Farewell to a president who will be sorely missed

As a new President-elect is taking office, attempts to analyse the legacy of the 44th President of the United States, Barack Hussein Obama, abound in the international media. Vocal critics are quick to sum up eight years of Mr Obama’s achievements in two words: “not enough”.

Some African analysts are joining in, having already hastily dismissed President Obama’s Africa policy after he addressed the African Union in July 2015. The question is, however, whether our expectations of Mr Obama were realistic.

First and foremost accountable to his own nation, he inherited a messy state of affairs in the United States, with the added colossal challenge of the Global Financial Crisis (GFC). He needed to focus on the U.S. economy first.

America is not a land of milk and honey for all. Disparity, racism and long-term unemployment persist. The powerful elite tends to be apathetic towards the underprivileged, even turning a blind eye to slave labour and environmental degradation abroad. Many of them resented Obama for including disadvantaged citizens in his vision for America’s future.

The President’s most notable achievements reflect precisely the hopes of developing nations’ residents. The Affordable Care Act was a blessing for Americans who previously lived without health insurance. The creation of over 10 million jobs changed many more lives. Numerous acts addressed the unjust distribution of America’s wealth and the rights and opportunities of minorities.

Improving transparency and accountability, limiting lobbyists’ access to the White House and banning their gifts to members of the Executive branch, President Obama set an excellent example for other governments to follow. His anti-corruption measures also reformed the financial sector, which experts agree was in dire need of sensible regulation.

Critics draw simplistic comparisons between U.S. spending in Africa under Bush and under Obama, conveniently ignoring the impact of the GFC on all donor nations’ development efforts. To be fair, assessing initiatives like Power Africa, we must accept that large-scale projects take time. For many ground-breaking initiatives, the seeds have only just been sown. It is up to Africans now to water them, to tend to the seedlings and to collectively ensure that the projects will bear fruit as they mature.

Not all achievements can be measured in numbers. Curbing climate change will benefit many global communities. More humane refugee policies helped Africans displaced by armed conflicts who were allowed to resettle in the U.S. Let us also not forget the Bush-era torture policies, in breach of the Geneva Conventions, which President Obama finally reversed.

Naturally, East Africans were euphoric about the son of a Kenyan leading the world’s most powerful nation. But expecting a mere mortal leader of a foreign country to become Africa’s saviour was unrealistic. Africa’s own leaders are now called upon to decide: prioritise the common good or continue to line their own and their associates’ pockets.

Mr Obama consistently chose the common good. Hence, a fair assessment of the 44th President’s legacy must note the American Republican’s unyielding opposition, foiling many initiatives to help the underprivileged. Repeatedly, the President’s hands were tied by opposition forces. As a principled statesman, he knew that displays of aggression are unproductive. He restored diplomatic relations with Cuba and worked tirelessly to improve international diplomacy across nations, peoples and religions - an approach which earned Barack Hussein Obama the Nobel Peace Prize in 2009.

Hindsight, and watching successors reverse crucial policies, will provide perspective. When carbon emissions accelerate global warming, international relations become strained, racial vilification intensifies and women’s rights are eroded by uncouth chauvinists, a genuine appreciation of the not immediately tangible legacy of Barack Obama will follow. Another lesson the Obama era offers is that to advance a country, opposition forces should agree to a bipartisan approach to realise shared visions for the common good.

I feel much obliged to the 44th President of the United States for restoring my faith in ethical leadership.

The author is a freelance writer working in Australia as a programme leader in education. E-mail: [email protected]