Obama’s audacity of hope and lessons for Africa

After two primaries, Obama has won 16 delegates compared to Senator Clinton’s 9. The results of the New Hampshire primary have demonstrated the resilience of Obama and underlying the hype following the elections is the undeniable fact that Clinton and Obama ended up in New Hampshire with the same number of delegates i.e. 9 each making it a draw.
Even if Obama may not make it as the candidate, the politics of America will never be the same.

What Obama represents to America and to all global citizens who are trapped in seemingly hopeless situations is already evident in the courage and determination of the marginalised to invest in meaningful change politics.
When Barack Obama stepped up to the podium at the 2004 Democratic National Convention, few in the world let alone outside his home state knew anything about him. His place in American history is not only secure but inspirational. His message is so basic and compelling. It captures the imagination of anyone who cares about life and the importance of positive activism.
Obama has entered national politics at a defining moment in American history when the names of both the incumbent President and his deputy are not on the ballot box. Accordingly, a new President will definitely be in the White House next year.
Even Americans are looking for change at a time when the future of the world is so insecure and uncertain. What kind of change will deliver the promise is the question that Americans will have to answer. However, if for instance, Obama was a Zimbabwean; his presence on the political scene would have been classified as subversive and counter-revolutionary.
What makes America unique is the mere fact that the unlikely can happen and citizens can express their political choices without any fear that the state machinery can be used against them.

Contemporary Africa was born from the womb of colonial oppression characterised by an atmosphere not any different from what gave rise to the civil rights movement in America.
Obama has been described as the iPhone of American politics. He is a phenomenon and a rare political brand representing the best in humanity. His book, The Audacity of Hope, is a must read for political practitioners seeking to help shape the future and provides an intellectual foundation for any campaign that is targeted at direct citizen participation.
The importance of a kind of “absolute” conviction to produce important change cannot be overstated when a nation is at the crossroads of history and choices on direction have to be made. The hard and cold facts of Africa remind us that only idealists in the mould of Obama who recognise that it is important for a generation trapped in the politics of yesterday to concede nothing without a fight.

Many of us have resigned to accept that the responsibility for shaping the destiny of Africa is not ours and yet we naively believe that someone remotely connected to us will invest in the change that we want to see. We often retreat into the comfort zone where it is easy to pontificate and leave the deliberation of constitutional and foundational principles of our emerging democracies as the luxury of the powerful.

We rarely see primary engines of economic progress i.e. businesspersons having the courage to say what they think and invariably the marketplace of ideas that inform change is often populated by people described as extremists, cranks, agitators, saboteurs, and the unreasonable.

The kind of philosophical openness and self-reflexivity offered by Obama provides an excellent role model for Africans who have become prisoners in their own post colonial democratic construction that is characterised by fear and not hope.

Obama has demonstrated that in hope lies opportunities for change. No matter how difficult the moment is and how uncertain the future is there is hope in humanity. Yes, hope is audacious and in the final analysis it is the greatest gift that God has given to mankind and should form the foundation of Africa’s democratic order.

Although Africans in the majority subscribe to the republican political ideology, life, liberty and pursuit of happiness are luxuries that citizens trapped in dictatorships of various forms are denied. Notwithstanding, even some of the most brutal of African dictators still have a residual commitment to democratic values in so far as allowing citizens to vote.

Yes, we have seen citizens triumph using the power of the vote. Even the improbable has in some African countries become possible. In such environments, hope can form the basis of energising the majority to invest in the change that they believe in. Ultimately hope is a belief in things not seen.

Even those who doubt Obama’s chances to become the first person of colour as the President of the USA would agree that he has energised Americans to believe once again that there are better days ahead.

Having written a lot on Zimbabwean issues, I believe that better days lie ahead and the present cannot be the order of the day. With less than 90 days to elections, Zimbabweans have no time to waste if they are to reclaim their future. Zimbabweans have a righteous wind at their back and cannot afford to leave their future in the hands of third parties.

Zimbabwe is at the crossroads and right choices have to be made if the challenges that the country faces are to be met. Democrats have Obama to lead the charge and it cannot be said that President Mugabe offers the change that Zimbabweans believe in.

It is not too late to identify an Obama for Zimbabwe and I have no doubt that many exist but who is the one. Could Simba Makoni be the one? Would he have the Obama courage? Could you be the one? Only time will tell but we have work to do to convince the Zimbabwean Obama that he is not alone and we are willing to walk the talk.