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The World Welcomes Obama (Nigerian Guardian News) The spontaneous explosions of joy around the world, and the deluge of congratulatory messages,are the clearest manifestation of the global mood in the wake of the epochal election of Senator Barack Hussein Obama as the first black President of the United States of America. Senator Obama earned his phenomenal success not by squeaking past the post. He did so in a resounding manner that bears all the hallmarks of a landslide that has redrawn America’s political landscape and expanded the frontiers of opportunity. The victor needed 270 electoral college votes; Obama got 349 to Senator John McCain’s 162. In the popular vote count, Obama worsted McCain by more than seven million votes. In addition, Obama’s Democratic Party won seven of the 11 governorship races, and the party has increased its majorities in both houses of Congress: the Senate and House of Representatives. No presidential candidate of the Democratic Party since Lyndon Johnson routed the Republican Barry Goldwater in 1964, has recorded such a huge margin of victory. Senator Obama’s triumph is all the more remarkable, because it was always an unrealised dream that an African-American, who is a racial minority so wantonly discriminated against, would rouse American voters – white, black, Hispanic, Indian and all – to cast their ballot in favour of Obama, a freshman Senator from Illinois, with no executive experience, and only 47 years old. American voters were exercising their basic rights and performing their civic duty when they queued, sometimes for several hours, to cast their votes last Tuesday. They had on their minds the financial crisis that has torn lives apart, America’s wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the troubled healthcare system, new energy sources, the environment and an assortment of nagging issues. For several months, they had the opportunity of assessing the candidates in the course of their electioneering campaigns. But when Americans voted, the world knew that the outcome would have consequences that reach far into the rest of the world. This is because of the United States’ standing as a dominant global power. The sense of relief and the joys so freely expressed by most Americans and others in the globe indicate that the choice of Senator Obama is the correct one. The choice is a vote for change – and the world looks eagerly to change. The vote is an unrestrained rebuke of the outgoing administration of President George W. Bush whose ineptitude and bellicosity has brought America to misery and scorn, and left the rest of the world no less traumatised. The world welcomes the opportunity offered President-elect Obama to rebuild America and to reshape our world. We do not entertain any doubts that Obama is determined to succeed. This much was evident in the run-up to the elections, and even more so with his soul-stirring acceptance speech that made every black person so proud and every human being so hopeful of a new beginning after the dusk of President Bush’s eight-year misadventure. Inherent in Obama’s success are a number of useful lessons, especially for Africa, and Nigeria in particular. American voters lined up to vote, because they knew that their votes would count. And their preferences have been upheld with none of those shenanigans for which electoral contests are notorious in Africa. Right now, more than eight months after the electorate in Zimbabwe voted against Robert Mugabe, he still remains in power, dithering over a government of national unity. Earlier this year, Kenya, where President-elect Obama has his roots, was embroiled in strife over election fraud. Kenyans have been jubilant over Obama’s success, and have also enjoyed a public holiday. The political elite in that country, as elsewhere on the continent, must confront some unpalatable truths, as a crucial step towards new attitudes and political templates. The least that is expected is that Africa must strive for rancour-free elections that truly express the will of the electorate. Just like Obama, a Nigerian-American can aspire to the White House. But in Nigeria we remain saddled with all kinds of hamstring, including ethnicity, religion and plain knavery. How many Nigerians, for instance, can aspire to, and even win, elective offices in places outside their state of origin? It is no less distressing that Nigerian voters are paid, or rather bribed, to vote. Conversely, in the U.S. the voters braved the autumn chill to make their ballot count. Above all, rather than being hostage to money-bags, Obama raised US$660 million through the selfless contributions of each who gave a widow’s mite. Such an experience was not uncommon in Nigeria in the First Republic when membership subscription was a veritable source of funding for political parties. To revive our polity, we must have parties that are people-based, and people-controlled. Obama has also offered himself for service – rather than self-aggrandisement. He inspired belief and hope in the voters, and got their mandate. While Africans savour the unprecedented success of their son in becoming the most influential leader in the world, we must begin in earnest to embark on the transformation of our politics for efficient service delivery and good governance.

The world celebrates Obama’s victory as the president-elect also faces challenges

(Nigerian Guardian News)

ON Tuesday Barack Obama fulfilled Martin Luther King Jnr’s dream of an America where his “four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the colour of their skin but by the content of their character” as he emerges as America’s first African-American president. Using agency reports, NIKE SOTADE writes about the global reaction to his election and the major challenges awaiting the Obama administration.

