One Eye on Politics, One Eye on African Development

It's been a while since I last wrote - months, in fact. That's OK - the biggest mistake bloggers make is writing with no endgame, no value to the reader, no arrival point... you get the picture :-) - this wasn't meant to be a diary, no offence to those who make it such. Which is not to suggest that leaving a blog unattended to is a great idea, either. Needless to say, I'm back.

During my self-imposed hiatus, I spent time thinking about what my long-term life goals were. I've always been interested in issues surrounding politics (and perhaps more precisely, policies) of governments, development of so-called 3rd world economies and other sundry international affairs. It goes without saying that my thought train ran in these areas, so I guess you could say that I am interested in making the oft-quoted (read, cliche) "difference". More on that when my political soliloquy is completed.

A lot has been happening in the political arena since my last blog entry on May 7th.
Barack Obama clinched the Democratic nomination; had a whirlwind tour of Europe and the Middle East to "boost his international credentials"; got criticized for being a rock star because 200,000 people showed up to hear him speak in Berlin (perhaps we should have asked the Berliners if they had nothing else to do on a Friday night, lol); selected a Washington insider as his running mate of "change"; had a so-so post-Convention bump in the polls; and now seems to be running away with this election as the US (and indeed, global) economy melts. Busy times in the life of the Kenyan-American.
John McCain selected a Hilary Clinton clone as his VP of "change" and has been slipping in the polls as folks come to grips with his senility, inability to formulate coherent ideas and general fogginess. Nothing else, really - which tells you all you need to know about this man, who has parlayed his Vietnam vet experience into more than he deserves.

Frankly folks, if Obama was a white man, his margin of victory in November would exceed even that of Bill Clinton over Bob Dole in 1996, i.e. a clear-cut victory. However, Mr. Obama is a black man (forget the "mixed" tag - that is no longer valid), and as the election winds down, we will begin to see more overt racist tones from any or all of McCain ("that one"), Sarah Palin (the redneck, hockey mom BS has gone too far, lady) and the Republican base. By playing on the fears of so-called mainstream Americans, I firmly believe that McCain and Palin will carry the day (perhaps by as much as 20-25 electoral college votes). Watch this space.


Canada is also going to the polls (on Tuesday, in fact). It's basically a choice between an non-charismatic Conservative Prime Minister; an even more non-charismatic and frankly, timid, Liberal leader who offers no good ideas; a charismatic but slick and salesman-like New Democratic leader, who will likely bankrupt this country with his multi-billion dollar spending plans and his aversion to Big Oil; a separatist Bloc Quebecois leader who should not even be considered as a future Prime Minister (I doubt he wants to be); and the Green Party, whose platform outside of defending the very flawed Kyoto Protocol and other supposedly pro-environmental issues is virtually non-existent.

I will probably vote for the Conservatives for 3 reasons -

1. They share my opposition to same-sex marriage and will probably bring it back to the table to debate and hopefully cancel it, if they get a majority (unlikely now, with the Canadian economy slowing down).

2. I'm in a tax bracket that is already high enough - I support universal education and healthcare, and I'm in favor of assisting those who through circumstances beyond their control, are destitute, BUT I do not support the use of my considerable tax dollars to fund the very wasteful and frankly, disgraceful, welfare program we have in this country where any Tom, Dick and Harry who has wasted the many opportunities this country has afforded him can eat, drink and be sheltered through my efforts and sweat. No Sir. Until our welfare system is reformed, I will never vote for any government that increases its funding.

3. I work for Big Oil. Enough said.


In Nigeria, we (I know, despite my many utterances, Nigeria is still "home") have a President who has no interest in tackling corruption, diversifying our economy or providing the basic amenities the citizenry of every country should have - security, good roads, electricity and running water. In a country of 140 million people where the power production is equivalent to that produced for about a quarter of the city of Toronto (The city of Toronto's population is under 3 million people, for comparison), those who siphoned billions of dollars worth of contracts have not been brought to book. Instead they receive honorary doctorates, commission "white elephant" (i.e. phony) projects and are acclaimed as elder statesmen/women. Some are even holding political office in this dispensation, and by extension, can be said to be investigating themselves!
To compound matters, this President has health issues (something with his liver and/or kidneys) and probably spends 4 months of every year in a hospital bed, or hooked up to a dialysis machine, which is probably not best for political stability, not with the aggrieved (and rightfully so) people of the Niger Delta agitating for resource control and causing disruptions to the country's oil production, although these militants should be asking why the Niger Delta politicians are probably the most corrupt in the country.
The whole situation beggars belief - meanwhile the wealthy 1% get wealthier and the VERY poor 70% get poorer. Well, as the area boys in Lagos would say, God dey.

