Nigerians, like so many others, are extremely excited by the prospect of a Barack Obama presidency. This excitement has created a fervor amongst many Nigerians who have organized themselves to show their support for the Presidential hopeful. One such active group is 'Africans for Obama' which recently held an event that raised N100 million ($861,502). Well, the Obama campaign just disassociated itself from Africans for Obama and it is easy to see why. However, this disassociation raises some larger concerns for other individuals or groups who choose to show their support for those they find inspiring.
"Some people may argue that the forum is unnecessary because of perception in some quarters that votes from third world do not really count in the U.S.A politics. We are dismissing this with the wave of hand and urging our brothers and sisters in Diaspora to vote. It is heartwarming to note that five million of the Africans in Diaspora fall within voting age." [sic]On August 11th, Africans For Obama held a dinner/concert event to raise money and awareness for the Obama campaign. Tickets for the event ranged from N325,000 (US$2,754) to N2.5 million (US$21,186). The event raised N100 million and resulted in the Obama campaign disowning Africans for Obama and disassociating itself from Okereke-Onyiuke and her peers.
Groups like Africans For Obama, though criticized for their method, are doing something important. They have recognized the power of numbers are are attempting to use those numbers to create an advantage. Considering that Nigeria and most African peoples hardly have any lobbying groups at home or abroad working for their interests, it is nice to see a group try to change that. Despite this, I wonder why Nigerians are precedentally excited about Obama's campaign but don't show this much excitement about their own domestic politics. That is a complex issue to be dealt with on another day. What is clear, however, is the fact that there are serious Obama-fans in Nigeria and this fanaticism has now led to the disrepute of Okereke-Onyiuke.
"[t]he event was a private thing and I used my own money to put it together. Some people like to sit in front of the television and watch history in the making but we chose to mobilise people to vote for someone we believe in...” [sic]is irrelevant. She should not politically mobilize anyone, no matter how good a deed that would be. Consequently, it is definitely understandable that the public, and especially the media whose business it is to create stories, will question her affiliation or desire to affiliate with the Obama campaign.
In her response to the 'diss' from the Obama campaign, Okereke-Onyiuke stated,
"I am a very intelligent person; I have a PhD that I did not buy. We were careful with our advertisements and we were transparent in all we did. I don‘t understand why Nigerians like to be negative. People have been mobilising support for Obama all over the world and they are not being castigated."I personally would never question Okereke-Onyiuke's intelligence. In fact, every time I have heard her speak, I have thought about how intelligent she is and I respect and admire her greatly. Also, I am glad that her response to the criticisms and Obama's letter were swift and direct. However, as a PhD holder and a powerful international figure, she should have known that using the name/image/likeness/brand of a public figure without their explicit permission is asking for trouble. If she did not know this, then she needs to be surrounded by a much more capable team. Creating an organization to support the political aspirations of an individual with no connection to Nigeria and using their name in the title of said group is (and if I may borrow the eloquent verbosity of the Hon. Patrick Obahiagbon for a brief moment) - stultifying, cretinous and oscitant (thank you for your patience). The decision goes beyond being silly to being simply imperceptive and highly unwise by creating obvious problems that would force the hand of anyone to react in protecting their brand and image. She could have named her organization 'Nigerians For Change' or 'Vote For Change' - it would obviously tie in with the 'Change' theme that Obama is famous for without creating the obvious problem she faces with Africans For Obama - a group which she claims was created to simply encourage Africans in the Diaspora to vote. Unfortunately, she was apparently not aware of this fact,. She went ahead to raise an incredible amount of money and has now been discredited so publicly.
AND AS FOR OBAMA...
Okereke-Onyiuke could have been smarter in finding a way to celebrate Obama's candidacy and encourage others to vote for him, but Obama could also have done much better. His harsh response to Okereke-Onyiuke was unnecessary and was a desperate attempt to moot any narrow minded allegations of ties to foreigners, African foreigners at that, that will nonetheless be raised by the Republican party and its followers. A simple, private communication between his camp and Africans For Change could have solved this issue without disgracing Nigeria's SEC head and disrespecting those who chose to celebrate his candidacy. Obama's handlers could have insisted on a name change, stressed that Okereke-Onyiuke and her group impress upon the public that they were not affiliated with Obama and remove any use of his likeness/name/image/branding from their communications.