“IT’S the answer told by lines that stretched around schools and churches in numbers this nation has never seen, by people who waited three hours and four hours, many for the first time in their lives, because they believed that this time must be different, that their voices could be that difference.

To the best campaign team ever assembled in the history of politics you made this happen, and I am forever grateful for what you’ve sacrificed to get it done.

But above all, I will never forget who this victory truly belongs to. It belongs to you. It belongs to you. This is your victory.”

With these momentous words from his acceptance speech after being declared President-elect at the Tuesday presidential polls in America, Barack Hussein Obama set the tone for a journey that would take him to the Oval House in the next 74 days.

On Tuesday, November 4, Obama made history as America’s 44th President and the first African-American to mount the saddle as the world’s most important president, beating racial barriers and other political rivals to get to the top.

Across the globe his victory is being celebrated from the Artic to the Antarctica, from the Orient to the Occident as congratulatory messages pour in from world leaders wishing him well and also setting agenda for him on how to create a good image for America.

World leaders rushed to congratulate President-elect Barack Obama as incumbent George W. Bush called his win “a testament to hard work, optimism and faith in the enduring promise of our nation.”

Speaking from the White House, Bush said the people had chosen a president “whose journey represents a triumph of the American story.”

He said: “It will be a stirring sight to watch President Obama, his wife, Michelle and their beautiful girls step through the doors of the White House.”

“I know millions of Americans will be overcome with pride at this inspiring moment that so many have waited for for so long.”

Across the globe, people in city squares and villages, living rooms and shacks cheered his success, boosting hopes that America’s first black commander-in-chief might herald a more conciliatory approach to the rest of the world.

Leading the congratulations by world leaders, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown said he was excited about the prospect of working with the new U.S. president.

“I know Barack Obama and we share many values,” he said. “And I look forward to working extremely closely with him in the coming months and years.”

German Chancellor Angela Merkel also offered her congratulations and said she would work with Obama to deal with the challenges facing the world.

“I’m convinced that through a close and trusting cooperation between the United States and Europe we will be able to confront new risks and challenges in a decisive manner and will be able to take advantage of the numerous opportunities that are opening up in our world,” Merkel said.

Obama met both Brown and Merkel over the summer while on an international trip through Europe and the Middle East and held a huge rally in Berlin that revived memories of President John F. Kennedy’s 1963 visit.

Chinese President Hu Jintao offered similar congratulations, urging Obama to join China in shouldering “important common responsibilities.”

“I look forward to endeavour together with you,” he said. “To push the Sino-U.S. constructive and cooperative relations to a new level, in order to better benefit our two peoples and the peoples of the world.”

In Kenya, Obama’s extended family danced in his ancestral village of Kogelo, chanting, “Barack Obama, Barack Obama is going to the White House.”

Obama’s grandmother, half-brother and relatives eagerly watched the election results, while in the capital Nairobi, revellers marched and danced through the streets to sirens and whistles, singing Obama’s name and carrying and waving American flags.

Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki called Obama’s election “a momentous day not only in the history of the United States of America, but also for us in Kenya. The victory of Senator Obama is our own victory because of his roots here in Kenya. As a country, we are full of pride for his success.”

U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said: “On a personal note, as an African-American, I am especially proud because this is a country that’s been through long journey in overcoming wounds, and making race not the factor in our lives.”

Her predecessor, another African-American, Colin Powell said he wept as he watched Obama deliver his victory speech in Chicago’s Grant Park.

Powell, in an interview with CNN in Hong Kong, said he believed Obama had the potential to be a great president and asked Americans – including Republicans – to get behind Obama.

Powell, a retired U.S. general and a Republican, was once seen as a possible presidential candidate himself but endorsed Obama towards the end of the campaign.

“Obama displayed a steadiness. Showed intellectual vigour. He has a definitive way of doing business that will do us well,” Powell said Wednesday.

In Jakarta, Indonesia, where Obama lived with his mother and stepfather in the late 1960s, hundreds of students at his old elementary school poured into the playground and danced in the rain, some chanting “Obama! Obama!” The Associated Press reported.

In a Japanese town bearing Obama’s name, jubilation took a few minutes to translate from the group of American teachers to the local crowd, which also cheered “O-ba-ma!”

In an open letter to Obama, French President Nicolas Sarkozy said Obama’s election raised in France, in Europe and around the world “an immense hope” and that the American people “had expressed with force their faith in progress and the future.”

Afghan president Hamid Karzai said the American people have taken “themselves … and the rest of the world into a new era, the era where race, color and ethnicity … will also disappear as a factor in politics in the rest of the world.”

