The Nation Newspaper

Tag: Obama

  • Obama and the end of an era

    Obama and the end of an era

    In a few days time, the curtain will draw on the tenure of the first Black president in the United States of America, Barrack Obama. Against all expectations, Obama brightly talked his way into the White House as a stunned world applauded the sheer beauty of rhetoric. Not in the 21st century has any man captured the attention of the world with his sheer brilliance as Obama has done in the last eight years. Obama loves the world stage. That is his territory. That is where he holds his audience spell bound. Since, perhaps, Franklin D. Roosevelt, no American president has exhibited oratory prowess as Barack Obama.

    He brought a message of hope to his compatriots. If there was anything that was really needed prior to his election, it was hope. The eight years of George W. Bush jnr. had thrown the nation into severe economic mess. Bush penchant for war mongering had far-reaching consequences on the American economy so much so that he made mess of a buoyant economy he inherited from the preceding Clinton administration. The political connoisseur that he is, Obama rallied his compatriots and sold to them his ‘audacity of hope’.

    The message was unambiguous and quite effective. It soon became a movement that developed a life of its own. Even in nations outside the shores of America, the message was spectacularly received. Here in Nigeria, the clowns that we are, some folks threw caution to the wind by going round the country to raise funds for the Obama course. Such was the infectious nature of the Obama movement!

    Well, Obama was talking and the Americans were listening while the rest of the world watched enthusiastically.  His campaign for the presidency was built round the optimistic slogan, “Yes we can”, which was primarily about hope and change. His campaign managers promoted him as the messiah who would build a new America where poverty, unemployment and other social ills would become history. On his own, Obama was a good product. He proudly announced his audacity and bragged about his capability. He spoke about how he was obliged to run for president by what he termed “the fierce urgency of now.”

    Like Abraham Lincoln, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Martin Luther King and Bill Clinton, Obama is a master of public speech. Using the power of rhetoric, he dazzled Americans with his brilliance. He spoke glowingly on how he would create jobs, improve the economy, regulate taxes, reduce deficits, and improve energy and education in addition to promoting world peace. Americans overwhelmingly elected Obama president. Thus began the making of a legend.

    Upon his inauguration, expectations were understandably high across the world, particularly in America.Obama’s first Inaugural Address elicited hope as he proclaimed: “Today, the work of remaking America has begun.” And truly, the change came swiftly. With Democrats in control of both the House and Senate, Obama shortly signed into law an “economic stimulus” package that would cost nearly $1 trillion and would keep unemployment under 8 percent and usher in a robust economic recovery. Goodbye to depression. Welcome prosperity.

    Now, after eight years of occupying, undoubtedly, the most demanding office in the world, Obama critics accuse him of engaging in more talks than actions. Obamacare, a supposedly well thought out policy has been the brunt of severe criticism by elements opposed to Obama. Indeed, the policy was one of the items that was ruthlessly torn into pieces by Donald Trump during the last fiercely fought American presidential contest. Plans are currently on-going to entirely scrap the policy by the in-coming Trump administration.

    Similarly, many of Obama critics believe his foreign policy was a disaster. They cited cases in Libya, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Syria and Israel, to mention but a few, as evidences of Obama’s foreign policy mess. They argue that while he demanded radical changes in Israeli –Palestinian relation, Obama actually did nothing tangible in the Middle East to herald the hope of the change he so much mouthed publicly. His critics equally affirm that it was his inability to act promptly that gave impetus to the rise of the Islamic State. While the Kurds and the Iraqi government raised alarm about the deteriorating state of affairs as the Islamic State continued its aggressive territorial expansion, Obama failed to produce the needed ‘Reaganic’ or Bush like response that could have sent across the right signal.

    But for Obama’s diehards Americans’ expectations of him were too extravagant from the outset as the nation’s economy was almost in shamble when he took over and he couldn’t have been any quick fix it.. However, the truth is that, Obama himself worked quite hard to stimulate the people’s expectations. Undoubtedly, when the American voters opted for him, they did so base on the strength of their conviction that he would not only talk the talk, but would actually work the talk.

    But then, love him or hate him, Obama has done his bit for his people. In an increasingly unpredictable and volatile world, he has preserved American traditional alliance while also stretching forth hands of friendship to many other nations. It is to his credit that America has opened a new chapter with the Cuban people. With American friends overseas, Obama has helped to make the world relatively peaceful. His advocacy for global warming has helped to keep the subject alive across the world. To a great extent, he has been able to reverse a great recession, reboot the American auto industry and unleash the longest stretch of job creation in American history. Significantly, he shut down Iran’s nuclear weapons program without firing a shot. This is in addition to avenging the painful 9/11 disaster by fishing out the supposed mastermind of the sad event.

     It was, perhaps, these modest attainments of his that resonated in the minds of his audience as they shouted: ‘Four more years! Four more years! Four more years!’ when he gave his farewell speech in Chicago, where it all began for him. But for Obama, there is no ‘third term agenda’, the job is done and it’s time to say goodbye.

    Ogunbiyi is of the Ministry of Information & Strategy, Alausa, Ikeja.

  • Obama in farewell speech: yes we can… yes we did

    Obama in farewell speech: yes we can… yes we did

    Text of President Barack Obama’s  farewell address delivered on Tuesday night in Chicago, United States (U.S.) 

    My fellow Americans, Michelle and I have been so touched by all the well-wishes that we’ve received over the past few weeks. But tonight it’s my turn to say thanks.

    Whether we have seen eye-to-eye or rarely agreed at all, my conversations with you, the American people — in living rooms and in schools; at farms and on factory floors; at diners and on distant military outposts — those conversations are what have kept me honest, and kept me inspired, and kept me going. And every day, I have learned from you. You made me a better president, and you made me a better man.

    So, I first came to Chicago when I was in my early twenties, and I was still trying to figure out who I was; still searching for a purpose to my life. And it was a neighbourhood not far from here where I began working with church groups in the shadows of closed steel mills.

    It was on these streets where I witnessed the power of faith, and the quiet dignity of working people in the face of struggle and loss.

    Now, this is where I learned that change only happens when ordinary people get involved, and they get engaged, and they come together to demand it. After eight years as your President, I still believe that. And it’s not just my belief. It’s the beating heart of our American idea — our bold experiment in self-government.

    It’s the conviction that we are all created equal, endowed by our creator with certain unalienable rights, among them life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.

    It’s the insistence that these rights, while self-evident, have never been self-executing; that ‘We, the People’, through the instrument of our democracy, can form a more perfect union.

    What a radical idea, the great gift that our founders gave to us. The freedom to chase our individual dreams through our sweat, and toil, and imagination — and the imperative to strive together as well, to achieve a common good, a greater good.

    For 240 years, our nation’s call to citizenship has given work and purpose to each new generation. It’s what led patriots to choose republic over tyranny, pioneers to trek west, slaves to brave that makeshift railroad to freedom.