Which brings me to the thoughts and ideas that have been floating through my mind for a long time. I've often been the first one, when the discussion comes up among friends, to aver that I have no interest in going back to Nigeria to live and "contribute to the development of the country". This is because most of the time, that simply means "go back and join in the game", which as we all know is Corruption (yes, with a capital C). Some of the biggest crooks and malevolents in Nigerian society are folks who were acclaimed technocrats overseas, but who couldn't resist the temptation of the honey pot when they returned to Nigeria. A few exceptions do exist - the current Managing Director of the World Bank, Dr. Okonjo-Iweala, is a prime example of what all foreign-based technocrats should aspire to - but the majority have been bad apples.
As a result, I still hold on to my views about settling down in Nigeria (not ever), and I thank God everyday that he opened the doors for my family to gain international exposure over the years - from Japan (my Dad) to France (my Mom) to Italy to Canada and the USA - so I truly consider myself a global citizen. However, there will always be a soft spot for Nigeria and the 15 years I spent there.

My interest therefore, is to focus my efforts on global development issues, and in particular, sub-Sarahan African development. The ideas are slowly clarifying in my head, but as someone who has always believed that what Africa really needs are people who can come up with feasible, cost-effective blueprints and designs for innovative systems, while utilizing local labor and materials; I've realized that perhaps it is up to me and like-minded people to serve the motherland in this regard. We've been trained at the best schools in the world, we make a living using these abilities and we can harness them in new and different ways. I probably won't ever have a permanent address in Nigeria or anywhere else in Africa, but I truly believe I can serve the African people better with the implementation of technologies and systems that actually improve their lives - even it's from the comfort of an office suite in downtown Toronto.

The corollary is that this blog will be shifting its priorities from time to time to expand on issues not just related to politics, but global (particularly African) issues which beg our audience.

Quit Now!

So I've been ignoring the US Democratic Party nomination and all other related issues for a long time now, mostly because it degenerated into a mud-slinging, name-calling vitriolic drive on both sides, but especially from the Hill-Bill machine. Also, at those points, it still looked like the result may have been in doubt and I wanted things to look a lot more definite before I took the time off my busy day to expound on the topic.

I think after last night, we have moved into a different phase in the electioneering campaign, and I fully expect that this race will be over by the end of this month. I'm pretty sure Hilary isn't going to concede the nomination to Barack, but I guess we can hope that the superdelegates exert their powers and by deserting her, help to open her eyes to see the reality of the situation. This space therefore presumes that Barack will be the Democratic nominee come November.

There are a few people/issues that must be covered in the wake of this inevitability:

Barack - Some of the luster definitely wore off in the last few weeks, which believe it or not is a good thing. You'd rather hear those critiques now than later...and you handled them (for the most part) like a champ. As long as you aren't cheating on your wife or taxes, it'll be hard for the smear-mongers to come up with new stuff. Of course, this is politics, so I fully expect that statement to be meaningless in a couple of...days :-)

Word of Advice - Next time you are in church and your pastor starts saying stuff that's mildly controversial, feel free to up and leave. God will forgive you...trust me.


Hilary - Well, the ride is almost over. Feels bittersweet, doesn't it? On the one hand, you proved that women have what it takes to be President (of course, the enlightened few of us always knew that), but on the other you showed that being bitchy doesn't pay off. If you had been a nicer, less polarizing person, I do believe you may have been in with a chance.
Ladies everywhere, take note. Guys may "respect" you if you are hard-ass and "bitchy", but when the chips are down, we'll be supporting the "nice" girl...it is what it is.

Word of Advice - Make it official. Quit...NOW


Bill - Ha ha. You honestly thought you would have another stab at your private bordello, this time without the extra burden of being Mr. President? Nice try.

Word of Advice - Get a good divorce lawyer. I think Hilary has no more use for you, plus she needs to repay all that cash she's been lending her campaign.


Jeremiah Wright - Your ignorance, arrogance and stupidity know no bounds. I won't waste much more space on you. If you are a pastor, I'm John the Baptist.

Word of Advice - Shut up already.


