‘Yes, we can’ NAIRA for Obama
Nigerians are remarkable people. The herd instinct is always obvious in the manner we conduct our affairs, especially when it concerns politics. People almost always get instantly divided along ethnic lines.
File That trait was carried a little too far when a group under the appellation, Africans for Obama, led by the Nigerian Stock Exchange Director-General, Prof. Ndidi Okereke-Onyuike, organised a fund raiser dinner in Lagos for the United States Presidential aspirant, Senator Barack Obama. According to newspaper reports, the NSE boss explained during the dinner that, “Africa for Obama is simply telling Africans in the Diaspora to vote for Obama because he is their brother.”
Anyone familiar with the United States laws on the sourcing of funds for political candidates will be aware that that country’s system does not permit external funding for its candidates. Therefore, millions of naira reportedly contributed by influential Nigerians during the expensive dinner held on Monday at the Muson Centre, Onikan, Lagos, is not going into Obama’s campaign fund.
The organisers claim they are aware of that law and, according to a Senior Manager of NSE, Mr. Sola Oni, who spoke on behalf of the NSE boss, the money, apart from being used to mobilise Africans in the Diaspora to vote for Obama, will also be used to arrange for a select group to travel to St. Paul, Minnesota, to witness the convention of the Democratic Party. Their efforts are not purely altruistic. They believe that by supporting Obama now, the returns will come later. If and when Obama succeeds, they believe he could be lobbied to make policies that will favour Nigeria.
On the surface, their efforts sound good and commendable. In fact, the organisers should be given a pat on the back for having the foresight to prepare for Nigeria’s future in the scheme of things, especially since America is widely regarded as the centre of the world. With the way American elections are going, there is a possibility that Obama could win. Give it to him, he has got the charisma. He is relatively young and, so far, he has proved that he is not just black; he is also a man of colour and ideas. So, any investment in him is probably worthwhile as he has better chances of winning the presidential election.
A deeper and more introspective look at the project, however, shows the Nigerian spirit at work. In Nigeria, politicians are hardly ever supported for their ideologies or manifestoes (if they have any, anyway). People rally around them for the purpose of self-preservation. They give generously at such fund raiser with the hope that when elected, they get returns.
In addition to monetary support, political godfathers throw their weights behind their choice candidates and expect them to be obedient “godchildren” when they get into the office and are required to perform during pay-back time. They almost never finish paying up until their tenures expire. Then, they begin to seek another term and since anybody hardly ever wins election in Nigeria on merit, the whole process begins again.
Will Obama allow Nigerians to box him into such a corner? Not likely. Not even for the millions raised to persuade enfranchised Africans in the Diaspora to vote for him. Since he didn’t ask for their support in the first place, he will probably not even give them a hearing. Africa is the least of Obama’s problems now. His policymaker for Africa, Mr. Eric Wright, who represented him at the dinner, said there was no policy for Africa at the moment. As it is, he owes Africans for Obama no obligation. It is not his business that they are raising voters on his behalf, just as it is not their business to do so in the first place. He will probably politely tell them to mind the democracy of their own country which is getting undemocratic by the day.
Not because he is an unappreciative person but because he has spent a lot of time speaking against judging a person by the colour of his skin. He has tried so hard to take attention off the colour of his skin and he may not want to associate with the Africans for Obama group for the simple reason of not wanting to be heard (and seen) speaking from both sides of his mouth. Knowing what kind of country America is and what her media is capable of, even when it concerns a sincere motive like mobilising support for a brother, he would like distance himself further from the group. He would not want to be linked with some citizens from a country whose leadership at every level is a story of skeletons without the cupboard.
The Nigerian arrow heads of the group may have their joker though – a few Nigerians are aware that many of them have dual citizenships of Nigeria and America – meaning that both ways, they win.
It is only with this in mind that it makes economic sense to sponsor them to witness the Democratic convention in America when the whole affair will probably be broadcast live on CNN and posted on the Internet as soon as it’s happening. Anyway, if they must be there by all means, they can afford to pay for their passage to America, so why raise fund from Nigerians? But then, Okereke-Onyuike has asked those opposed to the dinner, “It is not their money we are spending. Ask them, is it your money that we are spending?”
If we may ask, what will the presence of the Nigerian delegates add to the convention? They will probably not even be noticed among thousands of Americans that will throng the convention venue that will require accreditation. If the dinner organisers think they will bring such knowledge to Nigeria, they need not bother. As a country, it is not that we don’t know what to do. The problem is that we simply do not bother to do it.
Supporting a brother who has done what would have been unimaginable about a 100 years ago is a commendable effort. The story of Obama whose campaign slogan is, Yes we can, has so far, one way or the other, inspired millions that a man can be what he wants to be regardless of whatever barriers the society places in his way. He has shown that if a man knows where he is going and is ready to defy the odds, the world is ready to make a way for him.
What is still not clear, however, is why Nigerian individuals and organisations would spend so much money on an issue that ordinarily does not concern them when fellow Nigerians are languishing in pain and poverty and will fare better with just a fraction of that fund extended to them. But, yes we can, Nigerians can achieve anything we set our minds on.
- Courtesy The Punch