    It’s what pulled immigrants and refugees across oceans and the Rio Grande. It’s what pushed women to reach for the ballot. It’s what powered workers to organise. It’s why GIs gave their lives at Omaha Beach and Iwo Jima; Iraq and Afghanistan — and why men and women from Selma to Stonewall were prepared to give theirs as well.

    So, that’s what we mean when we say America is exceptional. Not that our nation has been flawless from the start, but that we have shown the capacity to change, and make life better for those who follow.

    Yes, our progress has been uneven. The work of democracy has always been hard. It has been contentious. Sometimes it has been bloody. For every two steps forward, it often feels we take one step back. But the long sweep of America has been defined by forward motion, a constant widening of our founding creed to embrace all, and not just some.

    If I had told you eight years ago that America would reverse a great recession, reboot our auto industry, and unleash the longest stretch of job creation in our history — if I had told you that we would open up a new chapter with the Cuban people, shut down Iran’s nuclear weapons programme without firing a shot, take out the mastermind of 9-11 — if I had told you that we would win marriage equality and secure the right to health insurance for another 20 million of our fellow citizens — if I had told you all that, you might have said our sights were set a little too high.

    But that’s what we did. That’s what you did. You were the change. The answer to people’s hopes and, because of you, by almost every measure, America is a better, stronger place than it was when we started.

    In 10  days (eight days from today), the world will witness a hallmark of our democracy. No, no, no, no, no. The peaceful transfer of power from one freely-elected President to the next. I committed to President-elect Trump that my administration would ensure the smoothest possible transition, just as President Bush did for me.

    Because it’s up to all of us to make sure our government can help us meet the many challenges we still face. We have what we need to do so. We have everything we need to meet those challenges. After all, we remain the wealthiest, most powerful, and most respected nation on earth.

    Our youth, our drive, our diversity and openness, our boundless capacity for risk and reinvention means that the future should be ours. But that potential will only be realised if our democracy works. Only if our politics better reflects the decency of our people. Only if all of us, regardless of party affiliation or particular interests help restore the sense of common purpose that we so badly need right now.

    And that’s what I want to focus on tonight, the state of our democracy. Understand democracy does not require uniformity. Our founders argued, they quarreled, and eventually they compromised. They expected us to do the same. But, they knew that democracy does require a basic sense of solidarity. The idea that, for all our outward differences, we’re all in this together, that we rise or fall as one.

    There have been moments throughout our history that threatened that solidarity. And the beginning of this century has been one of those times. A shrinking world, growing inequality, demographic change, and the specter of terrorism. These forces haven’t just tested our security and our prosperity, but are testing our democracy as well. And how we meet these challenges to our democracy will determine our ability to educate our kids and create good jobs and protect our homeland.

    In other words, it will determine our future. To begin with, our democracy won’t work without a sense that everyone has economic opportunity.

    And the good news is that, today, the economy is growing again. Wages, incomes, home values and retirement accounts are all rising again. Poverty is falling again.

    The wealthy are paying a fair share of taxes. Even as the stock market shatters records, the unemployment rate is near a 10-year low. The uninsured rate has never, ever been lower.

    Health care costs are rising at the slowest rate in 50 years. And I’ve said, and I mean it, anyone can put together a plan that is demonstrably better than the improvements we’ve made to our health care system, that covers as many people at less cost, I will publicly support it.

    Because that, after all, is why we serve. Not to score points or take credit. But to make people’s lives better.

    But, for all the real progress that we’ve made, we know it’s not enough. Our economy doesn’t work as well or grow as fast when a few prosper at the expense of a growing middle class, and ladders for folks who want to get into the middle class.

    That’s the economic argument. But stark inequality is also corrosive to our democratic idea. While the top one per cent has amassed a bigger share of wealth and income, too many of our families in inner cities and in rural counties have been left behind.

    The laid off factory worker, the waitress or health care worker who’s just barely getting by and struggling to pay the bills. Convinced that the game is fixed against them. That their government only serves the interest of the powerful. That’s a recipe for more cynicism and polarisation in our politics.

    Now, there’re no quick fixes to this long-term trend. I agree, our trade should be fair and not just free. But the next wave of economic dislocations won’t come from overseas. It will come from the relentless pace of automation that makes a lot of good middle class jobs obsolete.

    And so, we’re going to have to forge a new social compact to guarantee all our kids the education they need. To give workers the power to unionise for better wages. To update the social safety net to reflect the way we live now and make more reforms to the tax code. So, corporations and the individuals who reap the most from this new economy, don’t avoid their obligations to the country that’s made their very success possible.

    We can argue about how to best achieve these goals but we can’t be complacent about the goals themselves. For if we don’t create opportunity for all people, the disaffection and division that has stalled our progress will only sharpen in years to come.

    There’s a second threat to our democracy. And this one is as old as our nation itself. After my election, there was talk of a post-racial America. And such a vision, however well intended, was never realistic. Race remains a potent and often divisive force in our society.

    Now, I’ve lived long enough to know that race relations are better than they were 10 or 20 or 30 years ago, no matter what some folks say.

    You can see it not just in statistics. You see it in the attitudes of young Americans across the political spectrum. But we’re not where we need to be. And all of us have more work to do.

    If every economic issue is framed as a struggle between a hardworking white middle class and an undeserving minority, then workers of all shades are going to be left fighting for scraps while the wealthy withdraw further into their private enclaves.

    If we’re unwilling to invest in the children of immigrants, just because they don’t look like us, we will diminish the prospects of our own children — because those brown kids will represent a larger and larger share of America’s workforce.

    And we have shown that our economy doesn’t have to be a zero-sum game. Last year, incomes rose for all races, all age groups, for men and for women.

    So, if we’re going to be serious about race going forward, we need to uphold laws against discrimination — in hiring, and in housing, and in education, and in the criminal justice system.

    That is what our Constitution and highest ideals require. But laws alone won’t be enough. Hearts must change. It won’t change overnight. Social attitudes oftentimes take generations to change. But if our democracy is to work the way it should in this increasingly diverse nation, then each one of us need to try to heed the advice of a great character in American fiction, Atticus Finch, who said: “You never really understand a person until you consider things from his point of view, until you climb into his skin and walk around in it.”

    For blacks and other minority groups, that means tying our own very real struggles for justice to the challenges that a lot of people in this country face. Not only the refugee or the immigrant or the rural poor or the transgender American, but also the middle-aged white guy who from the outside may seem like he’s got all the advantages, but has seen his world upended by economic, cultural, and technological change.

    We have to pay attention and listen. For white Americans, it means acknowledging that the effects of slavery and Jim Crow didn’t suddenly vanish in the ’60s; that when minority groups voice discontent, they’re not just engaging in reverse racism or practicing political correctness; when they wage peaceful protest, they’re not demanding special treatment, but the equal treatment that our founders promised.

    For native-born Americans, it means reminding ourselves that the stereotypes about immigrants today were said, almost word for word, about the Irish, and Italians, and Poles, who it was said were going to destroy the fundamental character of America. And as it turned out, America wasn’t weakened by the presence of these newcomers; these newcomers embraced this nation’s creed, and this nation was strengthened.

