Obama's Visit: The Good, the Bad, the Ugly

By Solomon Davids

The much-heralded visit by the President Barack Obama has at long last taken place and Ghanaians are now faced with the realities of day-to-day activities of life.

However, the visit cannot go without a look at its dimensional ramifications to the nation and ordinary Ghanaians, as they are called.

It is no gainsaying that the nation has benefited and will continue to benefit from the visit, which drew the attention of the whole world on Ghana.

Ghana became a focal point of the world’s attention when President Obama, considered the most powerful man on earth, paid a sp-called two-day visit to Ghana, the first in Sub-Sahara Africa by the first black President of America.

The respect that Ghana gained from the international community cannot be estimated and the economic benefits are there for all to see. It added credence to the belief that Ghana is the beacon of democracy and rule of law in Africa. Democracy is taking firm roots in the country as against the numerous trouble spots scattered across the continent. As President Obama explained, one of the main reasons he visited the country, instead of Kenya where he was born, was the nation’s democratic practices and peaceful conduct of elections over the years (Ghana has successfully run five elections and witnessed two transfer of power from an incumbent administration to an opposition party). There is no doubt that the respect gained would be with the citizens for years to come.

The presence of Obama brought about some promises and commitments towards fighting poverty in the country and on the continent as a whole. The 163 billion dollars to fight malaria across the continent would definitely affect the many people, especially the under-privileged in society.

Some hoteliers and vendors of the Obama T’ shirts and cloth would testify that they made some money from the bookings and sales made during the short period. The visit has also added a boost to investment, as it has sent a message to the world that Ghana is a good investment destination.

On the other hand, the visit would go down as one of the most annoying one for people who had to lose a lot in business opportunities due to the blocking of certain routes to vehicular and pedestrian use. To some of the people who operate in those areas, the blockade caused them a lot of loss. Some of the roads that were blocked were apparently in no way connected to the visit or were not used at all by Presidents Obama and Mills. To those who expected to hear promises of money and other goodies from Obama, the visit did not meet their expectations. More disappointed were those who positioned themselves at various locations to catch a glimpse of the charismatic leader. He failed to meet their expectations. For instance, upon arrival, he spent just a few minutes at the Airport and went into ‘the beats’ (his official vehicle airlifted to the country purposely for the visit) and went away to the disappointment of those had lined up along the road. Many had wished they could be part of history by seeing the first black American President but failed due to arrangements made. In Cape Coast, some people stood in the scorching sun for hours without having a glimpse of him. There were also reports of some chiefs waiting in vain to present some gifts to him; but as it turned out, he never turned up.

SPEECH

That President Obama is a very good orator is no understatement as he demonstrated his finesse in the area with memorable words that would continue to reverberate in the minds of the good people of Ghana for some years to come.

Rather than only remember him as a very good orator, Ghanaians needs to reflect on some of his words as guidance in all they do. His words were more of an advice than entertainment, as some people perceive such speeches. He said, “Opportunities can only come through decisions we take and the way we do things.” This appears to be the salient point and the summary all he had to say to Ghanaians. No one from any part of the planet would change our circumstances if we do not take the right decisions and do the right things. The problem of wrong attitude towards national assets and affairs has been with us over the years and seems to be worsening. Whilst we continue to do things anyhow expecting everything to be all right, we look on as they deteriorate. From the top most to the lowest, we have failed the country and the next generation with our wrong decisions and ways of doing things. Selfishness, greed, neglect and lackadaisical attitude to work or national affairs has been the order of the day. We deliberately slow processes at our workplaces in order to induce bribes and tips; we dump rubbish anywhere; we go to work late and expect to be paid the same salaries and even more. It is very sad that we still haven’t realized that our various deeds and misdeeds at our small workplaces and in our little corners add up to make or unmake the nation. We do not value our clients; we talk to them anyhow and when they stop coming to us, we complain of being business not being good; some of us even go to the extent of blaming the devil for that. Customer care, especially in the public sector is very disheartening. Customers are selectively catered for well depending on how they look and what they give in tips and bribes. Service providers take years to respond to complaints and insistence on the right thing being done ends up in ˜punishment’ to the ˜too known’ client. Patients are left to die out of neglect, whilst hospital facilities deteriorate without attention. We breed mosquitoes in our gutters only to go to the West looking for money to fight malaria. We build along watercourses and choke our gutters, only to cry out for help from government when the floods come in. As some one observed, “Even if all the wealth of America is given to Ghana, we shall continue to be in the same conditions with our ways of doing things.

After Kwame Nkrumah we are yet to have a leader who truly believes in the Ghanaian’s ability to handle their own affairs. Everything must come from the World Bank or the International Monetary Fund (IMF) or donors. We accept anything they tell us and give away our strategic assets to them for a pittance or re-payable loans. “YES WE CAN;” but only when we change our attitude towards doing things. In our own small ways, we need to start the process of change; it is not the government which will bring the change, every Ghanaian is part of the process of change and that is what is encapsulated in the cliché “YES WE CAN.”

MEDIA COVERAGE AND US SUPERIORITY

Media coverage of the event was very poor and perhaps the poorest of all the visits of US Presidents to Ghana in recent times. The American hijacked the event and once again made it clear that they are superior to any other country in the world. They dictated the pace and simply put made our system “useless.” As Mrs. Zita Okaikoi spoke on radio about reportage, it became clear to the public that Ghanaian authorities were pushed to the background and made to follow the “shadows of the masters.” Yes, security matters cannot be compromised but things were overdone and some Ghanaians felt it was wrong for the whole thing to be “hijacked” in our own land.

Media coverage was rationed like food for refugees; whilst some media houses covered only the arrival, which was very short, others covered only the departure. Those who handled the departure were the ones most pitied. It was like telling Ghanaians how the couple, Barack and Michelle Obama, looked like from behind. This was due to the security measures in place. Some reporters decided to boycott the whole thing because of the insignificance of the ‘portion’ given to them. This added to the disappointment of Ghanaians. The impasse between Metro TV and Ghana Television (GTV) over low quality of pictures did not help matters at all.

The visit was historic and would continue to bring enormous benefits to the country for years to come; but, until Ghanaians begin to appreciate the fact that we hold the key to our own prosperity through, as Obama put it, “decisions we take and the way we do things,” we shall continue to live in the colonial mentality and illusion that our success can only come from the West. The time to change things is now and the persons to bring about the change are Ghanaians; YES WE CAN.

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