Let's talk about politics

I must be one of the few people who:

1) Is not as moved by Obama's win as the rest of the world. And no, I am not white. I am African, Nigerian actually. I think because I am Nigerian I am so immune to politics and politicians and governmental regimes that I do not see how the positivity can come from any government actually.

For example: Nigeria was ruled by the military who assumed power by force for the longest time. General Abacha was a dictator by Saddam Hussein standards and his dicatatorship made life a living hell for everyone. (He assumed this power by taking over from another dictator and promising to change things but that's a whole other story) One day while I was in law school, news came. He had died suddenly. So no more dictator. We rejoiced just as everyone rejoiced last night, ecstatic with joy, even better because they cancelled all the classes that day. And for that brief moment as I watched people rejoicing, there was a glimmer of hope inside me of an improved country, of change, of possibilities.

An interim dictator came to power and promised to bring on democratic regime soon enough and make things all better. They never did get better. Since then, my country has gone from military to civilians and the players are different but the game is still the same and we still suffer from the same woes that besieges African countries, ours is worse because we have so much more potential. We are no. 9 in the list of greatest oil exporting nations, but people are still as poor as ever, roads are deplorable, we don't have steady electricity, some people don't even have running water. This is oh so many years after the "dictator to end all dictators" died and we thought our troubles were over.

So that's why I am immune. All through the election period I kept telling people that I am not really into it and I am not a great believer of change as Obama had professed. I just don't trusy that change is possible. Call me a cynic or just someone who was there the day that Abacha died, and trusted for a wee second that things will change and still saw my country suffer.

I hope that a year from now I shall eat my words. That there shall be unity and peace and world peace of the kind that I strive for (hence my UN job aspirations) and that we shall all say that this was the change we needed. I pray that I come on here and eat my words in that instance and that will be the end of that. I say that without an iota of doubt and certain hope for the best.

But for today, November 5th I am not as excited as the rest of the world that we now have a black president. It really makes no difference to me.

2) Never really hated McCain. All the black people I know hated him and thought he was the enemy because he dared to run against Obama. Because I was immune to everything I didn't really hate him, I was indifferent. Same game, different players. I thought he did his best because this was his battle to loose. I thought he did great things in an effort to pass the immigration bill last year and I hope he still gets to do that. I think he did a lot more as a Senator and was more outspoken than Obama. I know the rest of the black community must think I have sold them out but that's it, my opinion. Before this, I never really knew where Obama stood on immigration or poverty or global energy while he was in Senate, maybe he was a casual observer, who knows. Hopefully, he won't be as a president, that's the most important thing.

I strive not to get political on this blog because I am not a political person (even though I secretly hope for a career in international law, how ironic!) but so much has happened from yesterday to this "great" day that I just felt like this is what's on my mind, so I better talk about in the one place I know I can without judgment. Trust me in real life, I made a lot of enemies while airing my independent partially African political view, and lost a lot of prospects. So there!