    So, regardless of the station we occupy; we all have to try harder; we all have to start with the premise that each of our fellow citizens loves this country just as much as we do; that they value hard work and family just like we do; that their children are just as curious and hopeful and worthy of love as our own.

    And that’s not easy to do. For too many of us, it’s become safer to retreat into our own bubbles, whether in our neighbourhoods, or on college campuses, or places of worship, or especially, our social media feeds, surrounded by people who look like us and share the same political outlook and never challenge our assumptions. In the rise of naked partisanship and increasing economic and regional stratification, the splintering of our media into a channel for every taste, all this makes this great sorting seem natural, even inevitable.

    And increasingly we become so secure in our bubbles that we start accepting only information, whether it’s true or not, that fits our opinions, instead of basing our opinions on the evidence that is out there.

    And this trend represents a third threat to our democracy. Look, politics is a battle of ideas. That’s how our democracy was designed. In the course of a healthy debate, we prioritise different goals, and the different means of reaching them. But, without some common baseline of facts, without a willingness to admit new information and concede that your opponent might be making a fair point, and that science and reason matter, then we’re going to keep talking past each other.

    And we’ll make common ground and compromise impossible. And isn’t that part of what so often makes politics dispiriting? How can elected officials rage about deficits when we propose to spend money on pre-school for kids, but not when we’re cutting taxes for corporations?

    How do we excuse ethical lapses in our own party, but pounce when the other party does the same thing? It’s not just dishonest, it’s selective sorting of the facts. It’s self-defeating because, as my mom used to tell me, reality has a way of catching up with you.

    Take the challenge of climate change. In just eight years, we’ve halved our dependence on foreign oil, we’ve doubled our renewable energy, we’ve led the world to an agreement that (at) the promise to save this planet.

    But without bolder action, our children won’t have time to debate the existence of climate change. They’ll be busy dealing with its effects. More environmental disasters, more economic disruptions, waves of climate refugees seeking sanctuary. Now, we can and should argue about the best approach to solve the problem. But, to simply deny the problem not only betrays future generations, it betrays the essential spirit of this country, the essential spirit of innovation and practical problem-solving that guided our founders.

    It is that spirit — it is that spirit born of the enlightenment that made us an economic powerhouse. The spirit that took flight at Kitty Hawk and Cape Canaveral, the spirit that cures disease and put a computer in every pocket, it’s that spirit. A faith in reason and enterprise, and the primacy of right over might, that allowed us to resist the lure of fascism and tyranny during the Great Depression, that allowed us to build a post-World War II order with other democracies.

    An order based not just on military power or national affiliations, but built on principles, the rule of law, human rights, freedom of religion and speech and assembly and an independent press.

    That order is now being challenged. First by violent fanatics who claim to speak for Islam. More recently by autocrats in foreign capitals who seek free markets in open democracies and civil society itself as a threat to their power.

    The peril each poses to our democracy is more far-reaching than a car bomb or a missile. They represent the fear of change. The fear of people who look or speak or pray differently. A contempt for the rule of law that holds leaders accountable. An intolerance of dissent and free thought. A belief that the sword, or the gun, or the bomb, or the propaganda machine, is the ultimate arbiter of what’s true and what’s right. Because of the extraordinary courage of our men and women in uniform. Because of our intelligence officers and law enforcement and diplomats who support our troops no foreign terrorist organisation has successfully planned and executed an attack on our homeland these past eight years. Boston and Orlando and San Bernardino and Fort Hood remind us of how dangerous radicalisation can be, our law enforcement agencies are more effective and vigilant than ever. We have taken out tens of thousands of terrorists, including Bin Laden.

    The global coalition we’re leading against ISIL has taken out their leaders and taken away about half their territory. ISIL will be destroyed. And no one who threatens America will ever be safe.

    And all who serve, or have served — it has been the honor of my lifetime to be your commander-in-chief.

    And we all owe you a deep debt of gratitude. But, protecting our way of life, that’s not just the job of our military. Democracy can buckle when it gives into fear. So, just as we as citizens must remain vigilant against external aggression, we must guard against a weakening of the values that make us who we are.

    And that’s why for the past eight years, I’ve worked to put the fight against terrorism on a firmer legal footing. That’s why we’ve ended torture, worked to close Gitmo, reformed our laws governing surveillance to protect privacy and civil liberties.

    That’s why I reject discrimination against Muslim Americans who are just as patriotic as we are.

    That’s why we cannot withdraw…That’s why we cannot withdraw from big global fights to expand democracy and human rights and women’s rights and LGBT rights.

    No matter how imperfect our efforts, no matter how expedient ignoring such values may seem, that’s part of defending America. For the fight against extremism and intolerance and sectarianism and chauvinism are of a piece with the fight against authoritarianism and nationalist aggression. If the scope of freedom and respect for the rule of law shrinks around the world, the likelihood of war within and between nations increases, and our own freedoms will eventually be threatened.

    So, let’s be vigilant, but not afraid. ISIL will try to kill innocent people. But they cannot defeat America unless we betray our Constitution and our principles in the fight.

    Rivals like Russia or China cannot match our influence around the world — unless we give up what we stand for, and turn ourselves into just another big country that bullies smaller neighbours. Which brings me to my final point — our democracy is threatened whenever we take it for granted.

    All of us, regardless of party, should be throwing ourselves into the task of rebuilding our democratic institutions.

    When voting rates in America are some of the lowest among advanced democracies, we should be making it easier, not harder, to vote.

    When trust in our institutions is low, we should reduce the corrosive influence of money in our politics, and insist on the principles of transparency and ethics in public service. When Congress is dysfunctional, we should draw our districts to encourage politicians to cater to common sense and not rigid extremes.

    But remember, none of this happens on its own. All of this depends on our participation; on each of us accepting the responsibility of citizenship, regardless of which way the pendulum of power happens to be swinging.

    Our Constitution is a remarkable, beautiful gift. But it’s really just a piece of parchment. It has no power on its own. ‘We, the people’, give it power. ‘We, the people’, give it meaning — with our participation, and with the choices that we make and the alliances that we forge.

    Whether or not we stand up for our freedoms; whether or not we respect and enforce the rule of law, that’s up to us. America is no fragile thing. But the gains of our long journey to freedom are not assured.

    In his own farewell address, George Washington wrote that self-government is the underpinning of our safety, prosperity, and liberty, but “from different causes and from different quarters much pains will be taken… to weaken in your minds the conviction of this truth.”

    And so, we have to preserve this truth with “jealous anxiety;” that we should reject “the first dawning of every attempt to alienate any portion of our country from the rest or to enfeeble the sacred ties” that make us one.

    America, we weaken those ties when we allow our political dialogue to become so corrosive that people of good character aren’t even willing to enter into public service. So, course with rancor that Americans with whom we disagree are seen, not just as misguided, but as malevolent. We weaken those ties when we define some of us as more American than others.