Iraqi President Jalal Talabani said: “We look forward to relations between our two countries that witness, during your rule, further consolidation and development in all different fields, based on a firm contractual ground, common interests and similar values.”

” In addition to the global financial crisis, Obama’s challenges include Iran’s nuclear ambitions, the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and relations with Syria — challenges the Middle Eastern media have dubbed “the hot files.”

Iran’s Deputy Parliament Speaker Mohammad Hossein Abutorabifard offered a mild note of optimism to traditionally thorny relations between his country and Washington.

“If the United States takes into consideration the realities of the world and chooses suitable policies, America can play its (proper) role in the relations between the United States and the countries of the region and the world of Islam,” he said.

Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said: “We have no doubt that that the special relations between the two nations will continue and strengthen during the Obama administration.”

Russian President Dmitry Medvedev congratulated Obama on his victory and said he was hoping for constructive dialogue with the incoming U.S. president but also highlighted differences between the two countries, including the missile defense plan.

In Russia, Pravda newspaper was ecstatic, announcing that “Eight years of hell are over.” It criticized the cost of the “grand American soap opera” during a time of economic crisis.

Elated supporters also took to the streets of Chicago, Washington, Atlanta and other cities across the globe, dancing and cheering for their candidate.

“This is the most wonderful night of my life,” said an emotional David White, who grew up during the civil rights movement of the 1960s.

White said he remembers when African-Americans couldn’t go to amusement parks and didn’t think a day like this was achievable.

“I’ve seen this country vindicate itself,” he said. “I welled up with tears just looking at the turnout … I just thank God that I was alive to see it.”

Tave Johnson put the significance of the win in perspective.

“It’s history,” said Johnson, who spent the evening at the Grant Park Obama rally in Chicago, Illinois. “I’m half-black and half-white. I talked to my grandparents today, and they told me this is historic. To be honest … I never would have guessed it would happen.”

Samiour Patterson has two children and said Obama’s victory means everything to him and his family. “It’s amazing when I can sit here and finally say, “you know what? You can do this. If you want to be the president of the United States when you grow up, no one can stop you.’”

His family celebrated Tuesday night with a “yes we did” cake. Patterson is African-American, but he says it wasn’t about black or white in the election.

“It means a lot to us, not just because he’s black, but because he’s qualified,” he said. “That’s why the crowd is so diverse. It’s a true picture of America. We’ve come together as a United States of America rather than just black people or white people. We’ve come together as a people and elected the best choice for America. “Yes we did!’

“I’m just so happy the college came together,” she said. “I’m ready for change in this country. I think we are all so happy the election is over.”

Eric Tinoco, a third-generation Mexican-American who also attended the rally in Grant Park, agreed that Obama’s win was “an important step forward for our country” – especially for the children.

“We’ve all inherited a racist legacy,” he said. “I think this would certainly be a touchstone for all minority children growing up in the United States. They can see, if he can do it, I can do it.”

High school student Marcus Harun said Obama’s victory has restored his faith in the United States.

“We the people, everyone’s created equal -that’s what we say,” he said. “But I’ve never seen it put into action until something like this. I really got touched when I saw the number, that he had enough electoral votes to be the next president of the United States. I’m not saying that either candidate was the one I was looking for, but I’m really happy for our country. It’s a great day in American history.”

Many supportes attended or hosted election parties where the historic election outcome was celebrated into early Wednesday morning. Several, including Tave Johnson and Eric Tinoco, attended the massive Grant Park rally for Obama in Chicago. Others, like Kevin Phillips of Indianapolis, Indiana, attended their own election parties.

“The mood here rivals a New Year’s Eve party,” said Phillips. He watched the election results with about 60 people at the small music venue where he works, and said nearly everyone at the party was an Obama supporter. Mark Massi hosted an election party at his Chicago apartment for nine of his fellow Obama supporters. He used a large marquee purchased from Craigs list to display real-time election results throughout the evening.

“This room is elated,” said Massi when the election was called. “There’s a few people here who have broken down into tears … It’s a lot of fun here in Chicago right now. I’ll just say that.” iReport.com: A big night for Chicago

It was a big night for Washington, D.C., as well. Marisa Uchin was one of thousands of people that took to the streets of the district and began “dancing and cheering.”

“It was just so alive,” she said by phone as people cheered and car horns sounded in the background. “By the time we got to the White House, there were a thousand of us

dancing. The bus drivers and cab drivers are honking their horns. It’s like a big cloud has been lifted off the city.”

