Ethiopia Should Welcome
Obama as if He is Her Own Son!
Ghelawdewos
Araia, PhD
July 2, 2015
However
Ethiopia, and by extension Africa, view the Obama
political persona and character, call him prodigal
son or the lost son of Africa, the land of the
origin of humanity should welcome him as if he is
her own son. In the micro sense, Obama is
African-American but in the macro sense and also
in the broader context of the etymology of the
term Ethiopia
(denoting ‘sun-burnt face’), he is Ethiopian.
Therefore, his sojourn to Ethiopia on July 2015,
in fact, evokes the Homeric depiction of Ethiopia,
as land in which the gods enjoy their respective
excursions. Obama, thus, will enjoy his sojourn in
Ethiopia not only with the Ethiopian people but in
the company of the gods as well.
Ethiopia
should welcome Obama not only as her own son, but
she also should baptize him with the sacred waters
of the land and
offer him an adopted Ethiopian name,
preferably Tesfa (hope), because he is the hope
for thousands upon thousands of young Americans,
and more specifically for African Americans. By
default, Obama has become the vital force and
inspiration for black Americans who survive every
single day against all odds in democratic and
prosperous America.
In
March 2008, I wrote a piece entitled “If Barack
Obama becomes the next president of the United
States! A Comparative and International Political
Perspective,” and in that essay, I argued,
“With respect to judgment and intelligence, some
may portray Barack as relatively immature but they
are definitely wrong. Nobody in his right mind
would argue that Obama is one unrivaled genius,
but many, I gather, would agree that he is
intelligent, politically astute, eloquent,
forward-looking persona, and above all
charismatic, all important chemistry of
leadership. What other proof could be furnished
for a vision and judgment other than opposing a
war that has immersed the United States in a
quagmire. In fact, quite clearly Obama’s wisdom
and vision was vividly reflected in his ability to
obviate America’s involvement in Iraq. And one
important and crucial attribute of a leadership is
his ability to see beforehand (by leading) and
disposing off miscalculated actions. The United
States is justified to defend itself after the
9/11 terrorist attack but the perpetrators
originated in Afghanistan and
not in Iraq and Obama does not oppose America’s
initiative to defend itself, but like most
Americans he believes the Iraq war was wrong from
the outset.”
Moreover,
in the same essay, I critically examined the
political personality of Obama as follows:
“There are still others who portray Obama as
liberal and as far left in the continuum. There is
no doubt that Barack is liberal and I don’t see
anything wrong in being liberal especially in a
country that prides itself as champion of
democracy and in fact founded on the ideals of
liberty. …However, despite his liberalism, Obama
does not belong to the far left; he has very well
(and consciously so) positioned himself in the
center. To be sure, Obama would have not come this
far and embraced by a sizable electorate, let
alone become a phenomenon, had he not been in the
center from the outset.”
Now,
that Obama is almost at the end of his second term
and that we have witnessed his leadership style,
we acknowledge that the world knows him very well
and long after he is gone from the White House his
legacy will live on. The Ethiopian officials who
would host Obama should also acknowledge what the
Obama phenomenon is all about and in order to
fathom the latter in some depth, it is important
to explore American politics in the context of
Obama’s presidency.
After
Obama assumed power in 2008, American politics
dramatically altered and it was manifested in the
form of a new social movement such as the Tea
Party that emerged in reaction to a black
president, and soon after new waves of racism were
also unleashed, as if to tell the world that Obama
indeed does not herald a post-racial America.
Obama, of course, happens to be a black president
of the United States but not a president of Black
America.
In
spite of the countervailing forces, however, one
can safely assume that Obama was psychologically
ready to combat the many obstacles and hurdles
that he encountered during the campaign for
presidency in 2008. He was attacked left and right
not only by the far right but also by his own
party members, but he proved to the world that he
can resist bruises, and also practically showed
his supporters that political engagement is an
enterprise fraught with frustration. Once he was
inaugurated as president, he very well understood
that eminence invites criticism and he also
appreciated the moral matrix of legitimate
governance in order to pursue his policies by
accommodating even his political foes without
compromising his principled stances, and by doing
so he successfully maintained the delicate balance
of Washington and global politics.