Blue-collar workers of America - I guess you continually demonstrate your supposed low IQs by fulfilling the billing the media has given you as Hilary's "base". Everytime you vote for her, that's another vote from a demographic that is tagged "unintelligent", "rednecked", "ignorant" and yes, "racist". If these statements don't describe you, do yourselves a collective favor next time you vote and challenge the norms society expects from you.

Word of Advice - She ain't winnin', not now, not ever. Sorry y'all.


In other news,
The nonsensical furor over the Beijing Olympics seems to have died down. Good, let me enjoy my Olympics in (hopefully) peace. We can discuss human rights after that.

Bahamas in June? Sounds like a plan.

Why do black men and black women (especially in North America) have such a dysfunctional relationship with each other? Are we even on the same wavelengths on several issues, especially when it comes to relationships?

Tibet, China and the Beijing Olympics

This is not something that "affects black people the world over" as the tagline of my blog so eloquently states, but I do feel like commenting on the recent brouhaha over the Beijing Olympics. The issue at hand is whether the so-called West (I hate the arrogance of that term) should boycott the opening ceremonies, or even the entire event, as a statement against China's human rights record, in particular their Tibet record.

It's no secret that the Dalai Lama is one of the most revered figures in the world, and understandable that the world leaders kowtow to him at the slightest tip (not drop) of a hat. In fact, one can call the devotion to him "servile". Since the only being I serve is God, I don't feel the same way towards the old man of Tibet, but I do respect his perseverance in the face of adversity. That being said, I'm disappointed that he could come out with a statement about boycotting any part of the Olympics, while still parading himself as a world leader. I'm disappointed because this simply shows him to be another in a long line of selfish leaders, who only draw attention to themselves, and fail to see the big picture.

What's the big picture, you ask? Let's examine it through the eyes of stakeholders:

Chinese Government and Tibetan politics
Boycotting the games will have NO impact on the Chinese government or their relations with Tibet. If anything, by forcing the hand of the world, the Tibetans are likely to receive even harsher treatment from China in the coming months and years. The only thing the West can do to force China's hand is the imposition of economic sanctions, and the West won't do that for 2 reasons - 1) it will lead to a worsening of the economic conditions in the West, since the cost of goods and services will increase and 2) will only turn China to focus more on the Russian and North Korean markets, something the US (in particular) is very keen to avoid.
What does this mean - these proposed boycotts are merely a tool that the West can say it used, without achieving any specific objective since they don't affect any of the primary stakeholders (other than the athletes).

The West
Added to reasons listed above about why a boycott won't work is the simple fact that all the big blue-chip companies - Apple, Pepsi, Coca-Cola, IBM, Kodak, etc - have already paid mega-bucks for the sponsorship rights to this event. When corporate America sneezes, so does the rest of the world, and I can assure you that no one in the West wants a cold right now :-)
The West is also complaining (trying to make excuses, more like) about how the event has been poorly managed so far, how pollution is going to bother the athletes, how the workers building facilities for the games were treated like crap, how the quality of the infrastructure leaves much to be desired, and so on. The question that should be asked is this - when the IOC was kissing China's ass in 2001 and overlooking the better bid from Toronto (I had to plug my hometown), where were all these concerns? Give me a break - it's not as if we just discovered that China had pollution or human rights issues.

Symbolism of Olympic Games
To me, this was tarnished from the very moment that the decision was made to go to Beijing for the Olympics in 2008. How the Olympics, which preach "egalite and fraternite" (equality and brotherhood) could be auctioned off to the highest bidder, just so that advertising rights to 1.2 billion people could be harnessed, never ceases to amaze me. Essentially, China's fascist, racist and nepotist regime got a pass from the international community to carry on business as usual - no different from the Berlin Olympics in Nazi Germany, really. It is rich, therefore, for this about-face and last-minute questioning of the decision to start.

Athletes
For those wondering why I called the Dalai Lama selfish, this is it. These athletes are the mostly nameless, poor (forget the very few NBA or track superstars who will be there) folks who have been working hard in obscurity for the better part of 4 years, so that they can display their talents to the world FREE of charge. Are we now to tell them that because China's long-running feud with Tibet cannot be solved, they cannot march out wearing their country's colors? That they cannot step out and show us the stuff they are made of, just so that the West will have some moral jubilation? Perhaps if only the end result of such actions actually resulted in Tibet becoming independent, or in China becoming Martin Luther King-like in their adherence to, and belief in, human rights! Unfortunately, another old saying rings true - if wishes were horses, beggars would ride...nay, beggars would be kings.