    When we write off the whole system as inevitably corrupt. And when we sit back and blame the leaders we elect without examining our own role in electing them. It falls to each of us to be those anxious, jealous guardians of our democracy. Embrace the joyous task we have been given to continually try to improve this great nation of ours because, for all our outward differences, we in fact all share the same proud type, the most important office in a democracy, citizen.

    So, you see, that’s what our democracy demands. It needs you. Not just when there’s an election, not just when you own narrow interest is at stake, but over the full span of a lifetime. If you’re tired of arguing with strangers on the Internet, try talking with one of them in real life.

    If something needs fixing, then lace up your shoes and do some organising. If you’re disappointed by your elected officials, grab a clip board, get some signatures, and run for office yourself.

    Show up, dive in, stay at it. Sometimes you’ll win, sometimes you’ll lose. Presuming a reservoir in goodness, that can be a risk. And there will be times when the process will disappoint you. But for those of us fortunate enough to have been part of this one and to see it up close, let me tell you, it can energise and inspire. And more often than not, your faith in America and in Americans will be confirmed. Mine sure has been.

    Over the course of these eight years, I’ve seen the hopeful faces of young graduates and our newest military officers. I have mourned with grieving families searching for answers, and found grace in a Charleston church. I’ve seen our scientists help a paralysed man regain his sense of touch. I’ve seen wounded warriors, who at points were given up for dead, walk again.

    I’ve seen our doctors and volunteers rebuild after earthquakes and stop pandemics in their tracks. I’ve seen the youngest of children remind us through their actions and through their generosity of our obligations to care for refugees, or work for peace and, above all, to look out for each other. So, that faith that I placed all those years ago, not far from here, in the power of ordinary Americans to bring about change, that faith has been rewarded in ways I could not have possibly imagined.

    And I hope your faith has too. Some of you here tonight or watching at home, you were there with us in 2004 and 2008, 2012.

    Maybe you still can’t believe we pulled this whole thing off. Let me tell you, you’re not the only ones.

    Michelle LaVaughn Robinson of the South Side for the past 25 years, you have not only been my wife and mother of my children, you have been my best friend. You took on a role you didn’t ask for. And you made it your own with grace and with grit and with style, and good humour. You made the White House a place that belongs to everybody. And a new generation sets its sights higher because it has you as a role model. You have made me proud, and you have made the country proud.

    Malia and Sasha, under the strangest of circumstances, you have become two amazing young women. You are smart and you are beautiful. But more importantly, you are kind and you are thoughtful and you are full of passion.

    And you wore the burden of years in the spotlight so easily. Of all that I have done in my life, I am most proud to be your dad.

    To Joe Biden, the scrappy kid from Scranton, who became Delaware’s favorite son, you were the first decision I made as a nominee, and it was the best.

    Not just because you have been a great vice president, but because in the bargain I gained a brother. And we love you and Jill like family. And your friendship has been one of the great joys of our lives.

    To my remarkable staff, for eight years, and for some of you a whole lot more, I have drawn from your energy. And every day I try to reflect back what you displayed. Heart and character. And idealism. I’ve watched you grow up, get married, have kids, start incredible new journeys of your own.

    Even when times got tough and frustrating, you never let Washington get the better of you. You guarded against cynicism. And the only thing that makes me prouder than all the good that we’ve done is the thought of all the amazing things that you are going to achieve from here.

    And to all of you out there — every organiser who moved to an unfamiliar town, every kind family who welcomed them in, every volunteer who knocked on doors, every young person who cast a ballot for the first time, every American who lived and breathed the hard work of change — you are the best supporters and organisers anybody could ever hope for, and I will forever be grateful. Because you did change the world. You did.

    And that’s why I leave this stage tonight even more optimistic about this country than when we started. Because I know our work has not only helped so many Americans; it has inspired so many Americans — especially so many young people out there — to believe that you can make a difference; to hitch your wagon to something bigger than yourselves.

    Let me tell you, this generation coming up — unselfish, altruistic, creative, patriotic — I’ve seen you in every corner of the country. You believe in a fair, and just, and inclusive America; you know that constant change has been America’s hallmark, that it’s not something to fear but something to embrace, you are willing to carry this hard work of democracy forward. You’ll soon outnumber any of us, and I believe as a result, the future is in good hands.

    My fellow Americans, it has been the honour of my life to serve you. I won’t stop; in fact, I will be right there with you, as a citizen, for all my remaining days. But for now, whether you are young or whether you’re young at heart, I do have one final ask of you as your President — the same thing I asked when you took a chance on me eight years ago. I am asking you to believe. Not in my ability to bring about change — but in yours.

    I am asking you to hold fast to that faith written into our founding documents; that idea whispered by slaves and abolitionists; that spirit sung by immigrants and homesteaders and those who marched for justice; that creed reaffirmed by those who planted flags from foreign battlefields to the surface of the moon; a creed at the core of every American whose story is not yet written:

    Yes, we can. Yes, we did.

    Thank you. God bless you. And may God continue to bless the United States of America. Thank you.

    –– Source: Federal News Service

  • Obama’s dark legacies in Africa

    As Barack Obama, America’s first President of African-American extraction, prepares to leave office not many days from now, a retrospective glance at and brief assessment of his impact in Africa are quite apposite. This is necessary as his successor, the obnoxious, vulgar and racist Donald Trump, has sworn to overturn all his achievements and erase his legacies, including in the foreign policy arena, within the first 100 days in office. He will begin on his first day, January 20! I’m not shedding any tears for Obama.

    A completely detached and objective assessment of the legacies of Obama’s eight-year rule is impossible in a single newspaper article. That would take tomes by several scholars and analysts. Even at that, total objectivity will still be near impossible. The Obama era is like the proverbial elephant; each writer can nibble at parts of it but none can describe it wholly, comprehensively, objectively and completely! Let me state upfront that as an African I make no pretence to objectivity in this piece – my views are more critical than balanced. Yes, it is true every coin has two sides, but it just happens that the more prominent side is the negative one. Concerning Africa, the negative outweighs the positive. Without being uncharitable, I am persuaded that the consequences of his negative actions are infinitely more real and have much longer lasting effects, while the positive ones are largely symbolic, if not merely cosmetic. His tenure in the White House never benefited Africa in any special way, more than under Jimmy Carter, George W. Bush or Bill Clinton.

    His 2008 electoral victory, without question a shattering of the proverbial glass ceiling, was accompanied by continent-wide euphoria and jubilation here in Africa. I was also jubilant and exultant, although more for racial pride than for any expectation that he would change America’s policies towards Africa in any substantive direction. I had advised my compatriots, with justification, against any bloated expectations that his reign would necessarily bring any goodies to Africa. First, he is an American, not an African, and was elected by Americans for the welfare and well-being of Americans only! Second, I argued that US presidents are generally not nearly as powerful, in real terms, as their French or Russian counterparts, and definitely far less so than African rulers with vast unchecked powers. They are circumscribed by labyrinthine political, constitutional, institutional and bureaucratic hurdles which inexorably combine to limit their freedom of choice and action.

