Millions of Africans wanted to see Barack Obama on his first presidential visit to a black African country. Some travelled for days, from countries all over the continent, in hopes of getting a glimpse of him. Thousands gathered at the Accra airport and the streets of the capital. Virtually all were disappointed.
Why? Because the White House had decided that Mr. Obama would not be seen in public during his entire 21-hour visit to Ghana. All of his events were carefully limited to a small number of invited guests and official dignitaries. As for the ordinary masses, they could only watch him on television – or glimpse his helicopter flying overhead.
Accra’s central square, known as Black Star Square, is the traditional place for foreign leaders to meet the crowds. It’s where former president Bill Clinton held a huge rally for nearly a million people in 1998. But the square was tightly sealed off during Mr. Obama’s visit to the city on Saturday morning, and there was no central place for people to gather to catch a glimpse of him in any way.
Ghana announced that television screens would be set up at key locations such as the National Theatre, a major landmark in central Accra, so that people would have a place to gather to watch Mr. Obama’s visit. But security roadblocks were set up all around the city, making it difficult for anyone to reach the theatre without a long walk. In the end, when the TV screen was set up in the theatre, the 1500-seat auditorium was almost entirely empty, with only a few dozen people watching.
About 10,000 police were deployed during the visit, shutting down roads, setting up barricades and keeping people a long distance away from Mr. Obama as his limousine raced around the city.
To explain the mysterious absence of any public appearance by Mr. Obama during his visit, the Ghanaian government told the local media that “the rainy season” had forced them to shift his appearance from Black Star Square to a nearby convention centre, where the parliament was assembled for the day. It was an absurd explanation. Accra does have rain at this time of year, but the city was sunny on Saturday, and White House officials confirmed that they never had any plan to allow Mr. Obama to speak outdoors.
Why was security so tight? One reason is the era of terrorism, which always causes twitchiness among American security officials whenever a U.S. president enters an unfamiliar country. Terrorists have attacked U.S. targets in Africa, including embassies, on several occasions since the 1990s.
Another reason was simply the huge popularity of Mr. Obama himself, especially in Africa. If he had appeared on the streets, he would have been instantly mobbed by emotional crowds.
A third reason was the experience of 1998, when Mr. Clinton spoke at Black Star Square. The massive crowd of spectators who gathered for his speech were so excited that they surged towards the stage, crushing and nearly killing those at the front.
But for many Africans, none of these explanations can really justify the decision to keep Mr. Obama isolated from the people. Ghana is one of the most peaceful countries in Africa. If the president can hold public appearances in Europe and the United States, which he does, why not in the continent where his father was born?
