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Obama left us good speeches

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By Amb. Emmanuel Mwamba
IT is now an established fact, that some of our own brothers and sisters, have always aided foreigners in implementing harmful programs against Africa, the looting and exploitation of its mineral, forest and water resources, and the deliberate impoverishment of communities.
So the current debate on homosexuality, theft of public resources and corruption attracted me to discuss the legacy of one the world’s historical figures-Barack Obama.
Barack Obama, a historic president because he was United State’s first black president, presided over a somewhat less than historic presidency!
For Africa, we shall remember him by his aggressive pro- abortion and pro LGBTQ programs.
It all started shortly in 2012 before his second term, Obama deployed his Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton to the United Nations Human Right Council Conference in Geneva.
She delivered a “landmark” speech proclaiming that “gay rights are human rights”.
She also announced the U.S.’s first government-worldwide policy to push for the decriminalization of homosexuality overseas, especially in sub-saharan Africa and Latin America.
Instead of appreciating and upholding the strong traditions and culture, these regions were instead, deemed to be highly homophobic in practice and in their laws.
This marked Obama’s active export of gay rights to Africa.
He deployed his diplomats and secured hundreds of millions of dollars directly to these countries and with United Nations agencies.
The aim was to try to mainstream gay issues, block anti-gay laws, punish countries that enacted them, and tie financial assistance to the respect for LGBTQ rights.
Obama hoped that by the end of his presidency, he would make Africa gay-friendly(sic).
In contrast, for all the issues around his predecessor George W Bush, his policies and his misadventures in the Middle East, Bush left Africa with the Millennium Challenge Account Programme and the President’s Emergency Fund for Aids Relief in Africa(PEPFAR).
Bush’s enduring popularity in Africa is because of this health initiative.
The President’s Emergency Plan for Aids Relief(PEPFAR), remains one of the biggest global health initiatives in history.
Begun in 2003 and covering some 50 countries, Pepfar has saved the lives of over 13m people living with HIV-Aids, mostly in Africa, by providing them with anti-retroviral drugs.
The scheme, which has cost $80bn to date, has also prevented some 2.2m children from being infected through mother-to-child transmission.
Unlike many questionable development programs, these two programs work!
The Millennium Challenge Account equally is devoted to infrastructure projects, and the program has invested in the people and has promoted economic freedom among communities.
These two programs have helped Africa in its development quest and helped halt the spread of AIDS, Malaria and Tuberculosis.
But Obama left us with just good speeches.
He will be sadly remembered in Africa for implementing one of the most aggressive LGBTQ programs ever seen and we are still reeling from its effects.
So before you blame the slave driver, before you castigate the colonialist and the lurking neo-colonialist, just remember that it is always one of our own brothers and sisters, who have aided, participated and supported the aggression against Africa.
In slavery, there were traditional authorities that gave away our people.
During colonialism and imperialism, it’s our own traditional authorities and councils that signed mining agreements and gave away mineral resources and land.
Even now, before we condemn the colonialists, let us check the role of our own brothers and sisters, who could be stealing and looting public resources, traditional leaders who could be giving and parceling out large tracts of land meant for the poor and our heritage, and those smart technocrats working in government and NGOs who could be actively participating in the swift implementation of LGBTQ programs in Zambia!
So as we say no to homosexuality, let us remember that our people have always frowned upon theft of public resources, and acts of corruption, with simliar strong disdain as homosexuality.
Bane, naya ku Nairobi, Kenya, God bless you.
The author is Zambia’s Ambassador to the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia and Permanent Representative to the African Union(AU) and the United Nations Economic Commission for Africa(ECA) based in Addis Ababa.

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