Obama for "Head of State"? A Southern African Perspective

Tula Dlamini

The rise of Senator Barack Obama from obscurity to mainstream politics reminds me of a 2003 comedy film—Head of State. If you have not seen it, find a copy. In the film, comedian Chris Rock plays Mays Gilliam, an unassuming black alderman in Washington, D.C., whose life is turning for the worse. But after the untimely death of the Democratic Party front-runner, Gilliam is plucked from obscurity and thrust into the limelight as his party’s nominee for president of the United States. In one of the scenes, Rock, a.k.a. Gilliam, delivers a fiery populist speech to a working class audience in which he demonstrates oratorical skills.

Senator Obama fits the Mays Gilliam profile in more ways than one. Rising from a small-time community organizer in Chicago, he has attracted enthusiastic approval with his oratory. On August 27, 2008, Obama officially secured the Democratic nomination, becoming the first African American to be nominated for the presidency by a major party.

On July 22, 2008, The Weekender hosted a debate at the University of the Witwatersrand on the significance of Barack Obama for Africa and the potential foreign policy positions that his government may adopt towards the continent. Steven Grootes, a journalist with South Africa’s 702 Talk Radio, opened by stating that when he heard Obama speak, he thought he had touched tomorrow. Grootes added that a victory for Obama would be a victory over the fear of difference. “It is a victory over people not voting for you because you look different and have a different past.”

Achille Mbembe, a research professor in history and politics at the University of the Witwatersrand, agreed with Grootes by highlighting how Obama has been able to go beyond “racial essentialism.” “It is the way Obama opens up and pluralizes the concept of blackness itself; the way he takes it away from blackness as a way of limiting one’s choices; the way he firmly writes it as an openness to the world, to the unexpected, to what is to come, what we can hope for—the way in which for him, to be black means turning one’s back to the politics of victimhood in order to embrace the politics of worldliness and the politics of possibility.”

On the question of whether an Obama administration would delegitimize the traditional orientation of U.S. foreign policy, Tony Leon, a well-known former opposition leader in South Africa, noted that, “despite the antipathy toward President Bush, he has actually been more involved than previous U.S. presidents when it comes to Africa, especially with regards to foreign aid and, more importantly, trade.” Leon added that America’s “commodity driven imperatives will remain, even though a ‘President Obama’ is likely to refashion and reshape them.”

Obama has brought on board several mainstream policy advisors from previous U.S. administrations. The caliber of most of them creates a possibility for a restructured U.S. foreign policy. This group includes the former assistant secretary of state, Susan Rice, who has often stressed the importance of bottom-up antipoverty programs. Rice stands for U.S. multilateral engagement as opposed to an over-reliance on the so-called leaders. Thus, one hopes an Obama administration signals a departure from the traditional U.S. policy of aiding and abetting kleptomaniac African leaders. There is a sense that Obama is clearly on a collision course with some of these leaders.

Consider Obama’s comments during his South Africa tour in August 2006. He condemned the government for what he said was a poor response to AIDS. On this score, he had a valid point since, according to the 2007 U.N. statistics, South Africa ranks high among countries with the highest incidence of HIV infections.

Obama went further and chastised the South African government for what he said was failure to proactively stop political repression in Zimbabwe—the only country in southern Africa currently experiencing an unprecedented economic and political meltdown. He said, “the government of Zimbabwe led by Robert Mugabe was illegitimate and lacked any credibility.” The presidents of Botswana and Zambia openly agreed with Obama and, in August 2008, Botswana President Ian Khama boycotted the Southern Africa Development Community (SADC) Summit on the grounds that he would not share the platform with Zimbabwe’s Robert Mugabe.

South Africa has consistently called for a cautious appraisal of the Zimbabwe situation. The Foreign Affairs minister, Dr. Nkosazana Zuma, told the South African parliament and media that anything short of "quiet diplomacy" would probably render the troubled southern African country completely ungovernable, making the ruling group even more insular and defensive.

First, it is plausible to assume that any unilateral action by South Africa against another SADC member state can only work to undermine the regional body while confirming widely held views that the country sees itself as an imperial power inside Africa. Second, Obama’s public criticism of South Africa on the issue of Zimbabwe can only serve to diminish South Africa’s status as a meaningful player within SADC.

Needless to say, Obama has more admirers in South Africa than those who oppose him. I was curious when Obama tried, but failed, to secure a meeting with Mandela during his 2006 tour. The rumor mill suggested Mandela was peeved by his criticism of the South African government. Mandela's family and staff dismissed the claim of a calculated snub by Mandela. They said it was not in Mandela's nature to exclude anyone. However, snub or no snub, the trip yielded a boost for Obama's presidential ambition when he met Nobel Peace Prize winner, former Archbishop Desmond Tutu, a close ally of Nelson Mandela. Tutu told Obama, "You're born to be a very credible presidential candidate."

And now a huge commercial billboard in a street in Johannesburg, South Africa, reads in bold: “Obama finds his opposition Hilarious.” This is not an Obama election campaign advertisement, but rather a product promotion by a local broadband wireless company. Individuals, group communities, and commercial companies are mobilizing Obama’s name and in some instances, his campaign slogans, to reinforce particular notions.

Tula Dlamini is a researcher for SABC News: Africa Affairs and was a past recipient (2001) of a Phelps Stoke grant.