This reminds me of the 1980 Moscow Olympics - no I wasn't born by then - when the West decided to boycott the Games over the Soviet Union's invasion of Afghanistan. Other than the damage done to the careers of many of those athletes, it probably wasn't funny to these same athletes when Afghanistan (the 'victim' in this case) sent 11 athletes to the event!
The Olympics are meant to make the world forget about the nonsense that happens on a daily basis. Politics and the games world leaders (including the Dalai Lama) play have no business with it. Let the athletes, many of whom have their one and only chance to shine, have the spotlight (even among the myriad Coca-Cola and JVC signs) and make us forget the world's troubles for once.

Of Zimbabwe and Human-Animal Embryos

Where to begin?
Thankfully, no new news to report from the US Presidential race, which is getting into that stage where it resembles an over-hyped movie that starts out amazingly well, then slips into a few doldrums, before coming up with a fantastic finish...as you may have guessed, we are well into the doldrums.

News out of Zimbabwe suggests that Robert Mugabe, who has been in power since 1980 (when Zimbabwe gained independence from Britain), is desperately seeking ways to usurp the election results from last weekend, and foist himself on his people for several more years. In fact, he has told the opposition that until he dies, no one else will be President of the country. Imagine that!
If I were the opposition, I'd begin to figure out the best way to send the old man to meet his maker...it's not like he isn't old enough to do so...
Of course, Senile Bob (my new nickname for him) would have been better off taking lessons from his counterpart in Nigeria, who didn't even bother trying to manipulate actual results, but simply recorded his purported voting numbers on the computer and presented them to the world. Who after all, can argue with a computer-generated result in this day and age?

On a more serious note, when will so-called African "freedom fighters" like Senile Bob and others of his ilk, realize that they only do themselves (and their legacy) harm with such despotic and barbaric behaviors? It's the same type of thing that brought down Kwame Nkrumah of Ghana, Winnie Mandela of South Africa, Sekou Toure of Guinea, Houphet Boigny of the Ivory Coast, Yahya Jammeh of the Gambia and several others. I don't know what it is about our leaders that convinces them that they are indispensable, messianic and all-powerful, but it's got to stop, otherwise we will be no better off than when the colonials were in power. At least then, we knew what we were dealing with.

That being said, I do question the manner in which the Western media has portrayed Senile Bob. It seems the recent Western (and in particular, British) noticing and sub-policing of Zimbabwean events only started when Senile Bob removed the white landowners from their farms and handed them over to the black population. This is a move I agreed with in principle, if not in practice, but ever since then, the Western media has portrayed Mugabe as Hitler's second coming. It's situations like this that prevent one from being sympathetic to a white minority.

In other serious news, researchers in the UK claim to have fused the first human-animal embryo. Apparently, it is for test reasons, but if we needed a clear sign that the world was coming to an end (and soon), I think we just got it....I mean, who THINKS of such a thing??? More on that (and the whole cloning issue) in a future piece.

Was She, or Wasn't She...and matters from/of the heart

If you believed Hillary Clinton before this week, she appeared to have been a miraculous sort of First Lady. You know, the kind that dreams up exotic health care programs, reforms medicare, negotiates free-trade agreements and best of all, goes into a war-torn country and dodges bullets and grenades to get to her car from a helicopter. Sounds like Wonder Woman, doesn't it? Except it isn't true...none of it.

Based on transcripts belatedly released last week, after much pressure from the Obama camp (and strangely, none from the media), it has been shown that she exaggerated her role in several of the so-called policy decisions of the Clinton Presidency. Now, I'm by no means suggesting that First Ladies do not influence the decisions of their husbands, but at the same time, I'm pretty sure no first lady has done any of the things listed above. My issue with this whole matter has been the role of the press, which "appeared" to believe her stories without cross-checking their facts. After all, weren't CNN, Fox etc. on air in the mid to late 90s? Surely, we shouldn't have to rely on her private documents to reveal that this is one demagogue who will say anything to get elected!