    Third, I argued that Obama would even operate under much stricter constraints because he is Black; that white Americans would judge him by standards much higher than were ever used for any of his predecessors, assess and profile him more harshly than others, all on account of the colour of his skin; that every mistake or policy mis-step would be amplified beyond normal and the gavel of condemnation would come down much harder on him and his overall competence; that arrogant Generals and self-important Admirals (war veterans in their own rights) might even seek to look down on his ability as Commander-in-Chief for his lack of military experience. Above all, I submitted that he himself would be so cautious about his affections for and dealings with Africa and its peoples; that he would be extremely careful not to be seen to favour Africa, a continent which past US presidents considered of little value to their country’s overall global calculations. All things considered, I had felt that the deck was stacked against him more than most jubilant Africans realized.

    I noted in a previous article in this newspaper that the United States of America is the greatest military power in the world with an indisputably unmatched global reach, and that its main preoccupation since the end of WWII is global political, economic, military and technological supremacy. This “America first above all else” mentality is the basic driving force of US foreign policy no matter who occupies the White House. Translation: if sacrificing Africa’s interests would keep America above, so be it, Obama or not! Africa is only significant for America’s global imperialist outreach, check out AFRICOM’s activities since 2007 and you will be amazed.

    In eight years, Obama visited the continent thrice – first was Egypt in 2009, where he eulogized the now deposed Egyptian strongman, Hosni Mubarak, as America’s major and most reliable ally in the Middle East and North Africa, capped with a mere perfunctory stop-over in Ghana where all he did was talk down to Africans about strong institutions as opposed to strong leaders. His second was a hop through Senegal, South Africa and Tanzania in 2013; while the third and final one in 2015 was also at best a whistle-stop in Kenya and Ethiopia, more symbolic and cosmetic than substantive. In his trademark stirring speeches he again pompously sermonized about democratic governance and insulted our cultural sensibilities by seeking to impose such decadent Western values as gay and lesbian rights on Africans. The Kenyans wisely told him to, as Americans themselves are fond of saying, stuff a sock in it!

    Under Obama’s Executive Orders, America and its NATO allies diabolically executed the gruesome assassination of Muammar Gaddafi and the massive bombings that have left Libya in ruins. Because of Obama, that once prosperous and flourishing North African country is today a basket case, a veritable enclave of warlords, bandits, terrorists, human traffickers and sundry criminals. In Egypt, Obama was privy to the clinical destruction of democracy by America’s friend, Field Marshal Abdel Fatah El-Sisi, who has since civilianized himself, contested and ‘won’ a presidential election and has instituted by far the most draconic and ruthless dictatorship, vanquishing the opposition Muslim Brotherhood and putting Mohammed Morsi who he overthrew securely locked up in a dungeon. This modern-day Pharaonic incarnation, a strongman par excellence, is Obama’s bequeath to Egypt and the Africa.

    But by far the most sinister is the gradual but surreptitious militarization of the African continent through expansion of the US Africa Command (AFRICOM). Under Obama, a fat chunk of America’s aid to Africa has been concentrated in the so-called security sector – in the training of so-called anti-terrorist and counter-insurgency forces in West Africa, drone-basing in Burkina Faso, logistics and training for the Multinational Joint Task Force troops fighting Boko Haram insurgents in Nigeria and the affected neighbouring countries; secret military locations in Somalia, expansion of Camp Lemonnier in Djibouti, and countless other secretive military activities  and bases in countries such as Mali, Senegal, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Cameroon, Gabon, Central African Republic, Ethiopia, Kenya, Niger Republic, Chad, Somalia, South Sudan, Seychelles, and Uganda. African rulers have found it difficult to oppose these intrusions and subversion of their sovereignty, knowing the CIA’s predilection and capacity for orchestrating regime change at any place of their choosing. More than at any other time in its history, Africa is under a comprehensive US military lockdown, all thanks to President Barack Obama. In eight years, Obama successfully presided over the destruction of Libya, de-democratization in Egypt, and a virtual re-colonization of Africa through secretive militarization – a truly dark legacy!

    To be fair to him, I commend his commitment to African Growth Opportunities Act (AGOA), a policy thrust begun by Bill Clinton, and his leadership in curbing Ebola epidemic in West Africa, and a few other beneficial programmes. But it is difficult to forget America’s blunt refusal to sell Nigeria the weapons required to combat the Boko Haram insurgency, and how it also orchestrated blockage of the Jonathan government’s attempt to purchase weapons from Israel and South Africa.

    So long, Barack Hussein Obama, have a good life in retirement. I can’t wait to see how you will capture all these in your memoirs.

    • Prof Fawole is of Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife.
  • Obama calls Buhari as DSS arrests key terrorism suspect

    Obama calls Buhari as DSS arrests key terrorism suspect

    World’s third most wanted ‘behind killing of expatriates in 2012, 2013’

    10 most wanted terrorists, according to U.S.

    The United States government had offered $340million (£217m) for about 10 most wanted terrorists, including the leader of Boko Haram, Imam Abubakar Shekau.
    Shekau attracts a bounty price from US officials of $7million (£4.4m).
    Shekau was reportedly killed about two years ago by Nigerian military but his death was riddled with controversy. He even reappeared in a video to denounce his purported killing by troops.
    His fate remains unclear.
    Some other wanted terrorists and ransome placed on them include Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, $10million (£6.3m) ; Abu al-Rahman Mustafa al-Qaduli, $7million (£4.4m); Abu Mohammed al-Adnani, $5m (£3.2m); Georgian native Tarkhan Tayumurazovich Batirashvili – also known as Omar the Chechen – $5m (£3.2m)
    At number seven is the head of Nigerian Islamist group Boko Haram, Abubakar ); and Ezedin Abdel Aziz Khalil, $10million (£6.3m) bounty.

    The Department of State Services (DSS) yesterday confirmed the arrest of the third most wanted terrorism suspect.
    The suspect, who is in the custody of the agency, has been indicted in the killing of expatriates in the country between 2012 and 2013.
    Many secret services in various parts of the world have been trooping into Nigeria to interact with the suspect.
    Also, the service foiled a terrorist attack on the United States through its active intelligence alert.
    The arrest is seen as a significant anti-terrorism breakthrough. United States President Barack Obama telephoned President Muhammadu Buhari to hail the feat, a source told The Nation.
    A security source said the arrest  had made other security services in various parts of the world to fly into the country to interact with the suspected terrorist.
    The suspect is unnamed because he is still “undergoing profiling”.
    The source said: “He is still in our custody.
    “This suspect was responsible for the killing of some expatriates in the country between 2012 and 2013.
    The source also confirmed how DSS intercepted a plot to carry out a deadly terrorist attack on the United States.
    The source said: “About six months ago, we burst a terrorist attack that was to happen in the United States. This earned the service a letter of commendation.
    “In fact, President Barack Obama placed a call to President Muhammadu Buhari to acknowledge what we did.
    “We did not make it a media issue because before you know it, there will be editorials asking us whether we had addressed security challenges in Nigeria before helping the US.
    “But the speed with which things are changing and expanding around us, I can tell you that security challenge is becoming more globalised.
    “We have been taken into confidence as a nation better than what it was before.”
    Also yesterday, it was learnt that the activities of some politicians are under watch by the secret service.
    The politicians include a few who are making inciting statements and  “beating war drums ahead of 2019 general elections”.
    According to the top security source, such politicians were already “turning truth into falsehood” because of desperation for power.
    The source added: “This has been a very wonderful year for DSS. We are being challenged but we are not complaining.
    “If there is any one group that is dangerous, it is the politicians. They are more dangerous than Boko Haram.
    ”The way 2019 is being looked at, many knives and sticks are being sharpened because of some people’s interest.
    “A politician now throws decorum to the winds because he wants to be president or governor. He is now dishing out stories that will make this country to be burning…
    We want to reach 2019 in peace and not in pieces.
    “The way they are interested in power without any plans on what to do gives calls for concern. They are turning truth into falsehood.”

