Nairobi: Billing himself as the United States’ first Kenyan-American president, Barack Obama called yesterday on citizens of his paternal homeland to cast aside “bad traditions” and forge a more just future.
Seeking to leverage his popularity and status as a “son of the soil”, Obama said: “Kenya is at a crossroads, a moment filled with peril, but also enormous promise.” But, he told a raucous Nairobi arena, “the future of Africa is up to Africans”.
Playing the role of brother and well-wishing friend, Obama said oppression of women, violent extremism, ethnic tensions and the “cancer” of corruption were key issues to be addressed. “We can see that future for Kenya on the horizon, but tough choices are going to have to be made,” he said.
His bluntest criticism was directed at the ill treatment of women and girls. “Treating women and girls as second-class citizens, those are bad traditions. They need to change, they are holding you back,” he said.
“There is no excuse for sexual assault or domestic violence, there is no reason that young girls should suffer genital mutilation, there is no place in civilised society for the early or forced marriage of children.”
Much of Obama’s speech stressed his affinity with young Kenyans, a vital group in a country where 60 percent of the population is aged under 24.
“He gets us,” said his half-sister Auma, describing Obama as “my brother, your brother, our son.”
Throughout his two-day trip, Obama has tried to bridge two constituencies: Americans reexamining their stereotypes of Africa, and Africans hoping for a better future. A young but impoverished population could be fertile ground for instability and the growth of groups like Somalia-based Al-Shebab.
US President Barack Obama wraps up a two-day landmark visit to Kenya yesterday, boosting business and security ties but with firm messages on gay rights and corruption.
Nairobi has witnessed a massive security operation, with parts of the usually traffic-clogged capital locked down. He leaves later yesterday for the Ethiopian capital Addis Ababa, where he will also be the first US leader to address the African Union.
AFP