It may sound twisted, but I'm actually hoping Hillary wins that Democratic nomination, so that she can go up against McCain in November. That, my friends, promises to be a spectacular event...if you are a Republican, and absolutely catastrophic...if you are a Democrat. If, like me, you want to see the better person and candidate succeed, it will be the perfect result because the Hill-Bill machine shouldn't be let near the White House. Perhaps, now that we know that Hillary wasn't really part of the machine, we should come up with a new name for it.....nope, I like Hill-Bill and Hill-Bill it is. Mostly because it leads into a more appropriate word - hillbillies :-)

In other matters, The National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) Convention was held in Orlando last week. It's always a great inspiration to see young black men and women who are excelling in their studies or professional fields, and I wish more mention was made of such positive events, rather than the focus on the negative that seems to stymie the progress of black persons the world over. Think about it, when was the last time you heard about Africa without hearing about wars and conflict, or about black America without hearing about violence and instability, or even about black Canada without hearing about gun crimes and teenage mothers? Yet, over 9,500 black engineers and engineers-to-be gathered in Orlando, and not one peep was heard. Of course, I'm not advocating that every small achievement of black folks be highlighted, because that would ultimately defeat the purpose...but a bit of balanced coverage (or no coverage at all, good or bad) wouldn't hurt.
Just my own 2 cents.

P.S. - The Black Conservative is in love...and the lucky lady doesn't even know who she is! More on that later, perhaps.

An important speech on race relations

Yes, Sir. I was proud to hear Barack deliver that profoundly refreshing speech last night. It may not win him the election - it may even lose it for him - but I thought to myself, "this is one man of integrity". I disagree with his Pastor's brand of God's message because it strikes me as the overly venegeful, vitriolic type that hasn't moved black people forward and if anything, has only earned the resentment of white people, but I felt Obama struck the right tone in his speech. Even if he loses, he should hold his head high and move on.

For those wondering why he disowned the Pastor's comments, but not the man himself, they should ask themselves this question - when Clinton stood by her husband in 1998 and disowned his actions but not his person, was she accepting adultery as a fact or approving of it? If the answer is no, then neither should Obama's non-distancing be equated with approval and support for Rev. Wright's ill-advised comments. I was also happy to hear Obama speak boldly about his faith, since it seems in this day and age, most Democrats have abandoned God, or only mention Him in passing when canvassing votes in the red states. Then again, there's got to be a proportional relationship between supporting the right to choose and not believing in God.

Dick Cheney, who is Obama's VERY distant cousin, apparently thinks the speech was "important". When a racist old foggy like Dick, who clearly doesn't like blacks yet refuses to criticize his lesbian daughter (I digress), approves of a speech by a progressive black man - cousin or not - it really must be important.

At the end of the day, Obama's speech echoed most of what I've parroted on this space. Affirmative action and other such pro-black moves are only alienating our people from the mainstream. I could care less about how the white man feels, but until African-Americans stop seeing things as black/white and demanding proportional share instead of working for it, they will continue to have to deal with issues of credibility when facing a mixed multitude who believe that everything any black man has achieved is as a result of AA, and so should be grateful to the white majority instead of complaining.
A word is enough for the wise.


We'll keep watching further developments...

Making NON-Sense of the Hillary Apology

There was a song by Jacksoul a few years ago with one particularly poignant line - "I swear the woman was crazy". Obviously Jacksoul, with all his unrequited love, was not talking about the Democratic Party nomination race, but he may well have been. Yes, he may well have been referring to the lady known as Hillary.

Apparently, she met with about 200 African-Americans yesterday, and on a whiteboard posted several notes expressing how sorry she was about her campaign's use of race to define this election. There are several things that bother me about this about-face, and which lead me to question its sincerity.

Firstly, why now? Why not at the time it happened in South Carolina, in Mississippi and in Ohio? If she had those strong, decisive traits she would have us believe she does, why did she wait?

Secondly, why did she have to write several apology notes on the board? Does she think there's a proportionality constant between the number of notes she writes and the sincerity of her apology? If so, she must be well and truly off her rocker, and Americans would be cautioned to take note.

Thirdly, why did it take 2 days for Geraldine Ferraro to resign from the campaign? Why wasn't she let go immediately she made those inflammatory comments by the Hill-Bill machine? In fact, Hillary came out to defend Ferraro's right to free speech.

The whole apology smacks of the same two-bit attitude the Hill-Bill machine has constantly demonstrated towards black voters - assuming them, insulting their intelligence and ultimately providing no real sense of belonging for what remains the most underserved group in the United States. I only hope those people came out, ate Hill-Bill's food, drank Hill-Bill's water and went away convinced more than ever that she should not be their President.

Jacksoul may still find it in his heart to believe in love, but in this particular crazy woman's case, I've lost any shred of respect I had for Hillary.