That would have been a savvy move. There is no reason to burn bridges with Okereke-Onyiuke and Nigerians in general by subtly informing them that their support is unimportant. And, while that might not have been his intention, it could as well become the result of his action. Again, I believe that Okereke-Onyiuke's good intentions caused her 'downfall' on this matter, but Obama has sold himself, globally, as the representation of freedom of expression when it comes to political change. Obviously, Okereke-Onyiuke, Nigerians and many others around the world have been inspired by that message. Obama does not need to selectively dash their hopes. Its okay for Berliners and the French to hold soirees and other functions in his honor, but once Nigerians are involved it becomes a problem that requires a harsh rebuke.
Nevertheless, I hope Nigerians and Okereke-Onyiuke have learned a lesson from this incident. No good deed goes unpunished. Absolutely none. Maybe we Nigerians should begin to pay more attention to mobilizing our own leaders to do better and encouraging innovative Nigerians to play a larger role in changing our country. Now, that would be incredibly impressive.
UPDATE: Okereke-Onyiuke has been 'detained' for quizzing by the EFCC. (08/21/08)
Hattip to Rethots.
Related Articles of Interest:
- Nigeria's Obama Expectations
- Is An 'Obama' Possible in Nigeria?
- In Search Of Democracy: Obama, Kenya & Nigeria
- Barack Obama & Kenya
- Barack Obama & America: Who Needs Who More (written by guest writer, Dr. Joseph Okpaku, Sr.)
- Congratulations to Barack Obama
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21 Curiosities. Add Yours.:
My sister! I did not think the response was harsh at all. Considering the fact that Obama would have much more to lose if he were ever accused of accepting money from foreigners.I think it was very wise of him to distance himself from that group and the money. Do not forget that most of the Nigerian newspapers were mostly focused on the fact that it was "illegal" for Obama'a campaign to benefit from the money that was raised. Also, let us not forget the nasty 419 image that we have at the moment. I doubt if any politician would want to be associated with any talk of "fraud"...I am not saying the dinner was one...however, it does sound ridiculous for anybody in that country to pay so much for a dinner to support a presidential candidate in another country. To say the truth, "fraud" did not cross my mind, but money laundering did!
Also, it is a damn shame that so many people think its okay to spend such a ridiculous amount of money on "enjoyment" with the state Nigeria is in.I am not even going to bother listing all the things that money would have been good for. Its just a damn shame.
and please...please, can we stop with all these "gold","silver" "platinum" bullshit tickets? what does that mean anyway? Its ridiculous and people should stop spending money on any event at all that has such tickets.
whatever men...
@ Waffy: Wow, I must have done something right in a former life. I come back to blogville and who do I see? The Honorable Waffy! How are you?
I see where you are coming from, but the fact is that he never could have received that money anyway, so he had many other options to distance himself from the group. That is my basic point on that. As to 419-runs, it is problematic, that anything Nigerian should automatically conjure images or concerns of scams, or don't you think? Why assume that a group affiliated with Okereke-Onyiuke would be one of scammers? I understand the discomfort, but to assume that is a 419 operation is uncalled for. We can't always assume that every Nigerian is a scammer. I am sure you wouldn't like that to be the first thought a non-Nigerian had of you once they discovered where you grew up, (I know I don't) so why should we do it to ourselves? I just don't think we should sell ourselves short.
That being the case, I still believe that Okereke-Onyiuke should have stayed out of this, and I desperately wish there was this much excitement about a political figure in Nigeria, but what has happened, has happened. And as for people spending exorbitant amounts of money, my sista, na you know. I personally think that if God 'dashed' you fat pockets, feel free to spend away (but send me a gift!). I only hope that the rich and more fortunate will balance that spending with an eye towards philanthropy and an understanding of their responsibility to help the less fortunate. So, if people want to spend money on yachts, private jets or over priced tickets to drink and dance the night away in celebration of Obama or some other person, "na which one consain me?"
Take care.
I'm concerned.
