What We Expect from Obama's Visit

To find out if a person can swim, you just have to push him into the water.

U.S. President Barack Hussein Obama’s arrival in Senegal shows to what extent we can overcome insecurity and insalubrity if we want to.

There isn’t a single African who didn’t jump for joy when Obama was elected President of the United States of America. Today, Senegal is proud to welcome the most powerful African-American in the world. He must be received as the black American, the African who showed the world that power goes beyond color; it’s a gift from God. No welcome could be bigger than that which we reserve for America’s president.

Though some are focusing on what his visit will bring to our dear country, allow me to comment on the climate of our government’s authorities, which have spared no expense in making his stay so natural that it would surpass the limits of the imagination in our land of teranga [hospitality]. Two points attract my attention at a time when insecurity, insalubrity and anarchy dominate our living environment. On one hand, it’s about the transformation of the city center and freeing the surrounding areas of all the clutter, an Independence Square that breathes and shows its true beauty. On the other, these last weeks have shown how much our security services can cleanse our city of crime to the point that we wonder about the use of a national security agency while our Security Forces can guarantee our safety if they so wish. Must we go to these lengths every time we host a superpower?

The arrival of the American president should not only benefit our development in all its forms — if such is the reason for his visit — but it should also be an opportunity for us to renew our love for our dear Senegal. America owes its might to the love that every American has for his country to the point of believing “he is the best,” and showing it all times with the famous principle of “time is money.”

In America as well as France, the visit of a president is only experienced by the authorities. The people learn about it through the media because they have other fish to fry. Tomorrow, all of Dakar will be idle, the Senegalese will rally to welcome our dear President Obama, some places in Dakar will be closed off from the populace; the Goreans, if they’re lucky, will get a “cooee” through their windows.

What do we expect from this visit?

Whatever the reasons for this visit, it will forever leave a mark on our nation since it’s a son of Africa that we are honoring, at a time when many African countries want to host him. As a good teranga country, we welcome him and we close our eyes to all of the inconvenience that his protocol will cause the Senegalese citizens because security requires it. But on his departure, we must review our civic rights. Oh yes! Must we wait for Obama’s arrival in Senegal to be the most democratic, cleanest, safest country? No! The Senegalese citizen should be much more deserving than a visitor of seeing circumstantial efforts become routine. The average Senegalese deserves the same favors as a visitor; he must live in a safe, clean environment, and he must see his streets cleared. On our dear Obama’s departure, the rest of Senegal should resemble the different places that President Obama will pass through over the coming days. On his departure, the suburbs must be assured of a winter time without flooding. On his departure, we want the criminals to be out of work ….

We are convinced that our authorities have all the means to make the Senegalese proud of their country because changing Senegal is possible; it’s just a question of good will. So, after Obama’s visit, let’s please keep our country safe and clean! We wish President Obama, his family and all his delegation a pleasant stay.