Obama talks tough

The Telegraph reports Barack Obama’s strong speech to Ghana’s Parliament.

Adopting a tone his white predecessors never dared employ, the US President told Africa it could no longer blame the West for all its woes.

“Yes, a colonial map that made little sense bred conflict, and the West has often approached Africa as a patron, rather than a partner,” he told the Ghanaian parliament. “But the West is not responsible for the destruction of the Zimbabwean economy over the last decade, or wars in which children are enlisted as combatants.”

However, it remains to be seen whether there is follow through beyond the rhetoric. What in fact can Obama deliver. Many of the worst governments will shrug their shoulders and go on with Business As Usual. Regrettable, but the most likely outcome.

Time will tell.