Obama’s legacy: for what will Africa remember him?

What you need to know:

  • As the first black US President it is rational for Africans to examine his legacy

It was a surprise and jubilation when Obama made history in 2008 by becoming the first African-American President in US history. His campaign slogan “Yes we can!” amid a feeling of “hope and change” resonated with war-weary voters after eight years of President George W. Bush. Here’s a look at some of the events of Obama’s tenure that will define his presidency and what his legacy will be after eight years in office. Specifically as the first African-American President in US history it is rational for Africans to examine his years as President and what was the impact felt in Africa.

In his farewell speech he did mention the impact of some of his actions globally but Africa was not mentioned. In Iraq Obama fulfilled his campaign promise to end the war and removed nearly all U.S. troops from the country by the end of 2011, the resultant vacuum led to the rise of the Islamic State terrorist group.

Similarly he had promised to end war in Afghanistan but to date there are still 8,400 troops in Afghanistan and there is no peace yet. While Obama gets credit for taking down former al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden in a surprise night time raid in Pakistan in 2011, his legacy regarding Afghanistan is still dependent on the future of this war-torn nation.

The war in Syria has only worsened and there is no political solution as he leaves office.

The agreement between Iran and the major world powers to stop nuclear weapons will go down as one of Obama’s defining foreign policy achievements.

Obamacare; The Affordable Care Act has its critics and may be repelled by the incoming administration but it has shown notable achievements. Most of the nation rejoiced when the Supreme Court ruled in favor of marriage equality in 2015, an issue that Obama championed. Obama took office during one of the worst financial crises in America. He put a massive bailout program in place that helped save several banks that were “too big to fail.” The economy has since recovered, and while critics still question whether it was the right thing to do, most agree that Obama’s aggressive action on saving the banks and the auto industry prevented the economy from spiraling even further.

The paradox facing the first American President with African ancestry is that he hasn’t done much for the continent his father left almost 60 years ago. But was it his job to fix Africa in the first place? To his credit, president Barack Obama visited Africa four times. He visited during his tenure Egypt, Ghana, Senegal, South Africa, Tanzania, Kenya and Ethiopia. Obama engaged the continent’s young through programs like the Mandela Washington Fellowship and elevated entrepreneurship and trade to the forefront of the US-Africa engagement policy. His administration worked to support agricultural production and health systems, launched the Power Africa program to enable millions access to electricity, and resettled thousands of refugees from the continent.

But in the final months of his presidency, the dominant talk of “Africa’s favorite son” continues to be one of dismay and disappointment.

The reasons for this are diverse and can be traced to personal, political, economic and security issues. To be honest, Obama is wildly popular across Africa, but the received wisdom now is that he neglected the continent in his first term, and delivered “too little too late.”

Africa’s expectations from Obama “are valid,” says Michael Orwa, a development and international affairs expert at the United States International University-Africa in Nairobi. But Obama, he says, “was not an African envoy to the USA, he was the US president whose primary responsibility is to the American people and US strategic interests. These he has delivered on, even when they seem to conflict with Africa’s best interest.” Many observers were surprised when Obama slashed hundreds of millions of dollars from the AIDS relief program started by his predecessor, George W. Bush. The president was also criticized for the way he handled the Libyan crisis, and for bequeathing the continent another failed state. Obama’s administration also played a key role in the birthing of South Sudan, but that country’s descent into chaos will not help the legacy of his policies in Africa. Observers say the administration didn’t build a symbiotic relationship with the continent or view its countries as a full-on trading partner. Despite criticism, Obama has positive ratings in Africa

Perhaps Africa should have heeded Obama’s message when he stood in Ghana in 2009 and said, “We must start from the simple premise that Africa’s future is up to Africans.”