Imagine Blogs

It's everywhere! You can't escape it, even in the unlikely event that you might want to, but after about 48 hours of hearing Obama ringtones everywhere, seing Obama T-shirts, badges, American flags on Kenyans' cars and everyone suddenly becoming an expert on Obama, I could only take so much without the temptation of wanting to pull out one of my locks in protest! I mean, what happened to the other events going on in Kenya, like the operation in Mandera that has left a whole community without any abled men (not that anyone will do anything about it), the demolitions on Thika Rd (ok, so I heard James Smart on news say they will not be compensated) and everything else!

Watching and listening to news, I can't help worrying about days ahead; how disappointed will many Kenyans with unrealistic expectations be! If you are keen, you will notice that Obama has mentioned nothing about Kenya, or the least his Kenyan relatives who are right now drinking soup from the dead bull!

I can only hope the expectations they have are a joke! That Obama will help Kenya in this way and that way... why do I think it is the African mentality of relatives in better financial positions to help those less able? Why can't Africans stop expecting aid and work with what they have, are we not supposed to be the 'richest' continent? Hasn't Obama shown us that 'YES, WE CAN'. Obama is American, and his priority is America! They have so many probs right now, I doubt he will have time to think of Africa in a long time. The one thing I know he can do is change the American foreign policy pronto as it sucks!! Because of the enthusiam, the world markets will probably turn for the better, and everybody would benefit. He could indirectly help still ailing tourism industry as hopefully the world will want to see Kogello! The other unrealistic expectations, I. Dont. Think. So!

To me, Obama's win is symbolic more than anything else! This has been said a million times over so I don't claim to be the origin, but 50 years ago, Black people sat at the back of the bus and not because they loved the back of the bus a lot, they only sat if there were no white people in need of that seat, until Rosa Parks 'sat' and things started changing. Black people did not vote, it's obvious a lot of people in the world still believe that Black people are 2nd class citizens of the world, that all we know to do is shoot each other, deal and use drugs, cut each other with machetes, leave our pregnant girlfriends, and all other world vices! With Obama, from the way he hoped and believed, the way he conducted himself in public, the way he refused to use the race card, the way he ran his campaign with discipline never witnessed before, the way he refused to lose his cool when terribly provoked, we can learn so much; that we don't have to accept being forced to the back of a bus, that we sure can be diplomatic, that physical confrontations will not take us anywhere, substanciated quiet diplomacy is the way forward, that you can refuse to be pigeon-holed, that hard work and focus pays in the end... oh, the lessons, I could go on and on... Bbecause of Obama, the world's perception of Black people might have altered forever!

I am so honoured that this happened in my lifetime and that I will always remember where I was when it happened, and I hope a year down the line, unlike what the doomsayers are 'predicting', I will still be proud of him! There is no reason why anything should go wrong unless there is a serious sabbotage machine at work. The same team that was running his campaign surely will be the one in charge of the White House, right? What could go wrong....