Obama : Saya Memiliki Darah Afrika

(L) President Barack Obama arrives to speak to the Parliament of Ghana in Accra, Ghana, Saturday, July 11, 2009. (Photo from AP Photo)
(R) U.S. President Barack Obama walks the red carpet at an arrival ceremony with Ghana's President John Atta Mills at the Presidential Castle in Accra July 11, 2009. (Photo from Reuters Pictures)

Presiden AS Barack Obama berusaha membangkitkan semangat bangsa-bangsa Afrika dengan menyebut dirinya juga memiliki darah Afrika ketika berpidato di depan para anggota parlemen Ghana, Sabtu (11/7).

"Sebagai presiden Amerika yang berdarah Afrika, saya bangga dengan benua ini. Kekuatan tirani dan korupsi harus dienyahkan jika Afrika ingin memenuhi janji. Ya, Anda bisa," kata Obama merujuk pada slogannya selama kampanye dalam kunjungan pertamanya di Afrika.

Ia pun menyerukan kepada bangsa-bangsa Afrika untuk memanfaatkan peluang demi tercapainya perdamaian, demokrasi dan kemakmuran.

"Tidak ada negara yang akan menciptakan kemakmuran jika para pemimpinnya mengeksploitasi ekonomi untuk memperkaya diri mereka sendiri, atau polisi dapat dibeli oleh penjual obat-obatan terlarang. Tidak ada pengusaha ingin berinvestasi di sebuah tempat dimana pemerintahannya meminta jatah 20 persen atau Otoritas Kepabeanannya korupsi," kata Obama yang berayahkan orang Kenya.

(U) Ghana's President John Atta Mills (L) and Speaker Joyce Bamford Addo (C) listen to US President Barack Obama (R) addressing members of the Ghanaian Parliament at the International Conference Center in Accra, Ghana, on July 11, 2009. US President Barack Obama said in a keynote speech on July 11, 2009 that Africa's leaders must battle corruption and strengthen democracy, but that it is up to Africans to decide their future in the world. (Photo from Getty Images)
(D) A child (L), wearing an Air Force One T-shirt, and another wearing a T-shirt with US President Barack Obama (R) wait for the of the US leader to pass by in Accra, Ghana, on July 11, 2009. The visit marks Obama's first to subsaharan African as president. Huge crowds lined the streets of Accra hoping to catch a glimpse of the first black US president, the son of an African immigrant, after he arrived from the Group of Eight summit in Italy. (Photo from Getty Images)

"Tidak ada orang yang ingin tinggal di sebuah masyarakat dimana hukumnya dapat disuap. Ini bukan demokrasi, itu tirani dan kini saatnya mengakhiri. Afrika tidak memerlukan orang kuat, mereka memerlukan institusi yang kuat," katanya.

Kunjungan Obama selama 21 jam di negara Afrika Barat itu dimaksudkan untuk mengkampanyekan tradisi demokrasi. Kunjungan pertamanya di Afrika itu disebut sebagai "reuni spiritual" oleh para anggota parlemen Ghana.

KOMPAS.com, 11 Juli 2009

(L) US President Barack Obama shakes hands member of parliament Elizabeth Sackey and others after addressing the parliament in Accra on July 11, 2009. Obama said in a keynote speech that Africa's leaders must battle corruption and strengthen democracy, but that it was up to Africans to decide their future in the world. The visit marks Obama's first to subsaharan African as president. Huge crowds lined the streets of Accra hoping to catch a glimpse of the first black US president, the son of an African immigrant, after he arrived from the Group of Eight summit in Italy. (Photo from Getty Images)
(R) US President Barack Obama shakes hands with Ghanian Parliament Speaker Joyce Bamford Addo before addressing the parliament in Accra on July 11, 2009. Obama said in a keynote speech that Africa's leaders must battle corruption and strengthen democracy, but that it was up to Africans to decide their future in the world. The visit marks Obama's first to subsaharan African as president. Huge crowds lined the streets of Accra hoping to catch a glimpse of the first black US president, the son of an African immigrant, after he arrived from the Group of Eight summit in Italy. (Photo from Getty Images)

President Barack Obama, right, first lady Michelle Obama and their daughters Malia and Sasha, second from right, on a tour of the Cape Coast Castle in Cape Coast, Ghana, Saturday, July 11, 2009. (Photo from AP Photo)

US President Barack Obama walks with Ghana President John Atta Mills, right, at the Presidential Palace in Accra, Ghana, Saturday, July 11, 2009. In his first visit to sub-Saharan Africa since taking office, President Barack Obama is seeking to lift up the continent of his ancestors _ while keeping its emotions in check. (Photo from AP Photo)

Africa still on back-burner for Obama

Supporters of U.S. President Barack Obama cheer during a departure ceremony at the airport in Accra, July 11, 2009. (Photo from Reuters Pictures)

"Expectations are quite high because Obama has roots here," said Wafula Okumu, a Kenyan analyst at South Africa's Institute for Security Studies in Johannesburg. "But it's unrealistic to think he's going to open the flood gates of aid or change anything overnight. In fact, we've yet to see any significant change in policy."

Obama told AllAfrica.com that he was "a big believer that Africans are responsible for Africa."

"Part of what's hampered advancement in Africa is that for many years we've made excuses about corruption or poor governance, that this was somehow the consequence of neocolonialism, or the West has been oppressive, or racism," Obama said. "I'm not a believer in excuses."

Source:
Analysis By Todd Pitman (Associated Press West Africa Bureau Chief Todd Pitman has covered the region for more than a decade)
http://www.etaiwannews.com/

President Barack Obama takes the stage as he participates in a departure ceremony at the airport in Accra, Ghana, Saturday, July 11, 2009. (Photo from AP Photo)