It
is this kind of Obama that Ethiopia will host at
the end of July 2015, and the Ethiopian
authorities should know better in dealing with the
son of Africa, who, no doubt, would enjoy the
company of fellow Ethiopians, but the latter
should not harbor any illusion that their guest
would compromise American interest in favor of
Africa in general and Ethiopia in particular.
Obama, like his predecessor presidents, would
carry many political cards, one of which is
engraved with “America has no permanent friends
but permanent interests”. It is in light of the
latter maxim that Ethiopian authorities, thus,
must pursue Ethiopian interests as well.
In
order to further digest the political fiber among
the two nations, it is necessary to contrast (not
compare, because they are incomparable) the United
States with Ethiopia. The US is the richest, most
affluent, technologically advanced country in the
world; by contrast, Ethiopia is its polar
opposite; it is poor and has just begun standing
on its feet in the long and arduous march of
development. The US is an exemplar nation in
political culture and the democratic experiment,
while Ethiopia has yet to learn these cultures and
translate them into action; America has New York
City as the headquarters of the United Nations and
Ethiopia has Addis Ababa as the seat of the
African Union (AU). But in terms of longevity of a
nation-state, America is 239 years old while
Ethiopia is an ancient nation that boasts a
continued existence of more than three thousand
years, notwithstanding the pseudo-historians and
Mickey Mouse politicians who claim that Ethiopia
is only a century plus years old.
Despite
the contrasts of the US and Ethiopia discussed
above, Ethiopia remains an indispensable partner
to the United States, not only in the fight
against terrorism (as has been constantly drummed
by the media) but also in regional and continental
politics. The capital of Ethiopia, Addis Ababa, as
mentioned above, is not only the headquarters of
the AU but also the arena of global NGOs,
diplomats, and investors, not to mention the
thousands of tourists who would crisscross the
historical sites in Ethiopia throughout the year.
Ethiopia
also should render a hero’s welcome to Obama and
it is for the following reason: Obama, of course,
is no Emperor Tewodros, an exemplar of highest
altruism and valor; or Emperor Yohannes, another
exemplar of self-sacrifice and uncompromising when
it comes to Ethiopia’s sovereignty and
territorial integrity, or Emperor Menelik,
indefatigable and triumphant over Italian
imperialism, but he is one that follows their
footsteps in a different way and in a different
country. Obama would not exhibit the altruism of
Tewodros, or Yohannes, but like Menelik, he waged
a relentless war against so many obstacles and
hurdles fostered by American politics and he
countered the evils of racism manifested in many
ways. While Menelik physically confronted his
enemies, Obama had to deal with invisible enemies
but he too was triumphant and he deserves a medal
of valor and a hero’s earring similar to what
Empress Taitu put on Menelik’s ear after his
triumphant return from Adwa to Addis Ababa in
1896.
Once
Obama is honored with medal of valor, he should
immediately negotiate business with the Ethiopian
authorities. He should make sure that American
companies invest in Ethiopia and US precocious
technology is widely introduced in that country.
The US is lagging behind China, Korea, Turkey, and
European countries in trade and investment,
although its diplomatic relations, and
subsequently commercial ties, began as far back as
1903. Some American technology like space
telescope has recently been introduced into
Ethiopia, but this technology is inappropriate for
a country that is staggering in its emergence.
What Ethiopia needs now is a combination of
Hewlett Packard, IBM, Apple, Caterpillar, and the
plethora of manufacturing technologies.
Obama
should make sure that Ethiopia transcends ‘the
ally against terrorism’ status and becomes
rather a US partner in the market economy in all
its facets. Revitalizing the US-Ethiopia relations
without the above recommendations, would be
meaningless and a failure in policy.
