Obama-Maniafrica

Thank God for the BBC! And for portable, wind-up radios! All day Tuesday I was feeling more homesick than I have since heading out a little over a month ago. It wasn’t family or friends that I missed, nor was it even a craving for Second-Slice pizza on a Friday night. No, it was the idea of missing out on the biggest world event since the war in Iraq started. And by world event I don’t necessarily mean the most costly, the most fatal or the most terrifying. I mean what is on the tip of every tongue, “Obama-Mania” a.k.a. the US Presidential Election.

I was sad that I was going to miss CNN with Wolf Blitzer and those seizure-inducing flashes of red and blue across the sensationally named “War-Room” video screen. Or that I wouldn’t have a chance to flick between Peter Mansbridge’s baritone voice delivering insights into the race or Lloyd Robinson’s dour portrayal of US politics.

But luckily enough, and thanks again to BBC Radio, Tuesday night we found ourselves huddled around our wonderful little radio, playing cards and listening to the initial projections for the US Presidential Elections. By 1am we knew that Indiana was in the Obama camp and that South Carolina was with McCain, but not much else. I set my cell-phone alarm for 5am Dakar-time (GMT) and slipped off to sleep with the radio still chattering away in the soothing accents of BBC commentary.

We woke up at 5. I admit, my first feeling was of fear. What if McCain had actually won? What if when I turned on the radio I heard instead of reports of the promised parties in Ghana and Kenya, utter disappointment? But my worry was put at ease moments after I wound up the radio and flicked it on. Obama was giving his acceptance speech! A big smile came across my face and I felt as though Dakar itself was smiling as well. In fact it sounded like all of Africa was smiling. Throughout the BBC broadcast reporters situated all around Africa had been reporting how there was such a great sense of expectation. People were prepared to stay up all night to watch the results and to party all morning if it was an Obama victory. In Obama’s father’s town in Kenya they had set up a theatre-sized screen so the whole community could watch the election together. In Accra attentive well-wishers gathered together in bars and restaurants, where they could conveniently watch the results and then grab a beer to celebrate without having to give up their seats. And in the days leading up to November 4th every other conversation I had with people in Dakar had touched upon the election, Obama and their support for him.

During his speech Obama gave a shout out to those of us “in the forgotten corners of the world huddled around our radios”. Hah! That was us. It was nice of him to recognize his supporters all over the world. And he probably realized that if everyone who was listening and who felt that the US Election was important to their future all had a vote, the tens of millions counted in his favor would have been a drop in the bucket compared to the hundreds of millions or more he would have amassed from those states outside of the 50 that counted. As for McCain, he could only hope to pick up a few votes in Alberta.

Obama-mania is alive here in Dakar. Educated professionals talk about it with reserved optimism. The man on the street, in our case mostly taxi drivers, burst with enthusiasm when we bring up the topic. “Obama is good for the world. Everyone is tired of war.” Our taxi man said on Thursday. “Since the war gas prices have gone way up. We are tired of war.”

Many of my friends in Dakar have made the point that their support for Obama is not because he is black (where I point out that his mom is white, but he’s almost always referred to as black and only black), but because of his message. Vision and policy put aside, one did say that he didn’t like the stiff way McCain moved, where I explained that that was due to injuries sustained in his POW past. But it goes to show you, if you want the youth vote in Dakar it helps to dance a good Mbala.

A coworker stated the obvious that “Everyone likes Obama. Everyone appreciates his message.”

A friend gave the most pointed summary. “Now we know that the United States is truly a democracy. Now that they have voted for a black man. We know that really anyone can become the president of the Unites States, including a man who’s father came from Africa.”