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INSIDE AFRICA
Obama in Ghana
Aired July 11, 2009 - 19:30:00 ET
THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
JIM CLANCY, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone and welcome to a special edition of my favorite program INSIDE AFRICA. I'm Jim Clancy in for Isha Sesay. The program this week, Obama in Ghana. The future of Africa is in the hand of Africans. The U.S. president challenging young people all across the continent on his first visit to sub-Saharan Africa. We're going to have highlights from a major policy in speech, and Nkepile Mabuse sits down with former Ghanaian President John Kufuor. Let's get started, though. Nkepile is there in Ghana. She joins us alive via broadband, from Accra. How did the speech go over? What was the reaction?
NKEPILE MABUSE, CNN CORRESPONDENT: The reaction was very good. We actually, Jim, we're in a place in like a semi-restaurant sort of place, with a small little tiny TV screen, but there must have been a hundred people there just holding on to every single word that President Barack Obama spoke. It was received very well here in Ghana.
Of course, President Obama had a lot of praise for this country. Of course, he chose Ghana because of its record of good governance and things like that. But the crux of President Obama's speech was really about responsibility. He spoke about mutual responsibility, which rich nations - - rich nations can do to help uplift Africa, but he focused more on what Africans can do for themselves, saying Africa's future is up to Africans.
Now, let's just take a listen to part of that speech that President Obama made to the parliament of Ghana, but he was really speaking to the whole continent.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: We must start from the simple premise that Africa's future is up to Africans. I say this knowing full well the tragic past that has sometimes haunted this part of the world. After all, I have the blood of Africa within me. And my family -- my family's own story encompasses both the tragedies and triumphs of the larger African story.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
MABUSE: President Obama also spoke about excuses that have repeatedly been made here on the continent. He said it's all very easy to blame colonialism for Africa's current state of affairs, but he said Africa must now take responsibility.
He mentioned Zimbabwe, say, what has happened in that country has got absolutely nothing to do with colonialism. He mentioned patronage, tribalism and corruption as part of some of the scourges that have really derailed progress on this continent, Jim.
CLANCY: Nkepile, no doubt, President Barack Obama has a league of supporters across the African continent. But did people really listen to this? Do you think it will really have an effect?
MABUSE: Well, whether it will have an effect or not, Jim, we'll have to wait and see. But what we know here for sure covering this continent, is that in the past, those leaders who have resisted reform, who have resisted democracy, who have held on to power by any means possible, have always reacted negatively towards criticism from the West, because it would come from, for example, former President Bush, or from Tony Blair, the former prime minister. And they would just turn around, brush that criticism aside and say, you know, they -- labeled them as racists or colonizers.
But President Obama's here using his own personal story. He's somebody that the continent regards as one of their own. So they cannot turn around, it's not going to be so easy to just brush his criticism aside. But we'll have to wait and see if action does take place on the continent following the speech, Jim.
CLANCY: OK. Some important analysts there, something to keep in mind, what is different about President Barack Obama's message to Africa. Thanks, Nkepile.
Now, as we mentioned, President Obama's address to the Ghanaian parliament was billed as a major policy speech, and we're going to have some of the key highlights. We're also going to hear an opposing viewpoint. Stay with INSIDE AFRICA.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CLANCY: Welcome back again to this special edition of INSIDE AFRICA. Obama in Ghana. The U.S. president highlighting four main themes in that speech to the Ghanaian parliament. Democracy, opportunity, health and conflict resolution . The prosperity is what Africa wants. Real democracy, he said, is the best way to achieve it.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: Here in Ghana, you show us a face of Africa that is too often overlooked by world that sees only tragedy or a need for charity. The people of Ghana have worked hard to put democracy on a firmer footing, with repeated peaceful transfers of power, even in the wake of closely contested elections. And by the way, can I say that for that, the minority deserves as much credit as the majority.
And with improved governance and an emerging civil society, Ghana's economy is showing impressive rates of growth.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CLANCY: You know, one of the points that stood out for me -- the U.S. president couldn't have been clearer on this either. Stop blaming the past and start building solid institutions. He chided African leaders that fake democracy and corruption were the real roadblocks.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: No country is going to create wealth if its leaders exploit the economy to enrich themselves. Or the police -- if police can be bought off by drug traffickers. No business -- 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 leave in a society where the rule of law gives way to the rule of brutality and bribery. That is not democracy, that is tyranny. Even if occasionally you sprinkle an election in that. And now is the time for that style of governance to end.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CLANCY: Now, a lot of the message, as you heard there, directed at the lawmakers, directed at the leaders. But really, Obama was talking to young people across the continent. It was a trademark message of hope and determination.
