Obama: patient dog or chained lion?

Thanks to Edward Snowden, the cat has been let out of the bag. From his sanctuary in Moscow, Russia, the former “consultant” to the American National Security Agency has spilled the beans on “the 24/7 Group”. It turns out that the group is neither faceless nor sinister. Indeed, it is no big deal – the reference to “24/7” is the direct product of the solemn promise of US President Barack Obama to the citizens and allies of the United States of America: “Before my election I committed myself to working day and night 24/7 (twenty-four hours and seven days a week) to make America a better and stronger country than the day I became president on January 20, 2009. My mission and my goals remain the same. No shaking. No wavering.”

The active involvement and robust engagement of the “Senior Elder Citizens” (ex-KPMG partners who are awaiting their gratuity and pension) in this noble endeavour is the closest thing to an “open secret”. In appreciation of the uncommon hospitality and respect that both Barack and his charming first lady, Michele, have accorded us, we too are supporting them “24/7” with the only weapons at our disposal – heartfelt prayers, genuine compassion and constructive advice.

The bottom line is the Legacy Issue. Barack and Michele have taken pains to explain at great length, over and over again, that the financial collapse of 2008 is now history. It is almost a distant memory. The jobs are coming back. Wall Street has rallied and a boom may be imminent. Inflation has been tamed and interest rates are not only stable, but the chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank Janet L Yellen has signalled that interest rates are likely to remain stable until at least the second quarter of this year. No need to panic. Besides, a timely deal with the Republicans (as well as dissident Democrats) has staved off the threatened shutdown of the American financial system and the treasury. Also, the figures and the statistics are on the side of Obama. When he assumed office as president, there were 180,000 American troops deployed to various active war zones and simmering conflict areas – from Iraq to Afghanistan, Yemen, Korea, Germany, etc. Now, they are down to only 9,800. Ninety percent of them were home for Christmas and New Year to celebrate with their families and loved ones.

For good measure, Obama has now mended fences with America’s nearest enemy, Cuba, which is only 90 miles from its border.

For his troubles, Barack Obama has been rewarded not with spectacular popularity or exuberant affection but with intense hostility from the Republicans, especially the right-wing Tea Party. They are unrelenting in their war cry: Obama is the worst thing that has ever happened to America. As for his fellow Blacks, Obama may just as well not be in the White House. They are pretty cool towards him and Michele. Hence, they are not unduly bothered by the discomfiture of the Obamas. It serves them right is their clarion call, in despair over an adventure that started off as the “Audacity of Hope” but to them is now spiralling towards the “Tyranny of Despair and Abject Poverty”.

Obama’s arch-detractors – the “Red Necks” and the enemy battalions – have no inhibitions about resorting to cyberspace to nuke him. All the weapons of mass destruction have been primed for the final assault. If those fail, their alternatives are the drones, the “IEDs” (Improvised Explosive Devices) and low flying missiles. This is war. Total war. Pistols, assault rifles and machine guns are openly on sale at shopping malls (led by Walmart). The ultra-conservatives insist that the right of every American to carry weapons is enshrined in the Constitution. Hence, undisputedly the most powerful lobby group in America is the National Rifles Association (NRA). Presumably, the Constitution is silent on chaos and anarchy. If everybody is armed, nobody is safe. Every life is only a trigger and bullet away from being blasted by psychopaths, delinquents, road ragers and domestic tyrants.

For Christmas and the New Year, the gun merchants offered free weapon training, discounts and cavalier background checks. What Obama’s enemies are determined to achieve is a pre-emptive strike – to annul his election and wipe out any reference by history (or historians) to the Obama era. Once that is done, they want Obama to return whatever salaries or allowances he has collected from the American Treasury. As for gratuity or pension, just forget it! They want to treat him like the ex-KPMG partners who are still waiting to collect their pension after serving the firm meritoriously for thirty-four years (1970- 2004).

In order to dissuade the Senior Elder Citizens from bailing out the embattled Barack Obama from his predicament, the ultra-right-wing Conservatives/Republicans have resorted to the tactics of blackmail and intimidation by publishing and circulating the following report about Zimboda, the giant of Africa:

(i) New Telegraph newspaper of December 17, 2014. Front page headline: “HERBALIST DEMANDED HUMAN SKULL TO CURE ME OF MADNESS”: “A 35-year-old man, Olorunto Dipe, who was arrested for dealing in human parts, has said that a herbalist asked him to get a human skull found in his possession for healing purposes. Dipe said the herbalist wanted to use the skull to heal him of madness and leprosy.

“The suspect was arrested by a team of Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS) at Ajibawo, Atan-Otta, Ogun State on October 22, based on a tip-off. The team was led by Abba Kyari, a Superintendent of Police (SP).

“Dipe also claimed that he bought the human skull for N12,500 from Cotonou in the Republic of Benin. The suspect added that he was suffering from leprosy and partial madness and was asked to bring a human skull for treatment by a herbalist he identified as Asiwaju.”

J.K Randle