What is the basis for raising any funds for a campaign in another country - The United Sates of America? It's not allowed. The obama campaign could in no way partake of those funds and most importantly being aware of the foreign organizations' actions involving such funds and not responding sharply will portray an image of probable wrong doing. In American politics, you can't do things any how - Rules are Rules, if you dont know you will learn the hard way - by the time Sean Hannity and Karl Rove finish with you. Obama can't leave that door open.
Secondly "Africans in the Diaspora to vote???" - Only US Citizens vote in a US election. Now if you are referring to African who are also American citizens - fine, but wouldn't those be Americans. They can donate on the Obama website. They do not need any xtra avenue to display their support.
Berlin was a showing of moral support, and even with that showing, we saw how the right wingers tried so hard to spin it into what it wasn't. How much more with money and the idea- mobilizing "African in the Diaspora to vote?" - Dangerous, very dangerous...makes no sense.
It looks to me that there was more personal ambition/agenda on the part of the organizers. What happened to the money raised? cos I know it sure didn't go to Obama - NObama.
If you want to support Obama this November, lets go knock on doors in Virginia and turn Virginia Blue.
How is this for a headline - Africans in American for Obama"...."Africans are so proud of Barack, they may not have the right to vote yet in the US but they are making sure that as many US citizens who can vote turn out to support Obama."
Common People, Common People - This ain't no jungle. Let's do things right.
AR
It really was a wrong move on Onyiuke's part. The reply was quite harsh I must admit but deserved. I believe it was on point to leave no room for ambiguities. 100 million raised for what??? True, we really should pay attention to our own domestic situations, which seem rather overwhelming than raising a fortune for a US presidential candidate.
@ AR: What is so dangerous about mobilizing Africans in America to vote? The only Africans in America that can vote are clearly US citizens, so any suggestion otherwise is moot. They are referred to as Africans in the Diaspora because they cannot be referred to as African Americans (that term is technically taken) and to refer to them as Liberians in America or Ethiopians in America is time consuming, hence the overarching term, I believe.
There is a constant effort by every 'group' (regardless of sex, race etc) to galvanize people to vote in the US, as there should be. Latin Americans are particularly successful at mobilizing those of Latin heritage to get their citizenship and participate fully in the politics of their adopted country. This is advantageous on many levels and I hope I do not have to explain that because we would be here 'all night'. Clearly, those of us following America's impressive political system can see the incredible weight that the Latin community has and it has been courted heavily by both the Republicans and Democrats for years. That is simply smart politics in my opinion. The Italians have done it in their past (and still do), as have the Irish. Every new immigrant group to America has coalesced to use their numbers to have an impact on politics so as to become a group that can use that influence to their advantage. EVERY GROUP HAS DONE IT. Is there any question as to whether Irish Americans are truly American? I don't think so. African immigrants to America are exactly the same. First generation Africans in America already feel more American than they do anything else, so I think any concerns over their 'Americanness' are quite unfounded, but that is just my humble opinion.
The right to vote by every American is one of the fundamental hallmarks of the United States. It is exactly what makes the country great. That is why so many have sacrificed so much to get to America and earn that right. IT IS THE PRINCIPLE UPON WHICH THE NATION WAS FOUNDED. To suggest that once these people have earned that right, their mobilization to vote is dangerous, especially because they are Africans is quite worrisome to me. And if I may chose your term - "dangerous". That and your clear mistake to refer to Nigerians and Africans as "common people" and make references to "jungles". It is absolutely uncalled for. And, frankly, will never be tolerated again.
As for the money raised by Africans For Obama, it was clear that the money could not go to Obama. Whether the organizers did a good enough job clarifying that point and ensuring that it would not happen is the only issue. Where is that money now? Nigerian authorities are investigating and only time will tell.
Personally I feel they could have raised the N100 million for more pressing issues in Nigeria. I don't like to have that attitude, but at this point Nigeria is facing much more UNBELIEVABLE problems than for people in such high prestigious positions to be forming forums for "Africans for Obama" or whatever they called it!
There is the issue in Bakassi and the Niger Delta gas flaring issue to deal with...there are poor people under the bridge to feed, and there are other crazy things going on.
