US President Barack Obama will address Americans Tuesday night before a joint session of Congress. Mr. Obama is expected to unveil plans to resolve thecountry's ongoing financial crisis. Africans are hopeful that President Obamawould also outline the need to strengthen US-African relations. Some are optimisticthat aid to Africa would be increased since Mr. Obama's father hails fromKenya. But some political analysts say Africa should not hold its hopes toohigh after the recent global economic meltdown that has adversely affected thecountry's economy. Kabiru Mato is a political science professor at Nigeria'suniversity of Abuja. He tells reporter Peter Clottey that Africans should becautiously optimistic about what President Obama would be saying today.
"Ithink the expectations are not really high as a result of several reasons, oneis of course the routine American government and president making apresentation on the state of the nation. Secondly, the fact that the Americaneconomies just like the industrialized economies across the world are being ravagedby the global financial meltdown. I expect that the address will basicallyfeature centrally more on the steps that the government is going is taking inorder to alleviate the suffering of American businesses and people," Matopointed out.
Hesaid President Obama should make entrenching democracy a center piece of hispolicy toward Africa.
"Weexpect also that this time around there must be some concerted effort on thepart of the president or the American government to make sure that Africangovernments or African countries receive in terms of the desire to establishgood governance and the way to entrench democracy etcetera to make it apriority as the president (Obama) rightly mentioned in his inaugural speechwere he discouraged those who think they can get to power in Africa through ourfollowing traditional short cuts to desist from doing that," he said.
Matosaid although he understands the hopes and aspirations of African towardsPresident Obama's presidency, he said the U.S. president's first priority istowards the American people.
"Idon't think really it (African hope) is misplaced on one hand and on the otherhand I am not also infatuated by the fact that President Barack Obama is anAmerican president. So, his first constituency is first and foremost is theAmerican and the interest of the American people will form crops of whateverdecisions he is going to take that is about it. But secondly and moreimportantly if you look at the euphoria that greeted the ascendency of BarackObama to power in November and the expectations of the entire global communitynot even to talk about Africa in particular poses a very serious politicalchallenge to the president and his government," Mato pointed out .
Hesaid there was need for the US government to partner with Africa in its bid tobe more democratic.
"Wewill expect perhaps more constructive engagement, more constructive support andrelationship that would ensure Africa emerges from the very shackles ofbackwardness that it has found itself in. Much more than the mere dumping ofmillions of dollars all over the continent to address specific issues and inmost cases a lot of these aids does not either come in form of cash or even ifthey come in form of cash, they are not properly appropriated by the respectiveAfrican ruling classes," he said.