Grading Obama's Speech in Accra, Ghana, July 11, 2009

The AidWatch outfit at New York University has graded the speech Obama made in Ghana's Parliament last Saturday. Click here to see the grading.

I posted the following response to the grading exercise:

I was expecting to see a grade for this passage, which was part of Obama's speech: "Africa doesn't need strongmen, it needs strong institutions."

I would have given that passage an A for proper proritizing and focus, but with a cautionary note: The first thing strongmen do when they come to power(and too often even prior to formally assuming office)is to infest and take control of key institutions -- Judiciary, The Treasury and Central Bank, Armed Forces, Police, Education Media (TV, Radio, key newspaper houses) and even the "Church" -- with their cronies (usually co-ethnics, if not relatives)and like-minded self-aggrandizers and looters. Thus, there is dim hope for sustainable equity, justice and transparent governance in our institutions before the strongmen are themselves put out of action.

That is why, in the Kenyan case, the Waki Envelope, now in the hands of Luis Moreno-Ocampo at the Hague, has such great potential as a game-changer and catalyst for strong institutions.

As I see it, from Gandhi Wing, that was perhaps the most important passage for those genuinely concerned about establishing broad-based and lasting democratic space in Africa.

Let me add this now: The passage in Obama's speech not consistently (and perhaps least) borne out by either historical or contemporary evidence -- though it might ring true to the immediate ear and in theory should be true -- was: "Governments that respect the will of their own people are more prosperous, more stable, and more successful than governments that do not." Saudi Arabia isn't a democracy, but is more prosperous and appears more stable than most countries today, thanks to the "Oil Weapon". So are the Emirates. So is Libya. South Africa was very prosperous (though one-sidedly so) during the apartheid era. And Russia and China are getting quite there.

And lest we forget, we're not interested in governments getting prosperous -- an aberration which led M. Djilas decades ago to talk of a "New Class" in Soviet Russia. It's the people's prosperity we're interested in.

PS: For the full text of Obama's speech click here