Obama Has A Point

President Barack Obama's parting message to Africa last week Tuesday was refreshing and brutally honest. Without coming across as patronising or condescending to African leaders, Obama tackled a number of contentious issues that our continent faces. It was opportune that the address, his last appointment after having visited Kenya and Ethiopia, was to the AU Commission in Addis Ababa. Opportune because this is the body which, provided it tackles the task at hand with determination and commitment from all its members, can lead Africa out of the familiar narrative of poverty, starvation and corruption. Charming and typically Obamasque, he started off by hittinh all the right notes, referring to the African continent as "great", calling himself "son of an African", acknowledging how "Africa and its people helped shaped" who he is and how he sees the world, and he got about seven applauses withing the first five minutes of his address.

Then in an affirming way, he spoke about the strategic importance of the AU, Africa's place in the global order and her rise in terms of trade and development. By the time he came to the tough points in his address, the guests were hanging on to his every word. The man is a gifted orator. His reading of the current and future age demographics of the continent, and what opportunities and threats they pose, must be a wake-up call for African leaders to take youth investment and development seriously. Young people who are educated but idling can be a source of societal instability and disorder - something we saw in the Middle East and North Africa. Then he was on the "cancer of corruption" as the hindrance in unlocking Africa's economic potential. The billions of dollars that are lost to corruption yearly on the continent could be used to create jobs and build infrastructure.

His challenge in this regard, and without making this a uniquely African problem, is for African leaders and citizens to decide to end corruption. It was also encouraging to hear Obama talk about "rejecting old divides between north and south" - although this was in the context of climate change. There are still many areas of contention the South has (for example, the North's hold of the levers of power on global governance) but one gets the sense that Obama is acutely aware that there can be no progress in pushing the global agenda forward without collaboration between the North and South. His reaching out to Africa, evident through his visit and last year's US-Africa Summit in which the US hosted nearly 50 African presidents and prime ministers, already show Obama wants co-operation between Africa and the North, in general, and the US in particular.

But is was his remarks about holding on to power which resonated with many on the continent, and was the sting in the detail. Obama said: "Now let me be honest with you. I do not understand this. I am in my second term. I love my work, but under our constitution, I cannot run again as a president of the United States of America. "Actually I think I'm a pretty good president. But I respect and submit under our constitution." At the moment, there are still a few African leaders who have been running their countries for two or more decades. Some of these have changed the laws while still in office to secure themselves extensions in office. It is a temptation that is always there on our continent, and no wonder the biggest applause came when he turned to this subject.

Although some may not agree with Obama and what he stands for, they will concede that his address drew attention to the leadership question in Africa. It is an issue Africa must address. It is instructive to note that no nation has achieved meaningful developmet - socially, politically and economically - without effective leadership. And that leadership on our continent could start by restoring hope. Given what has happened to the continent in the past, there has developed a huge mistrust deficit between citizens and politicians. But it's not all lost. Citizens are willing to trust the trustworthy. Second, African leaders will have to learn to deal sincerely and honestly with one another and with citizens so that the mistrust and suspicion can be eliminated. And for an inspiration, they need to look no further than Barack Obama. Beginning by saying he was "son of an African".