(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
OBAMA: You have the power to hold your leaders accountable and to build institutions that serve the people. You can serve in your communities and harness your energy and education to create new wealth and build new connections to the world. You can conquer disease and end conflict, and make change from the bottom up. You can do that. Yes, you can.
Because in this moment, history is on the move. But these things can only be done if all of you take responsibility for your future. And it won't be easy. It will take time and effort. There will be suffering and setbacks, but I can promise you this -- America will be with you every step of the way, as a partner, as a friend.
(END VIDEO CLIP)
CLANCY: Well, as noted, and as you heard there, and as we all expected that it was a message of hope that yes, you can. But did the speech really match the realities on the ground? Does the prose in the president's speech match U.S. policies? Gerald Lemelle, who is the executive director of Africa Action, a group dedicated to shaping U.S. foreign policy toward Africa. He joins us now from Washington. Gerald, what did you think? A match or not?
GERALD LEMELLE, AFRICA ACTION: Well, it was a very good speech, and it's a very important speech, and a lot of it rings true. However, there is a glaring omission. And the glaring omission is really the big elephant in the room in Africa, and that is the now billions of dollars that we are spending in a militarized foreign policy towards Africa.
He -- the president very briefly mentioned AFRICOM. Yet in his budget proposal for 2010, he's asking to double the size of AFRICOM, with additional personal and equipment. And really, I'm not surprised he went very quickly through AFRICOM, because it is not popular on the continent, and there has never been a sincere effort to explain exactly how African people are going to benefit from the militarized policy. And the president ...
CLANCY: Give us an example of that. What are you talking about?
LEMELLE: Well, you know, when you look at the fact that in 2001, we spent $10 million on military supplies in Africa. Right now we're over -- it's close to $2 billion. The fact that we are now providing weapons financing for militaries across the continent, including ones like Chad and Ethiopia, that are well known to have very, very repressive governments that use their militaries to conduct that repression. We now have training programs in places like Equatorial Guinea, that have abysmal human rights records. And ...
CLANCY: can that military presence, and I've seen some of these -- these operations work. They do aim to train people in human rights and other things, militaries. Does some of that have to take place, or you're saying that that's absolutely not what's taking place?
LEMELLE: Well, take, for example, the recent U.S.-supported incursion by the Ethiopians into Somalia.
CLANCY: No, just a -- they were used as a proxy army against the Islamists that are feared to have links with al Qaeda.
(CROSSTALK)
LEMELLE: ... now appealing to -- to be part of the new transitional federal government, because they were more moderate than we first let everybody to believe.
CLANCY: Some of them, at least.
LEMELLE: The fact of the matter is, the Ethiopian military committed a number of human rights violations, and every time we press the U.S. government to say something about it, the answer was, we're not going to push our friends.
The recent AFRICOM foray with the Ugandan army chasing after Joseph Kony and the LRA in Uganda resulted in the same thing. The questions about U.S. -- Ugandan military conduct was met with "We're not going to push our friends."
Everybody across the continent sees this. So what -- you know, how are they expected to believe that really, the ultimate goals are human rights and democracy? We're supporting a propping up of dictators, and we have not explained how our support and training of militaries in these dictatorial countries is in fact going to ultimately benefit the people.
CLANCY: Gerald Lemelle, I want to thank you very much for being with us. An important point, what perhaps was not in that speech and how at some point the administration is going to have to reconcile the pros that we heard with the policies on the ground. Thank you.
LEMELLE: Thank you for having me, Jim.
CLANCY: Well, we want to take a look now at some of the pictures. You know, this trip made history, because one of the locations, and this is one of the reasons why Ghana was picked -- you're looking at the Cape Coast Castle here. You just saw Barack Obama as he went in there. This was the final shipping point, if you will, for tens upon tens of thousands of slaves on the way to the Americas -- South America -- the Caribbean as well as what is now the United States. It's going to be a somber moment.
Whatever was said today, was said in Ghana, and that nation was thrust into the spotlight. Former Ghanaian President John Kufuor talks with us about what his country hopes to gain from all of this attention, coming up.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CLANCY: We're back with a special edition of INSIDE AFRICA. You know, it's no secret, the U.S. president made Ghana his destination really in a show of respect for the democratic institutions that that nation has built. Former Ghanaian President John Kufuor gets some of the credit for that, to be sure. Earlier this year, he passed the baton to John Atta Mills in a peaceful transfer of power between two rival parties. Nkepile Mabuse asked the former president how Ghana hopes to benefit from Barack Obama's visit.
(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)
JOHN KUFUOR, FORMER GHANAIAN PRESIDENT: Right now, we feel we're at the center of the world. And this would send messages all over the world to investors, to tourists -- especially people of African descent, wherever they are. They want to come, and especially our African-American brothers. This perhaps would seal the fact that Ghana is a true Mecca for them if they want to come back to their roots. They will all converge here, so the benefits would be many. The visit by the American president extolling Ghana for good governance, for peace and stability should encourage investors to come and look.
