after Presidents Bill Clinton in March 1998 and George W Bush in February 2008. Clinton came here in the throes of the Monica Lewinsky drama as calls for his impeachment were reaching a crescendo. Ghanaians also gave him more than royal treatment, complete with a grand durbar where a retinue of traditional Chiefs, Kings, Queenmothers, and political bigwigs gathered to celebrate the visit. Clinton was literally mobbed by crowds estimated at one million strong, which even gave him a scare at one point.
George W. Bush came to Ghana at the tail end of his presidency as part of a six-nation Africa tour, and also as his troubles back home with the economy, war and low approval ratings were contorting into an unyielding Gordian knot. Ghanaians could not be blamed for concluding that Africa only matters to US leaders when they are in trouble back home and need a place to escape to and where great postcards and photo-ops with excited welcoming crowds and lots of pageantry were guaranteed.
Thus, for folks here it is a welcome change that President Barack Obama is coming here at the BEGINNING of his presidency when hopefully his foreign policy agenda is still in such flux that for once the African continent could feature prominently and positively in it. What is he going to tell Ghanaians and Africans that will be different from what they have heard in the past from US Presidents? The commentariat here hopes that this trip defines a new direction in the relationship between the US and Ghana as well as the entire continent of Africa of mutual respect and serious trade, rather than condescension and exploitation; and that it goes beyond the unidirectional shoring up the ideological and security interests of the US.
Of course, no one is naïve enough to think that US strategic interests are not central to this visit. Three critical issues have been the subject of discussion in the local media. First on many people’s minds is whether Obama would pursue the thorny matter of establishing a military base (euphemistically called "lily pads") and headquartering the African Command (AFRICOM) in Ghana, which President George Bush began negotiating with the former Ghanaian President John Kufuor’s administration, for the purpose of fighting the US "War on Terrorism" against al-qaeda affiliates operating on the African continent. Public opinion was and remains strongly against the military base idea or the African Command, which many argue will compromise Ghana’s sovereignty and prominent role as a neutral broker in conflicts on the continent and UN peace keeping missions around the world. The stationing of US troops(African Command)
There was also the delicate domestic equation to consider, since Ghana has a sizeable Moslem population both within and across its borders, and has strived to foster religious and ethnic tolerance. The last thing anyone wants is to give fuel to any perception that the country is supporting operations in which Moslems are "targets."
The second issue is the perception that the US is interested in securing a foothold in Ghana’s recently discovered oil deposits off its coastal waters in the Gulf of Guinea. After all, China has already been busy gallivanting around the continent signing agreements with Sudan, Chad, Gabon and others, expanding it’s sphere of influence on the continent complete with the African Summit held in Beijing in 2007, whether President Omar Bashir of Sudan was the center of attraction (which event the Bush administration complained loudly about but could do nothing to stop).
The thirds issue is the concern over Ghana's emerging role as one of several West African narcotics transhipment points for drug cartels operating out of South America and Asia.
A columnist raised yet another intriguing point in one of the two state-owned national daily newspapers – (The Ghanaian Times July 3, 2009) that, Obama’s visit could also be intended to secure Ghana’s support for the recognition of Kosovo as an independent state. The idea here is that Attah-Mill's support could help sway as many of African's 54 countries away from the official the African Union (AU) reticence to recognize Kosovo since it might encourage factions fighting for ethnic interests in various African countries to copy the balkanization model. Kosovo needs international support for its application to join the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund, but has had no support from the Organisation of Islamic States, nor the AU.
Obviously with such a high profile event such as this, there is bound to be local politicking. The opposition minority party, the National Patriotic Party (NPP) has accused the Attah-Mills government of spending so much money on the Obama visit despite the many problems such as fuel shortage, flooded roads and drainage networks, erratic power supply, without articulating clearly to the public what tangible benefits Ghana stands to gain from the visit.
It is a fair question. What does Ghana stand to gain? We will find out in a little over 48 hours. Stay tuned....
[PS. I will post a second diary after President Obama's visit to fill you in on Ghana's President John Attah-Mills, local events surrounding the Obama visit, debates, and some visual fare.]