  • Obama commutes 1,023 prison sentences

    Outgoing United States President, Barack Obama, has commuted the sentences of 1,023 federal prison inmates to shorter sentences.

    The figure is more than the past 11 presidents combined had done, the White House said on Tuesday.

    The White House, in a statement, said Obama had commuted the sentences of more individuals in one year than in any other single year in U.S history.

    The implication is that Obama has commuted more sentences than the combined commutations by U.S Presidents from Harry Truman in 1945 to George W. Bush in 2008, the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports.

    “Our nation faces a cycle of poverty, criminality and incarceration that traps too many Americans and weakens too many communities.

    “Since taking office, President Obama has fought for a smarter and more equitable criminal justice system.

    “He has been committed to using all the tools at his disposal to remedy the unfairness at the heart of the system—including the presidential power to grant clemency.

    “The President has now commuted the sentences of 1,023 men and women incarcerated under outdated and unduly harsh sentencing laws, including 342 individuals who were serving life sentences,” NAN quoted the White House as saying in the statement.

    The statement said the majority of the prison inmates were offenders sentenced for non -violent drug crimes.

    “To date, the President has granted commutations to more prisoners than the past 11 Presidents combined.

    “He has also granted 70 pardons and is committed to continuing to exercise the clemency power with additional grants of commutations and pardons throughout the remainder of his presidency,” the statement added.

  • Obama, Trump meet

    Obama, Trump meet

    President-elect Donald Trump said yesterday it was a “great honour” to meet United States President Barack Obama for transition talks at the White House.

    Obama said he was “encouraged” by their “excellent” and “wide-ranging” conversation, which lasted for about 90 minutes..

    Trump had questioned Obama’s US citizenship and vowed to dismantle his legacy.

    During the campaign, Obama called Trump “uniquely unqualified”.

    The businessman also called Obama “the worst president in the history of the United States

    However, Obama said he was “rooting” for him after his shock defeat of Hillary Clinton.

    After their meeting at the White House, Obama said: “My number one priority in the coming two months is to try to facilitate a transition that ensures our president-elect is successful.”

    He said they had discussed domestic and foreign policy and he had been “very encouraged” by Trump’s interest in working with his team on issues facing the U.S.

    Trump said he would “very much look forward” to interacting with President Obama in future

    “I have great respect, the meeting lasted for almost an hour and a half, and it could’ve, as far as I’m concerned, it could’ve gone on for a lot longer,” the president-elect said.

    “We discussed a lot of different situations – some wonderful and some difficulties.”

    Trump, who said he had never met Obama, called him a good man and said the two had discussed both “wonderful” things and the “difficult” challenges the country was facing.

    On Wednesday, thousands took to the streets of major US cities denouncing Mr Trump after his shock defeat of Hillary Clinton.

    White House spokesman Josh Earnest has insisted Obama is sincere about ensuring a smooth handover.

    With the Republicans now holding a majority in both chambers of the US Congress, Mr Trump can more easily target key Obama initiatives like such as his healthcare reforms.

    The president-elect’s transition team for the 10-week period until inauguration will be led by Chris Christie, Governor of New Jersey.

    Former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani is a leading contender to serve as attorney general and Representative Michael McCaul of Texas, chairman of the House Committee on Homeland Security, is a top choice for Homeland Security secretary, according to people familiar with the matter. Senator Jeff Sessions of Alabama is interested in serving as defense secretary, the people said.

    Mr Trump, who has never held elected office, has said his immediate priorities will be restoring the country’s infrastructure and doubling its economic growth

    Trump flew from New York on his private jet and landed at Reagan National Airport, just outside the nation’s capital.

    The president-elect was accompanied by his wife, Melania, who had a meeting with First Lady Michelle Obama.

    His motorcade arrived at the White House’s South Lawn, where reporters weren’t able to observe the two men greeting each other, shortly before 11 a.m. New York time.

    White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough was seen walking with Trump’s son-in-law, Jared Kushner, a close adviser to the president-elect, on the South Lawn while Obama and Trump met. Obama and Trump met alone but posed for photographs with a handful of senior aides after the meeting.

    White House press secretary Josh Earnest told reporters the meeting was “robust” and “valuable.”

    “It is no secret that the president-elect and I have some pretty significant differences,” Obama said in the Rose Garden on Wednesday. “But remember, eight years ago, President Bush and I had some pretty significant differences.”

    Obama said he had told his “team to follow the example that President Bush’s team set eight years ago, and work as hard as we can to make sure that this is a successful transition for the president-elect.”

    Trump didn’t mention Obama in his victory speech early Wednesday. He called for unity, saying, “It’s time for America to bind the wounds of division.”

    “I pledge to every citizen of our land that I will be president for all Americans,” Trump said.

    Neither man has addressed post-election protests in several major cities, including New York and Washington, where demonstrators have criticized Trump’s inflammatory rhetoric about African-Americans, Latinos, women, and Muslims.

  • Obama committed to smooth transition of power

    Obama committed to smooth transition of power

    UNITED States (U.S.) President Barack Obama is committed to a smooth transition of power to his successor Donald Trump despite his differences with the Republican president-elect.

    White House spokesman Josh Earnest said the Obama administration would remain dedicated to an Iran deal, climate change and Obamacare until handing over the keys to the Oval Office to Trump on January 20, next year.

    Obama had strongly condemned many of the Republican nominee’s views throughout the election campaign and Earnest said the incumbent President’s views had not changed in light of the result.

    “President Obama doesn’t get to choose his successor, the American people get to do that,” Earnest told reporters.

    He went on: “They’ve chosen someone who President Obama disagrees with on a wide range of issues. But that does not in any way detract from the President’s determination to execute a smooth and effective transition of power.”

    Speaking about the outcome of Tuesday’s election, the White House spokesman said it was “going to require more than 12 hours of consideration to get to the bottom of yesterday’s (Tuesday) polls’ results.

    “There are a lot of people who voted for Obama who voted for Trump. I don’t have an explanation for that.”

  • Obama, Trump to meet on transition programme

    United State President, Barack Obama and the President –elect, Donald Trump, will meet at the White House on Thursday for talks on transition programme.