I pat Okereke-Onyuike on her back for both her PhD which she did not buy and for her enthusiasm in wanting Obama to win, but I say that after Obama has relinquished her support, can they now mobilize powerful African (moreso Nigerian) leaders and prominent people in Nigeria to do great things for the Country?
LOLLLL @ anonymous "Common people, Common people, this ain't no jungle...let's do things right" I burst out laughing when I read that. FOR REAL!!! When did Africans start mobilizing US citizens to vote for whatever presidential candidate? Don't we have better things to do sef? Na wa o...
Abeg Obama's response was not harsh jo.
First: I will like to say it is admirable that Nigerians are so passionate about an issue that they will put all that money together.
Second: After they raised that money, what is the next plan?
Third: Getting a PhD is no easy walk in the park at all. So mad power to her... BUT
a) I wish that she had gotten Nigerians together for issues concerning Nigeria.
b)I wish she were a bit more aware of our tarnished image in the Western Media and calculated the costs before going forward.
c) Holding an executive position within the SEC, she should have been a bit more concerned about her image and the image of the position which she holds.
On Obama:
Obama did what he did because it is Nigeria. You know everyone can say and do what they want to and get away with it when it comes to Nigeria.
This woman has automatically disqualified herself as the leader we all hoped she was. One of the major attributes of great leadership is Critical thinking. And critical thinking displays most prominent in Self-Regulation. She utterly flawed herself by not engaging in critical thinking of the consequences of her actions. Or was she thinking at all? Everyone who follows closely the politics in the US will know that the one thing Obama cannot afford now is distractions such as this, which will further mire his already battered credentials.
On the other hand, what concern in Nigeria has Onyuike raise 100Million for? When inspiring men such as Duke and Utomi or Okotie were running for President, did she in anyway (subtly as a public official) try to raise funds for them?
You know, we really make a huge mockery of ourselves when obviously the world sees us a country with nasty contradictions of poverty and prosperity, yet the public officials are having misguided priorities.
She should lie low for now and let the storm pass over her head. SHE DIDN'T DO WELL AT ALL!!!
@holyreg: She actually raised about 2.5 billion Naira for Obasanjo's Third term campaign. How's that for precedence?
I sincerely dont know who her advisers are but her do-goodness are always directed at the wrong causes. She is obviously a powerful fund raiser but why is she always supporting the wrong causes or doing the right things the wrong way?
As an Igbo woman, I am sure there will be erosion problems in her village (as in practically every village in the east) even if all their infrastructure problems have been sorted out.
Why can't she just lead all her Stock Exchange goons to the village for a fund-raiser to solve all the problems in her village. At least that would be one village less in Nigeria's compendium of problems.
You don't have to be civil to call this woman an idiot. She's made a fortune running the Stock Exchange for a decade, with fingers in nearly all public offers through private interests. She knows she has capacity to demand huge sums from silly business people hoping to please her enough to get the nod for one favour or another. Ndi is no model citizen but she's certainly nobody's fool. We are the fools who stoop to this chicanery. We are the fools who allow her to blind lead us with stupid agenda like this. Afterall, she did it for that ugly reject, Obasanjo
Thank God for America, we would have thought its the right thing to do
Nigeria is in deep dodo! For there are many Ndidis in the country. Didn't some Lagos state legislators create a website for Obama and held press conferences proclaiming his is their man! Here is the website: http://www.obamanigeria.org/
It must be a full moon when Ndidi came up with her plan. It is sheer lunacy to have gone as far as she has! In the right society, Ndidi will be on the street today, looking for a new job!
Hi Solomonsydelle,
This may be a reflection of the loss of faith, and utter desperation of Nigerians, including some of its officials, with the present leadership in the country.They are probably looking for a savior that would deliver them from the corruption and mismanagement of their beloved land.
It must be made clear that throughout its history, America never undertook any action without first establishing and securing its own interest. Republicans or Democrats, its the same dog with a different collar - it will always be their interest or what they can get out of it by way of geopolitical strategic advantage. Well, oil could be in their interest right now and denying Russia and China from as many sources as possible could be viewed as critical to their plans. This is the reason for supporting Georgia, Kosovo, and the possible war with Iran.