Countries around the world were also abuzz with excitement over Obama’s victory. Thomas Cohan attended a party in Paris where American Democrats living abroad came together to watch the election results.

“We estimate the crowd was around 1,500 people. A lot of people were turned away as there was more than double the expected turnout,” he said. “Every time a new result was posted, the crowd would erupt in yells and screams. It was like a rock concert.” Even supporters of Sen. John McCain said they were excited for Obama’s historic achievement.”

Barbara Rademacher, who voted for McCain, said she was grateful that she was able to see Obama’s victory.

“All I can say is, thank you God for letting me live to see this day,” she said. “My sincere prayer is that we can finally all live together without the heavy baggage of the past weighing us down.”

For many across Africa and the world, Barack Obama’s election seals America’s reputation as a land of staggering opportunity.

“If it were possible for me to get to the United States on my bicycle, I would,” said Joseph Ochieng, a 36-year-old carpenter who lives in Kenya’s sprawling Kibera shantytown, a maze of tin-roofed shacks and dirt roads.

Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki declared a public holiday Thursday in the country of Obama’s late father, allowing celebrations to continue through the night and into a second day. From Europe and Asia to the Middle East, many expressed amazement that the U.S. could overcome centuries of racial strife and elect an African-American president.

Scenes of jubilation broke out in the western Kenya village of Kogelo, where many of Obama’s Kenyan relatives still live. People sang, danced in the streets and wrapped themselves in U.S. flags. A group of exuberant residents picked up the president-elect’s half brother Malik and carried him through the village.

“Unbelievable!” Malik Obama shouted, leading the family in chanting, “Obama’s coming, make way!”

“He’s in!” said Rachel Ndimu, 23, a Kenyan business student who joined hundreds of others for an election party that began at 5 a.m. Wednesday at the residence of the U.S. ambassador to Kenya, Michael Ranneberger.

“I think this is awesome, and the whole world is backing him,” Ndimu said as people raised glasses of champagne.

Obama was born in Hawaii, where he spent most of his childhood raised by his white mother. He barely knew his father. But for the world’s poorest continent, the ascent of a man of African heritage to America’s highest office was a source of immeasurable pride and hope.

Tributes rolled in from two of Africa’s groundbreaking leaders. Nelson Mandela, South Africa’s first black president, said Obama gave the world the courage to dream.

“Your victory has demonstrated that no person anywhere in the world should not dare to dream of wanting to change the world for a better place,” Mandela said in a letter of congratulations.

Liberian President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf , the first woman elected to head an African country , said she did not expect to see a black American president in her lifetime.

“All Africans now know that if you persevere, all things are possible,” she said.

In Indonesia, where Obama lived as child, hundreds of students at his former elementary school erupted in cheers when he was declared winner, pouring into the courtyard where they hugged, danced in the rain and chanted “Obama! Obama!”

In Britain, The Sun newspaper borrowed from Neil Armstrong’s 1969 moon landing in describing Obama’s election as “one giant leap for mankind.”

Yet celebrations were often tempered by sobering concerns that Obama faces momentous global challenges – wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the nuclear ambitions of Iran, the elusive hunt for peace in the Middle East and a financial crisis.

Europe, where Obama is overwhelmingly popular, is one region that looked eagerly to an Obama administration for a revival in warm relations after the Bush government’s chilly rift with the continent over the Iraq war.

“At a time when we have to confront immense challenges together, your election raises great hopes in France, in Europe and in the rest of the world,” French President Nicolas Sarkozy said in a congratulations letter to Obama.

Skepticism, however, was high in the Muslim world. The Bush administration alienated the Middle East by mistreating prisoners at its detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and inmates at Iraq’s Abu Ghraib prison – human rights violations also condemned worldwide.

Some Iraqis, who have suffered through five years of a war ignited by the United States and its allies, said they would believe positive change when they saw it.

“Obama’s victory will do nothing for the Iraqi issue nor for the Palestinian issue,” said Muneer Jamal, a Baghdad resident. “I think all the promises Obama made during the campaign will remain mere promises.”

Financial markets in Asia closed higher Wednesday as traders were hopeful that Obama could successfully tackle the global economic crisis. But in Europe the major markets closed down about two per cent and U.S. markets closed about 4.5 per cent down.

Amid unprecedented turmoil in the financial markets, Wall Street is desperate for an end to the uncertainty that has built up over the two-year campaign.

