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AFRICA TO END TYRANNY AND CORRUPTION AFTER OBAMA SPEECH

July 11 2009

Accra, Ghana – When early man first began to spread outwards from eastern Africa he began to set the scene for the development of the most complex and successful species on the planet. The first human civilizations were founded in the Middle East and provided a staging ground for progress towards Europe, Asia, and the Americas.
Humanity though never forgot its roots and established in Africa some of the most ancient and influential societies the species has yet seen. The Phoenicians, the Nubians, and the Bantu helped to establish much of what we take for granted today.

Even through relatively recent history the success of modern Egypt and the rise of peoples such as the Songhai and Bini showed that Africa could stand on its own with its more successful progeny. For the last few hundred years though things have changed. Subjugation, annexation, slavery, and corruption have conspired to pervert much of that promise. Economic bullying from
the rest of the world and the rise of modern day oligarchs such as Idi Amin and Robert Mugabe has turned a continent with virtually unlimited natural resources and potential into the ghetto of human civilization. That of course was before Barack Obama set foot on African soil and told those corrupt leaders to change their behaviour, most of which are now more than willing to oblige.

“No country is going to create wealth if its leaders exploit the economy to enrich themselves, or if police can be bought off by drug traffickers. No business wants to
invest in a place where the government skims 20 percent off the top, or the head of the Port Authority is corrupt. No person wants to live in a society where the rule of law gives way to the rule of brutality and bribery,” said President Obama in a speech before the Ghanaian Parliament. “That is not democracy that is tyranny, even if occasionally you sprinkle an election in there and now is the time for that style of governance to end. Africa doesn't need strongmen, it needs strong institutions.”

Obama also offered words of encouragement as well as his now patented charm and pleasant nature, something that many analysts believe will win over the entire continent in short order. Early indications are that some of the most egregious have heard the President’s speech and are already taking action to follow his example.

“The President’s words are very inspiring and compelling and have prompted me as well as my staff to reassess the way we have been doing business. He is without a doubt one of the most compelling speakers I have seen before and that fact that he has come all the way to Africa to make such statements speaks volumes to me and the our people, said Teodoro Obiang, ruler of Equatorial Guinea since 1979. “This speech has prompted us to completely alter the way we rule the country. Starting immediately we will offer freedom to the press, discontinue bribery, and halt the oppression of the people of the country. Murder and unexplained disappearances and even cannibalism will halt immediately thanks to President Obama.”

Few expect an overnight change in many countries which are beset by major economic concerns, ethnic strife, and deep-seated corruption despite the best intentions of many of the dictators. Education and health standards also compromise the ability for many countries to install viable democracies.

“There are a lot of problems in Africa that will be extremely difficult to solve. Some of
those issues are so deeply ingrained that they will takes decades and multiple generations to solve. At least now though they have someplace to jump off from. Now they realize the depths of their issues and can start work to resolve them,” said Scrape TV African analyst Claude Contee. “The problems in Africa are deep seated and stretch back through centuries which makes it very difficult for change to happen immediately. The good news is that people like Obiang, Mugabe, or Omar al-Bashir are willing to move towards some kind of resolution and start the process of making Africa a reasonable place to live.”

President Obama is reportedly planning to make speeches in south-east Asia to end the oppressive poverty there, in the Middle-East to end the conflict there, in South America to put an end to drug cartels and child prostitution, and Northern Canada to put an end to deaths from wild animals.   

Emil Uliya, International Correspondent  

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