The Ethiopian American trade relations can
be changed for the better if we are able to
critically examine the current database of their
trade, as for instance, presented by US Census
Bureau. The Bureau reports figures from 1993 to
2015, but for the purpose of this essay, I will
put figures of exports and imports in the last
five years only:
US
trade in goods with Ethiopia: all figures are in
millions US dollars
Exports
Imports
2010
773.2
127.9
2011
689.9
144.9
2012
1,274.9
183.1
2013
688.5
193.6
2014
1,669.0
206.8
2015
346.6
83.6
If
we now read the figures of the above table between
lines, American imports drastically dwindled from
$206.8 million in 2014 to $83.6 million in 2015
and if we analyze
the table as a whole, the US and Ethiopia are
partners in trade, the partnership is not based on
equality. We cannot, of course, blame the US for
such inequity and the latter could be redeemed in
the long run when Ethiopia made a transition to a
manufacturing industry and begins to export more
industrialized goods to the rest of the world.
And
if we follow the US Department of State fact sheet
of June 9, 2015, the US exports to Ethiopia
include aircraft, wheat, machinery etc. and US
imports from Ethiopia include coffee, niger seeds
[sunflower seeds], and apparel. What Ethiopia
exports to the US is simply incomparable to what
it imports from the United States, and as stated
above, unless some kind of redemption is wrought
in due course of time, the unequal partnership of
trade will persist for a long time.
The
Obama official visit to Ethiopia may not solve the
problem of inequity in trade but it could pave the
road to equal partnership for the future. And once
the preconditions for fair trade are set up, the
future would be bright not only for Ethiopia but
for the entire continent of Africa as well.
One
other important thing that must be executed with
respect to trade and investment relations between
the United States and Ethiopia is best reported by
the Dow Jones Business News of June 26, 2015. The
Dow Jones tells us that Congress “cleared an
extension of the African Growth and Opportunity
Act, which is designed to advance the US goal of
expanding trade with Africa while encouraging
democratic governance.” The Dow Jones
anticipates that “Barack Obama is expected to
quickly sign the extension of AGOA, well ahead of
a planned trip to Ethiopia and Kenya in late
July.”
I
have no doubt that Obama will sign the extension
of AGOA, because as the Dow Jones argues, and I
concur, “The renewal of AGOA also means a
10-year extension of a rule, added to the law of
2002 that allows African manufacturers to get
fabrics from outside Africa. Before the rule,
African manufactures could only export textiles or
apparel in the US.”
When
the Ethiopian authorities and the Obama-led US
delegation sit on a round table, everything that
is brought on the table should be crystal clear.
One thing I was unable to fathom and quite
perplexed by is what I read about foreign direct
investment (FDI) reported by the Office of the
United States Trade Representative in the
Executive Office of the President. First and
foremost, the US FDI to Ethiopia in 2012 was 11
million in 2012 and I believe this is very low
compared to other FDI investments from other
countries like China. In order to further
ascertain that China has outpaced the US in FDI
investment in Ethiopia, one could simply make
reference to ‘Chinese FDI in Ethiopia: A World
Bank Survey’ of November 2012. According to this
World Bank report, “Chinese economic cooperation
with Ethiopia has expanded rapidly over the past
decade. In 2011, China was both the largest import
and the largest export trade partner of Ethiopia.
Similarly, China’s investment to Ethiopia has
increased steadily. According to China’s
Ministry of Commerce, FDI from China to Ethiopia
increased from virtually zero in 2004 to an annual
amount of US $58.5 million in 2010 (US $74 million
in 2009). Secondly, the Executive Office of the
President report states, “There is no
information on the distribution of US FDI in
Ethiopia”. I found this quite astounding
because, put otherwise, it means the US FDI
investment in Ethiopia is neither transparent nor
accountable.
Finally,
if time permits and if indeed Obama feels at home
in Ethiopia, I suggest that he visits some
historical sites like Aksum, Gonder, and Lalibela.
In those sites, Obama will be fascinated by the
history and mystique obscurity of Ethiopia; he
would have the opportunity to explore the many
facets of the country; he would fuse the past and
the present by surveying the generic borderland of
the Ethiopian ethos and the unique flavor of
Ethiopian diversity; and above all, he would
sentimentally feel invoking the silent ghosts of
the past and bring them back to life literally
under his foot.
All
Rights Reserved. Copyright © Institute of
Development and Education for Africa (IDEA), 2015.
For constructive and educational feedback, Dr.
Ghelawdewos Araia can be contacted via dr.garaia@africanidea.org
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