    CNN reports that Obama invited Trump to talk about transition planning, which his team has been working on for nearly a year.

    “Ensuring a smooth transition of power is one of the top priorities the President identified at the beginning of the year and a meeting with the President-elect is the next step,” the White House said in a statement.

  • My encounter with Obama after a call from White House —Ex-Miss Wheelchair Nigeria

    My encounter with Obama after a call from White House —Ex-Miss Wheelchair Nigeria

    HOW best could one describe you; a musician, an advocate for the physically challenged or an ex-beauty queen?

    What makes Grace Jerry’s life very interesting is that you can’t pin her to one thing. She is just an encapsulation of a lot of things. She is a recording artiste. What makes her an interesting recording artiste is that she uses music as a tool to create a lot of social good.  So, what I do basically is a blend of music and advocacy. That is why I say Grace is an embodiment of a lot of things put together.

    You mentioned music and social advocacy. Let’s talk about the social advocacy first…

    Grace is a disability rights advocate. I basically work to bring the issue of disability to the forefront. I do that through workshops, music and, as I mentioned earlier, through advocacy and campaigns. Interestingly, I co-founded an organisation called Inclusive Friends.  It is an organisation for and by persons with disability. We give faces and voices to people with disability and try to combat stigmatisation, marginalisation of persons with disability, and basically promote inclusion and equity for all.

    These are things you took on in your adult life. How was life with you before all this?

    Of course, you grow up with a lot of ambition. You want to be this and you want to be that. While growing up, I always said I wanted to be a journalist. There was this late broadcaster, Tokunbo Ajayi. I remember that whenever I watched her, I would say to myself one day, I would want to stay in front of the camera  and read the news. Of course growing up, all of that got to change.  I grew up in a family of singers. My mum happened to be a very strong chorister then in the Methodist Church. My auntie too. It was more of a singing family, I would say. So, singing kind of grew in me, and that is what I am doing till date.

    But then, going to school, I picked up other ambitions. I remember my first time in the university, I started with a diploma in Law. I wanted psychology, but eventually I found myself doing a diploma in Law. After that, I went back to start my degree programme in English Language.

    Interestingly, I am not doing anything pertaining to Law today. I am a singer and an advocate.  So, along the line, I think we just pick up things; we build capacity in a lot of things. I just found myself developing my knowledge in so many areas in line with development works, talking about the rights of people , especially the constituency that I represent.

    At what point did you decide that this is what you want you do?

    While in the university, I sustained the car accident that affected my spine. I sustained spinal cord injury. That happened on January 7, 2002. I was already in the university. Before then, I had never known the life of someone on a wheelchair. I had never been in close contact with anyone with disability. It was all strange to me. I had to learn to leave my life all over again.

    Were you a very active person before the accident?

    I was very active. I was very active in the church choir and very active in school. I was very sociable too. I would be the first on the dance floor in any party. I was really bubbling with life, and suddenly there was a change. I sustained the spinal cord injury and the doctor said I would have to be on the wheelchair for the rest of my life except there was a miracle. I remember it was a terrible phase for me at that period because, first of all, nobody knew I was going to survive. When I eventually survived it, adapting to my home first and foremost became an issue, because there was a staircase and here I was on a wheelchair. You know wheelchairs and steps don’t go together.

    There were also the bathrooms and so on. My environment was not just fit for the wheelchair. I remember there were lots of modifications that my parents had to carry out–knock off the steps so that my wheel chair could move freely. I had to start using one of the bathrooms in the house that was bigger, so that my chair could go through. I had to learn to put myself on and off the bed. It was not funny.

    After that, I was faced with the challenge of going back to school. Here was I in a school environment that there were staircases everywhere. My lecture hall particularly was even upstairs. Also, I couldn’t go back to church, because I used to be very active in church. In fact, the day the accident happened, I was on my way back home from a choir rehearsal. So, I could not even fit into my environment so to say. My home was modified, but my environment became my greatest challenge.

    I think that woke up something in me. I realised that if I didn’t draw the attention of people to accessibility challenge for persons with disability, they would never know or understand. This is because before it happened to me, I never knew, I never understood and I never bothered. So any opportunity I had… I remember my pastor had to make the church a little bit accessible for me to go in. After about a year plus, I was ready to be reintegrated back to my environment-to school, church and so on.

    Before you were physically reintegrated into the society, you must have fought some psychological battles. How was it?

    When the accident happened, at first when I was on admission at the hospital, I kept telling myself that in the next few days, I would be back on my feet. Three months on admission, nothing was happening. I was still lying down completely. They had to teach me to sit down. When I could sit down, they asked my parents to come with a wheelchair and my dad brought one. I started learning to sit on the wheelchair, to use the wheel chair and to move around the hospital environment. After three months, I was discharged to go home.

    I kept telling myself in the next one, two or three months, I would be back on my feet. One month turned into three months, one year, I just could not understand. The period of me being home, having to recover, a lot of my friends stopped visiting. I had a lot of friends in school. All of a sudden, they stopped visiting. I found that I was all alone most of the time. Friends from church too didn’t have time. So, I would always be home alone with my mum and dad.

    I remember it was so depressing, because I thought I had friends who cared. But all of a sudden, they were nowhere to be found. From morning till afternoon, I was all alone. I remember it was so depressing that I was venting it out on everyone around me. I became very violent and very rude. I would cry at the slightest provocation. I was so depressed to the point that I lost so much weight and my hair started falling off. It was terrible. However, I remember, I call it a reality talk that I had with my elder brother. He said to me, ‘Grace, if you are going to survive this, you need to make up your mind and survive. Nobody else will make up your mind for you. And if you want to rest, maybe you should make up your mind and die peacefully.’

    Because what I was doing was affecting everyone around me. People around me were not happy because I was not happy. Because for the first time after a long while, I had to think and I told myself that I was either going to allow disability define me or I define disability for what it is. That was a turning point in my life, because I made up my mind that I was going to be happy regardless of what had happened. I was going to get over this as quickly as possible, and I was going to use this a s a platform to talk about the challenges affecting people with disability.

    Immediately I did that, I went back to church. Any opportunity I had to hold the microphone, I would tell people that if they had houses that had staircases or public places that had steps, they should tell those in charge to create rams so that people that are physically challenged should fit into the society. So I started using the platform of the church to advocate for people with disability until I had the opportunity of a bigger platform; that was the first ever Miss Wheelchair beauty pageant that was to take place here in Nigeria.

    What they were looking for was a spokeswoman who would advocate for the rights of persons with disability. That was for about 22.2 million Nigerians as at 2010. They wanted a woman that would go round, influence policies, structures until the rights of persons with disability are captured. So, when this platform came, I knew that this would even give the opportunity to advocate on a bigger level for my voice to be heard. And that was it. I seized the opportunity.

    Was it just because you needed a bigger platform or you wanted to also keep yourself occupied?

