Original paragraphed &  slightly EDITED by NM

 

by

Anonymous (a.k.a. Alagba Mallam Ogbuefi)

Posted by: "Alagba Mallam Ogbuefi" OBAMA%92S%20HISTORIC%20ACHIEVEMENT">[cofor2011@gmail.com ]  

Fri Jun 6, 2008

About 15 months ago, I was approached by a local organizer for the Obama campaign to hop onto his presidential quest bandwagon. Among other flimsy excuses, I declined the invitation on the ground that America is not ready to put a Black man in the White House.   His follow-up question on how we are going to know when American is ready if nobody tries led to the reevaluation of my stance. America is not going to advertise on the pages of newspapers when there is a vacancy for a Black person in the White House.

It is true that nothing ventured, nothing gained. While I never volunteered for his campaign, I have since developed better appreciation for his decision. If Earl Woods had not believed that golf should not be an exclusive sport for the *rich who are born white*, there will be no Tiger Woods that we know today. Richard Williams was not deterred by the absence of Black champions on the tennis circuit since Althea Gibson when he vowed to make his daughters tennis stars. Venus and Serena made history by being the only siblings who have won all major tennis tournaments. MLK Holiday would still remain a mirage if its proponents had listened to naysayers.

Regardless of what happens in the upcoming November polls, Obama will undoubtedly grace the cover of TIME magazine as its PERSON OF THE YEAR in December this year. And with the dismal state of the economy and Iraq quagmire, the odds favor Obama to make it to the White House on January 20, 2009. That Obama rose from relative obscurity eight years ago to bring down the highly touted Clinton's political machinery is a feat that is being likened to the biblical David vs. Goliath battle. I think this is the reason why Hillary is interested in the VP candidacy to position herself as the 'consensus' candidate after Obama. Otherwise, who knows whether someone may emerge in the next four or eight years again to rubbish Clinton?

Among the factors that catapulted Obama to the pinnacle of the Democratic Party in such a short period include his sunny disposition, Clinton's underestimation and political miscalculations, exaggerated importance of experience, Obama's superb 'can do' ability and confidence, his liberation from a victim complex that is bedeviling many African Americans, his fine oratorical skills, his message discipline, a well-oiled campaign machinery, his fund-raising prowess, and the most important of all, his luck. Credit is also due to Obama's early VIP believers who saw his promise and risked their economic and political goodwill in the process. Notable among them are Oprah, John Kerry, the Kennedys, the Virginia and Kansas governors (Tim Kaine and Kathleen Sebelius respectively) among others.

While most of the factors contributing to Obama's success are self-evident, the two that deserve further elucidation are his luck and his refusal to suffer from a victim complex. That luck is the most important factor is not in doubt. The Iraq stalemate and the economic mess have fueled the citizenry's widespread hunger for change but only Obama offers the best hope for a fresh start. He was lucky not to be in the Senate when Hillary cast her vote to authorize the Iraq war. He was lucky that the original Republican candidate for the  2004 Senate run from his state of Illinois [Jack Ryan] withdrew his candidacy following a sex scandal allegation. This smoothed his path to the Senate in an almost uncontested duel with Alan Keyes. He was lucky that the Rev Wright and other ugly episodes occurred too late in the game to alter the eventual outcome. He was lucky with the order of the elections, having lost nine of the last 14 contests. What if those blowout losses had occurred in February with their attendant bandwagon effect? He was lucky that Michigan and Florida jumped the gun. He was lucky to be underestimated and considered an underdog, both at Harvard where he emerged as the Editor of its Law Review and in this presidential primary.

Although one usually feels insulted when a good fortune is attributed to luck, it is probably true. In most life struggles, luck often trumps hard work and competence.

Obama's competence and poise stem from not letting the accident of his heritage to define him. He is not encumbered by a victim's complex. I have run into many African Americans who blame whites for whatever afflicts them and fail to take responsibility for self-inflicted wounds. While discrimination is real as an average white with comparable skill-set and endowment has a better shot at succeeding than his minority counterpart, America still offers the best hope for anyone to live his dream regardless of color and creed. For over 30 years in Nigeria, access to political offices and plum appointments has been denied millions on the basis of their tongues and/or states of origin.

Obama's feat should inspire minorities who think that they '*cannot be all that they want to be'* by virtue of their race. It should provide succor to millions whose prospects for tenure, promotion or justice have been genuinely hurt by discrimination. For other pretenders, the myth-bursting irony of Obama's victory is that the veil will be lifted on mediocrity, laziness and other self-destructive tendencies that are at the heart of their problems.


A.M.O
Resident Columnist