Being black does not guarantee that Obama will suddenly skew towards Africa in the name of justice, freedom and all the noble democratic ideals. This is good for photo-ops and sound bytes - as well as for the official documents of history. But reality? It's what they'll get out of it.
I suggest Nigerians mobilize, encourage and motivate their own leaders to do the right thing - by showing their presence through participation and involvement, and demanding the service required of their officials for the benefit of the people. Maybe, these officials could muster enough courage to battle the powerful corruptors. :-) --Durano, done!
Hello,
I have already covered these issues in two blogs, one pertaining to her outburst and the other pertaining to judgement.
There are two issues I have highlighted, the first being, the date of the letter sent by the Obama organisation is the 8th and the event was on the 11th.
I would be concerned if a newspaper does not promptly collect its post and analyse the contents seeing it took them till the 19th to publish that letter.
The second issue is that a fund-raiser was organised with the picture of Barack Obama and his campaign slogan - Yes, we can - without a clear disclaimer that Africans for Obama was not affiliated with Obama organisation.
For that reason alone, I am surprised that the Obama organisation did not go as far as threatening legal proceedings but just advised caution in the publication of subsequent advertisements.
This does not allow for your presumably pragmatic approach, in this case, she was wrong and she is having great difficulty admitting that simple fact.
When i saw the headline (on E-Punch) i was pissed an in so, some people actually to that.
Let's look at it, 'who' cares if Obama wins or not (personally, i would rather he wins. No particular reason based on policies et al but, it will just be another proof that nothing is impossible). Especially, the way people (Nigerians in particular, even the Lagos State House of Assembly) about him winning; as if and when he wins, he will be the one to redeem Africa (Nigeria in particular). Please check Aloofar's 'Obama's Speech on Nigerias' http://aloofaa.blogspot.com/2008/06/obamas-speech-on-nigerians.html
Well, from recent developments, Okereke (& others with same thots) will realise, that though we are all entitled to 'Freedom of Will and Actions' there sure is a limit to freedom.
Short of which, when i finally read the article and Okereke's response not only was i not surprised but, i was pretty disappointed that a whole Ph.D -Professor (not hononary or a politician) could give reasons.
"Maybe we Nigerians should begin to pay more attention to mobilizing our own leaders to do better and encouraging innovative Nigerians to play a larger role in changing our country"
You said this and it captured everything. I blogged about this too but not as detailed as you the headmistress of blogville did.
You would have seen the post on my blog had it being you visited in a recent time (lol)
Ndi has misplaced her priority. She really did not think well before taking this action
She just reinforced the believe that Nigerians like Owambe (parties) and wil always look for an opportunity to stage one...
How come am not on this blogroll? Am I not a stakeholder? Headmistress be carefulllll o
@ Rethots:"'who' cares if Obama wins or not"
I agree. While some of us hare the ideas Obama represents, from a Nigerian political perspective, it doesn't matter really. As Durano has correctly pointed out, whoever becomes US President will do what must be done for the U.S. Not Nigeria, not France, not Georgia. And that is exactly how it is supposed to be - national interest first. Now if only the Nigerian leadership could realize that key fact and apply it in Nigeria, instead of the personal 'chop and quench' tactics that have distracted Nigerian existence, we could be witnessing the rapid development of a great nation.
@ BrownSugar: ah, yes, I agree, the reaction was deserved, but I always err on not using the big guns as a first response. Thanks so much for taking the time to join the conversation. It is very good to see you here.
@ Durano: I always love seeing you here. Yes, you hit the nail on the head when you used the word 'savior'. Dear Durano, Nigerians are always looking for some savior or another. For so many of us we constantly believe that God will send a miracle. And in this case, some truly believe that Obama could be that savior.
Unfortunately, I am too battle hardened to share this perspective and I definitely know that the only miracle Nigeria needs is for Nigeria to wake up and see itself. It is a beautiful land with incredible people, and God gave that country everything it needed so He isn't sending anymore saviors or miracles our way. We have got to figure things out without constantly waiting for SOMETHING to happen.
Anyway, just some of my partial insight into Nigerian psychology.