At an election party in Paris, French Finance Minister Christine Lagarde highlighted the financial crisis as Obama’s priority when he takes office. She told CNN’s Jim Bittermann she expected the president-elect to be “clearly involved” in the upcoming financial

In 74 days, President Barack Obama will assume responsibility for guiding the nation out of two wars and through a daunting array of real and potential global crises, even as a pressing domestic agenda and a depleted federal treasury hamper his flexibility abroad.

Obama is likely to benefit from initial goodwill across much of the planet, where there’s profound relief that the Bush years are ending. President Bush himself has taken steps, such as outreach to Iran and Syria, in his waning months that could provide Obama with diplomatic opportunities.

Still, the new president, untested in foreign affairs, faces what may be the most unsettled global scene since the 1930s and ’40s.

Iraq, where Obama has promised to withdraw U.S. troops by summer 2010, is less violent, but far from stable or self-reliant. Al Qaida and the Taliban have grown stronger and now control parts of Afghanistan and Pakistan’s tribal areas. Neither sanctions nor sweeteners have halted Iran’s nuclear development. North Korea’s leader is ailing, raising questions about the stability of the nuclear-armed dictatorship.

The United States is still the world’s dominant power, but it’s less dominant than it was and increasingly is challenged by China, Russia and others.

“President Obama will be a wartime president from day one, and he will have to make immediate decisions and come to grips with immediate national security priorities,” Anthony Cordesman of the Center for Strategic and International Studies, a Washington policy institute, wrote in an analysis Wednesday.

In a speech last week, Director of National Intelligence Michael McConnell predicted that the election victor’s euphoria “is going to be dampened somewhat when he begins to focus on the realities of the myriad of changes and challenges we are going to face in the future.”

Obama’s first test may already have come Wednesday, his first full day as president-elect.

Russian President Dmitri Medvedev announced in his first state of the nation speech that Russia will station short-range missiles near its border with Poland if Obama proceeds with Bush’s plan to station missile defense systems in Poland and the Czech Republic.

It was reminder that Russia, which seemed cooperative during most of the tenure of Obama’s two predecessors, has turned sharply anti-Western.

Obama on Thursday got his first full look at the challenges facing the nation when McConnell gave him his first President’s Daily Brief, the mostly highly classified briefing produced by the U.S. intelligence community, according to a senior U.S. official who requested anonymity because he wasn’t authorized to discuss the matter publicly.

Thereafter, Obama’s daily briefing will be overseen by Michael J. Morell, the head of the CIA’s analytical branch, the official said.

The global economic crisis, more than any other factor, could limit Obama’s flexibility in defense and foreign affairs, whether it’s increasing the size of the U.S. military, as he’s promised to do, or ramping up foreign aid in an attempt to expand American influence, former U.S. officials said.

“I do think it will soak up a good deal of the president’s time and attention until it is resolved,” said James Dobbins of the RAND Corp. a defense and international relations research company.

“The administration is not going to come out of the box” immediately with large new foreign policy initiatives, said Dobbins, a former Assistant Secretary of State. “Frankly, that’s not necessarily a bad thing.”

Richard Haass , the president of the Council on Foreign Relations , said that what makes the current situation unique isn’t the multiplicity of challenges facing the United States , but the fact that the U.S. military is stretched in Iraq and Afghanistan and the economic crisis demands attention.

“It’s going to be the president’s first priority. It will probably limit the availability of resources. It could lead to increased instability in certain countries around the world,” Haass said.

Obama has pledged to remove U.S. troops from Iraq in 16 months after taking office and to increase U.S. forces in Afghanistan. Whether he can meet that deadline remains to be seen, and the future of the U.S. troop presence is caught up in an agreement Bush is negotiating with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki that’s been delayed repeatedly.

Obama has also promised to open diplomatic talks with U.S. adversaries such as Iran. Both Dobbins and Haass said that by reversing course in his final months and sending out feelers to Syria and allowing a senior U.S. diplomat to attend talks with Iran, Bush has helped Obama. Bush is expected to announce his intent to establish a U.S. diplomatic post in Tehran in coming weeks.

If history is a guide, Obama will face early tests from abroad as president, either from leaders seeking to gauge his mettle, or from surprise events.

Bush was challenged early in his presidency when a U.S. spy plane collided with a Chinese military jet and crash-landed on Chinese territory. President Bill Clinton’s first year saw the 1993 bombing of New York’s World Trade Center and the deaths of 18 U.S. soldiers in Mogadishu, Somalia.

Obama seems unlikely to escape a similar welcome.

While foreign leaders may or may not choose to test Obama, “the one thing I’m sure of is, events will test him,” Haass said. “There will be coups. . . . There will be genocide. . . . There will be terrorism.”