MABUSE: What kind of message, do you think, this will send to the rest of the continent?
KUFUOR: If you've studied the history of our part of the world, I believe there has been some rapid change in terms of governance over just within the past two decades. So, the direction is already there, but for the president coming here, on this day expressed belief to urge other countries to go in this direction. I believe his visit would hasten the direction, the move, the trend.
MABUSE: He's going to outline his Africa policy to the whole continent.
KUFUOR: Yes.
MABUSE: What are your expectations?
KUFUOR: I would expect a lot of empathy, as (inaudible) African to -- not only American, African.
MABUSE: Empathy in dollars, or ...
KUFUOR: No, no, no. Empathy from the policy. You're talking policy. Yes, if it would follow up with dollars, why not?
MABUSE: Do you think people have come to understand that he is an American president who is serving American interests? Do you think that those expectations have died down?
KUFUOR: I believe -- I believe people understand. So we know he is president of America, and rightly so. But the blood link, I'm sure, would exercise some weight in his decisions or in his policies, and it should be natural.
President Obama has taken office, and he's barely six months, at times when the United States is in dire straits. And so I would not put him to the strict test in terms of coming to give material support. I believe as his economy improves, he would prove himself reliable for whatever promises, but the gift, above all, that he is bringing and which might be unique to him, the fact that he is of African descent, and as I said, he's coming to help liberate us psychologically. That gift, perhaps only thing he can do.
(END VIDEOTAPE)
CLANCY: John Kufuor, former Ghanaian president, talking with Nkepile Mabuse.
President Obama inviting Africans, all of you all over the continent, to contact him by way of new media. He's going to -- we're going to show you how. Tell him what you think of his appearance.
(COMMERCIAL BREAK)
CLANCY: You're with a special edition of INSIDE AFRICA. You know, President Obama's speech today was inside of the Ghanaian parliament, not outside, to crowd, to the public. That may have been a deliberate decision, and for the best. In 1998, if you remember, former U.S. President Bill Clinton addressing a wildly enthusiastic crowd there, and the charged atmosphere became indeed dangerous. At one point Mr. Clinton had to admonish the crowd to get back. A woman was nearly trampled in all the enthusiasm.
Well, this time around, the White House offered a safer way to reach out to the U.S. president. You can still do it by way of text message, Twitter or FaceBook. The White House director of new media, Macon Phillips, explains how it works.
MACON PHILLIPS, WHITE HOUE DIRECTOR OF NEW MEDIA: I think that it's fairly clear to everyone that there is just an enormous amount of excitement, enthusiasm about the president's trip to Africa, and what we tried to do as we were planning his trip is think of ways that we can engage with everyone both within Ghana and across the continent, and the text messaging program is just one of those ways to really make his speech and his visit more accessible, and give people a way to engage.
CLANCY: You have been working, so the people would be able to ask him questions using SMS messages. So Africans can weigh in, and he's actually going to see those, he's actually going to respond?
PHILLIPS: That's right. We've received thousands of messages, so he won't be able to respond to everyone. I think over 64 countries are represented. And what we've done is work with journalists, three journalists, actually, one from Kenya, one from Senegal, and one from South Africa who selected some of the most representative questions. The president is going to answer those, and will make that available to radio stations, on our Web site, and people in Africa will be able to hear that on Monday.
CLANCY: But what Web site do they go to there at the White House?
PHILLIPS: WhiteHouse.gov will definitely have the content next week, and I think it will be fairly well published on radio stations across the continent.
CLANCY: Now, people can also, even though the deadline has already passed to be submitting questions, they can comment about the speech, about what he had to say. And there's a chance that the president will at least hear about what people are saying.
PHILLIPS: That's right. We're really looking forward to hearing people's reactions to a speech, and they can send a text message into these codes that I sent you earlier. By -- if they have Internet connection, they can also use Twitter. We have a hash tag called Obamaghana. We have a Facebook page, Facebook.com/whitehouse. And we're looking forward to hearing from people in a variety of different ways about what they think of the president's visit and his speech.
CLANCY: All right, there's your chance. Grab a pen, these are some of the texting codes again in Ghana. The number would be 1731, in Kenya 5683, in Nigeria, 32969, South Africa -- 31958, and from anywhere in fact in Africa, you can use a couple of long codes, 61418601934, or 45609910343. I'm going to have to leave it there. Tell Barack Obama what you thought. Thanks for being with a special edition of INSIDE AFRICA. It was history in the making. Thanks for being with us.
END