@ Pammy: Yes, Yes, Yes and Yes. Your points make absolute sense. As for your point (b), I don't believe we should limit ourselves because a minority of Nigerians have tarnished the nation's image. However, I do see your point, Okereke-Onyiuke's actions were far from smart and could have been detrimental to the candidacy of the very person she is supposedly inspired by. Definitely not a smart move on her part. Thanks for swinging by. I have a question for you and will hit you up on FB. There's a project i would love to involve you in if you have the time, of course. Take care my sista.
Ah SolomonSydelle, u r trying me o (lol). U didnt even reply me!!!
@ Brownsugar "The reply was quite harsh I must admit but deserved." guess 'tis hightime we are a people (Nigerians) stopped patting ourselves on the back and strike the iron 'spot-on'.
Tried opening the article again but, couldn't. Wanted to quote Okereke verbatim when she said the 'money' was going to be used for offseting the party and blah, blah.... When i read that 'maladroitness' crossed my mind. Oops, sorry Ph.D unbought (all puns intended).
Anyway, i believe 'other' will learn.
@ everyone Sorry for the sporadic responses to your comments. I am working to respond to everyone individually. As you can imagine, that is not always possible, but i am doing the best I can and appreciate your patience.
@ Akin: Thanks for pointing out the issue raised by the dating of Obama's letter. And yes, if the Punch received this letter and held it until after the dinner, that begs several questions and can make my criticism of the Obama campaigns reaction moot.
However, I have been reading and re-reading material related to the dinner, the group and the Obama letter. Even the BBC specifies on more than one occasion that the Obama letter was received "earlier this week" and they wrote this on the 20th which was a Wednesday. As you yourself noted, the Obama letter hit the news on the 19th.
I can only interpret the BBC's language as suggesting that even they believe that the letter was received that week and not earlier as could be suggested by the date on the Obama response. As such, I will not assume that the Nigerian press simply held on to the letter although, anything is possible.
I will instead assume that the letter was drafted on the 8th of August but not officially 'sent' and/or not officially 'received' until many days later. If that is the case, only the Obama campaign and the press can explain why.
That being said, the dating of the letter does not change the suggestion I made that Obama's campaign use a different approach in ensuring that the group clarify its goals and separate itself from Obama's likeness/name/image/branding.
Nevertheless, I sincerely thank you for taking the time to swing by and let us know about the date issue. I completely missed it. And, I am pragmatic enough to agree that Obama could have threatened legal proceedings. I still, however, believe that this matter could have been handled differently. But, at the end of the day, Obama, and anyone else in that situation would have done whatever was necessary to not sacrifice their mission. Thanks, again.
@ Standtall:"
She just reinforced the believe that Nigerians like Owambe (parties) and wil always look for an opportunity to stage one..." [sic]
Come on, lets be honest, Naija people like party too much! =) Its just a cultural thing. We will always find a way to celebrate something. That's not a bad thing, except when, as you clearly note, the priority is misplaced.
@ imnakoya: Yes, you are right. I am shocked at the excitement Obama has generated amongst Nigerians. Even here in the States, I know so many who signed up for the text to be the 'first' to find out about the VP candidate. That is clearly a testimony to Obama's ability to get people 'fired up'.
"in the right society, Ndidi will be on the street today, looking for a new job!"
I can't help but agree with you. Bu, I will a dd that in a wise society, Ndidi would have been advised of a law (if it existed) that prevented her from participating in the politics of foreign nations to any degree and would have cautioned her on the risky move Chairing such a group would prove. I wonder what that says about Nigeria?
Thanks so much for taking the time to share your thoughts on this issue.
@ Kritzmoritz: "We are the fools who stoop to this chicanery. We are the fools who allow her to blind lead us with stupid agenda like this. Afterall, she did it for that ugly reject, Obasanjo"
Ah, what can one say in response to this? You have said it all. Well, almost. I think I can ask a question. Is Obasanjo ugly? Or, is he a reject? Is it really possible for a former President of Nigeria to be an ugly reject as you put it? Sorry, I don't know why that line has me chuckling but it does. And please, don't answer that question. I personally have no comment on Obasanjo's looks or his possible 'reject' status but I thank you for giving me a good laugh this evening, whether intentional or not.
So good to see you are back to blogville. Try not to disappear for that long again.
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