    For me, it was an opportunity, because the only stage I had was the church. Then here was a national event that would give me a national platform to talk about these issues and it would reach faster. Because I had the boldness to speak, I was like, why not speak out for that woman or for that man, or for this group of people who are not as bold as I am? So, I seized that stage to become the voice for the millions of people with disabilities.

    Tell me about the experience.

    So, we came over to Lagos for the pageant. We had women with disabilities from parts of the country, including the FCT.  We were about 40 women with disabilities who came to contest the position of Miss Wheelchair Nigeria. I remember we were put in a hostel and here I was with 39 other women with disabilities from all over the country, who were very intelligent. It was interesting for me because every one of them had big, articulated dreams to change the cause of people with disabilities. These were women that were professionals, and just listening to each of their stories made me even forget why I was there.

    The main pageant then came. We went through the various stages and we were asked questions on what we would do to change the cause of people with disabilities. To cut the long story short, I emerged the winner and became the first ever Miss Wheelchair Queen here in Nigeria.

    You were picked as one of the YALI young African leaders for a training in the United States where you met President Barack Obama. How was that?

    The United States Department of States gives opportunity to young African leaders who are already change makers in their communities through mentoring, volunteering, and generally created one form of social good or the other. The opportunity is provided every year. It is an initiative of President Obama, and we were placed in top institutes in the United States. We had an intense programme at the University of Virginia. The experience was amazing. I saw firsthand what access means to a person with disability. I stayed in the United States for eight weeks and I did not see the need to ask anyone to assist me to do anything. My room, my environment were all accessible. Nobody was staring at me; I was one with everybody. I couldn’t wait to get back home to begin to talk about it, say it the way it is and push for it. This does not cost much to modify.

    One of the high points of the trip was your meeting with President Obama…

    The music side of me actually gave me that opportunity, which I didn’t even expect.

    How did it come about that out of about 500 young Africans, you were given the honour?

    When I got the call from the White House…

    You were called from the White House?

    We had an opportunity for community engagement and we were going to perform either in songs or in poetry. We were to showcase whatever talent that God gave us. Before I went to the Unites States, I did a song celebrating Nigeria. When I went to the US and there was an opportunity to sing, I decided that I was going to change the Nigeria in the song to Africa since we went there to represent Africa.  I did the song on stage for a small community. It blew the minds of everyone that was there. The song was recorded in video, put on Youtube and in less than 24 hours it had over 100,000 hits. We came together with the people from the presidency on how we could make that even bigger and it would become the official YALI tribute. So, we came together, shot the video in the home of one America’s past presidents, Madison, and it went on Youtube again. That was what attracted the attention of the White House.

    Seven weeks into the programme, we were going to hold the town hall meeting with President Obama, then I got the call. That was at the end of our six weeks programme. The seventh week was for the town hall. That was the week I got the call. The first thing they said was that we’ve heard your song. That was how I knew that it was the song that first caught their attention.

    How did you know it was really the White House?

    I knew it was the White House because the school knew the call was coming and they got me ready. But at that moment, it still came as a surprise. But they already knew. I was the only one that was not in the picture of what was about to happen. That was it. When they called, we were about to move from Virginia to Washington DC and they were ready to take it up from there.

    As soon as we got to Washington DC, one of the ladies that was attached to President Obama from theWhite House and people from the US Department of States rallied round me and made sure I put my speech together. They looked at it and made sure it was okay.

    Did you need any special preparation?

    Of course I was going to introduce the President of the World, so to say. It needed to be good. There were lots of preparations around it. What made it interesting was that they made sure I wrote my speech myself. I would read it to them and they would say okay, this place should be this, what if you put it like this? They would play some of his videos, the things he said, but they made sure they put together my speech and made sure I was very comfortable to deliver my speech and say it naturally.

    On the day of the town hall meeting, before the main event started, I had the opportunity to meet him (Obama) backstage. We had our own little interaction before the main event. He was fun to be with. He was like oh, Gracie!

    He already knew your name?

    He already knew my my name and knew what I was doing back here in Nigeria. He was in the picture of almost everything.

    He had done the back ground check?

    Yes, I was meeting him for the first time and he had already known everything Grace Jerry was doing. He was very nice. He told me, I heard you are the one introducing me today. I can’t wait to hear you do that. He was basically commending my work here in Nigeria. The interaction was centred around my work for persons with disabilities. He wished me well and I left and went up stage to introduce him. That moment for me was difficult to describe but it was just wonderful.  When I think about it, it is like a dream. I was wonderful. I shone on that stage.  I did my introduction and for the first time, the community of persons with disability all over the world felt so much pride. A friend of mine said now inclusion is on the global map, for a person with disability to be on that stage and introduce the strongest man in our world and in our time, it was so much joy for the community.

    Looking back to when you had the accident that changed your life, did you ever think it was a twist of fate that could propel you to this height?

    I am a believer and I hold on to this scripture that says ‘All things work together for good to them that love the Lord and are called according to His purpose.’ That scripture makes sense to me every day that I encounter something in my life. What the enemy meant for evil, God has turned it around for good.

    Sometimes when things happen, and people would say this is bad, this is terrible, I would tell them you just watch it, God is about to use that experience to give something that you have never ever imagined.

    When I had the accident, I thought God had actually left me. I asked, ‘God, what did I do wrong? I have always served you and I have been a believer all my life. Why did you allow this to happen?’ I did not know that what was meant to crush me was what was going to be a stepping stone to bring visibility to the work of disability and to make Grace Jerry a big brand. I use my story to encourage people. I tell them whatever happens and you don’t understand, just trust God. He will take that thing that looks seemingly evil and make something beautiful out of it.

  • Fellowships to continue after Obama

    Whoever wins the November 8 United States (U.S.) presidential election  will not discontinue the Mandela Washington Fellowship (MWF), a programme of the Young African Leadership Initiative (YALI) sponsored by U.S.

    Public Affairs Officer of the U.S. Consulate in Lagos, Ms Darcy Zotter said the leadership and entrepreneurship programme, initiated by President Barack Obama in 2014, enjoys bi-partisan support in the U.S. Congress.

    Zotter  was speaking at the reunion conference of the Mandela Washington Fellows at Colonades Hotel in Ikoyi, Lagos, at the weekend.

    He said Obama’s aim was for the African youth to generate ideas and proffer African solutions to the continent’s challenges.

    She added that the U.S. Mission in Nigeria would support the fellows in accessing grants to fund respective projects.

    She said America believed African youths could bring about changes in the communities, adding that the programme offered a network for Fellows to exchange ideas and energy to tackle local challenges.

    She said: “The main idea behind this programme is the recognition that Africa needs African solutions to its challenges. The U.S. government is providing a solid ground for the network and provides youths with skills, so they can turn to their communities with solutions.

    “This programme has been successful and members of Congress have been so impressed about the achievements of Mandela Washington Fellows. It enjoys bi-partisan support and it will continue to be funded.”

    The U.S. Consul General John Bray remarked that Obama’s intention was to connect youths and enable them access resources and international networks to make them effective leaders in business, government and civil society.