Is Obama snubbing Africa?
How does it make you feel to hear his critics say, U. S. President Barrack Hussein Obama, the first American president with a Kenyan father, has neglected Africa? How about, he has not paid as much attention to Africa as previous US presidents. It sounds like many of these critics are disappointed. On the surface, the criticism has credence. For instance, in 2003, former US President George W. Bush initiated the President’ s Emergency Plan for AIDS Relief( PEPFAR). According to statistics, when the Bush administration launched PEPFAR in 2003, less than 50,000 HIV-infected people in Africa were receiving antire-troviral drugs that keep the virus in check and halt the progression toward full-blown AIDS. By the time Bush left office, the number had increased to nearly 2 million. Today, the United States supports more than 4 million AIDS patients around the world, and most of them are in Africa. George Bush also visited Africa and hosted an elaborate State Dinner for Ghanaian President John Kufour.
President Bill Clinton was regarded as a rock star in Africa. From his historic visit to Accra, Ghana where he was mobbed by the crowd in a hot humid afternoon, to attending OAU Sessions in Africa, and visiting farmers in Eastern Africa, Bill Clinton dedicated a great deal of his presidency to African issues. He also increased US trade to Africa where people love and cherished him. He helped fund the training of Nigerian soldiers that ultimately ended the rebel war in Sierra Leone, and was instrumental in ending many of the conflicts that engulfed Africa in the 1990s.
When President Obama defeated John McCain in 2008, Africa, especially sub-Saharan Africa, erupted in euphoria. After years of misinformation in America about Africa, many Africans believed that with their son at the helm, Africa was going to be at the forefront of American policy. They expected President Obama to visit Africa often and meet with African leaders and the general populace. When the President only made one stop in Africa, Accra, for a brief oneday visit on his way from the G-8 Summit in Italy in July, 2009, many Africans criticized him for not being totally engaged with African issues. However, one has to take a closer look at the Obama Presidency to understand his relationship with Africa.
When President Obama took the Oath of Office at the United States Capitol on January 21, 2009, the United States economy was at the brink of collapse. Major banks, credit unions, car manufacturers and major companies were all crumbling and the President had to act quickly. Two years after taking office, President Obama experienced what he termed a“ shellacking” when Republicans won 62 seats in the House of Representatives to wrest the House from Democratic control. After the midterm elections, it became clear to the President that he had to stay laser focused on improving the US economy if he were to win a second term. For the next two years, between 2010 and 2012, most of the President’ s trips were for economic development of the US economy.
Just because President Obama has only been to Ghana and Egypt during his last four years, it does not mean he does not care for Africa. President Obama sent his Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton to seven African nations: Senegal, South Sudan, Uganda, Kenya, South Africa, Malawi, and Nigeria to elaborate on the speech the President gave to the Ghanaian parliament in Accra. During that visit, among other things, President Obama told the
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