Interview: Obama leaves enduring legacy in Africa despite unmet promises

Former U.S. President Barack Obama whose father was Kenyan left an admirable legacy in Africa despite failing to fulfill his pledges to lift the continent from the yoke of poverty, disease, natural calamities and civil strife, according to Kenyan experts.

Analysts agreed that the election of Obama as the first black president in the United States inspired hope and optimism in the continent of his ancestors, though Washington gridlock thwarted his attempts to implement beneficial programs here.

Patrick Maluki, a diplomacy scholar at the University of Nairobi, said that many people in Africa would miss Obama's presidency though not all promises he made to the continent came to fruition.

"His presidency was a victory for the black race although obstruction in Washington could not let him implement all the signature projects he earmarked to boost our development," said Maluki.

Obama handed over power to his predecessor Donald Trump on Jan. 20 after serving two terms in the Oval Office.

While Africans cheered the election of Obama in 2008, they were alarmed by the victory of his successor due to his alleged embrace of racism and nationalism.

Maluki noted that Obama's embrace of the multilateral system benefited Africa through conflict resolution and increased trade with America and other developed economies.

"The Africa Growth Opportunity Act (AGOA) was enhanced under Obama presidency. As a result, African countries traded more with America," Maluki remarked.

He also lauded Obama's signature Power Africa initiative that was launched in 2012 for doubling access to electricity in the continent through harnessing renewable sources.

Despite the president's many initiatives, Maluki noted that the U.S. Congress showed less enthusiasm towards Obama's effort to help Africa while large corporations had a different vision.

"Altogether, the American Congress and corporations sometimes derailed Obama's development agenda for Africa," said Maluki.

The 55-year-old former president visited Africa four times during his two terms in office and is credited for pioneering the inaugural the U.S.-Africa leaders' summit in 2014.

During the summit in Washington, Obama announced 33 billion dollars in form of commitments and private-sector deals to boost economic growth in the world's second largest continent.

Statistics from the U.S. Department of Commerce indicate that Washington's direct investments in Africa rose from 37 billion to 64 billion dollars between 2008 and 2015.

Likewise, Washington spent 8 billion dollars in form of aid to Sub-Saharan Africa in 2015 while in 2016, it signed trade deals worth 9.1 billion dollars to cover telecoms, energy, health, agriculture, manufacturing and transport sectors in Africa.

During his visits to Africa, Obama sought to reset bilateral ties with a continent already grappling with poverty, infectious diseases, civil strife, terrorism and climatic shocks.

Maluki singled out Obama's stewardship during the 2014 Ebola crises in West Africa and lauded him for supporting counter-terrorism in Somalia, Nigeria and the Sahel region.

African people might wait longer before they feel the full impact of Obama's eight years in the White House.

Joshua Kivuva, a senior lecturer at University of Nairobi's Institute for Development Studies, however said while the Obama's presidency had a powerful emotional resonance in Africa, the economic benefits were not so profound.

"Obama's presidency was refreshing to us though we overlooked the fact that he held limited sway over development assistance to this continent. Without congressional approval, Obama could not channel aid to Africa," said Kivuva.

He added that competing priorities like war on terror, unemployment in the United States, turmoil in the Middle East and a pivot to the Asia Pacific region all thwarted Obama's African agenda. Endit