How Obama flew into Africa with a message that won’t fly

By Bishop Dave Chikosi

He is a son of Africa and the president of the most powerful nation on earth at the same time. His name is Barak Hussein Obama. You would therefore expect him to jet into Africa and have no problem selling his redefined and re-packaged marriage model to his African brothers. But you would be wrong. Africa ain’t buying it.

On his first stop of a three-country tour, Obama broached the subject of same sex marriage. “I want the African people to just hear what I believe,” he implored the Africans in Senegal. “Every country, every group of people, every religion have different customs, different traditions. And when it comes to people’s personal views and their religious faith, et cetera, I think we have to respect the diversity of views that are there.”

So far so good Mr President. Nothing controversial here. But then Obama shoved the envelope a little too hard: “Every world religion has this basic notion that is embodied in the Golden Rule — treat people the way you want to be treated. And I think that applies here as well.”

Africans are incurably polite. They are polite to a fault. That’s how they lost land to foreign interests back in colonial days.  Most Africans will disagree with you but you will never know it. They smile a whole lot. Maybe too much. You see, Africans are not like the Russians. Russians, I’m told, don’t smile a whole lot. It’s not normal to smile at strangers in Russia. Which leads me to think that Joel Osteen, that ever-smiling preacher, is from Africa. He certainly ain’t from Russia.

But I digress . . .  back to our illustrious son of the soil speaking his mind on marriage in Senegal. If Obama thought his same sex marriage pitch to Africa was going to end in a giant sale, then he got a rude awakening. Macky Sall, president of Senegal was having none of this Western mischief. He diplomatically rebuffed the US president. He wasn’t rude, but he was firm. Obama ought to be glad this was Dakar. If it was Harare, the rebuff might have been a whole lot less diplomatic. They don’t mince words over there in Sunshine City.

But Obama did get the message. Africa is not America or Europe. We have our own moral value systems just as you have yours. God forbid that you would fly 4000 miles across the oceans just to come and sanctimoniously try to lecture us on what marriage is or is not. Dear God Barack, don’t you know that in Africa we’ve been marrying and giving in marriage for centuries on end? We have a pretty good idea of what marriage is.

“These issues are all societal issues basically, and we cannot have a standard model which is applicable to all nations, all countries” President Macky Sall politely retorted. “You said it, we all have different cultures.” What Macky was effectively saying was: Africa is not ready to constitutionalize same sex marriages. Marriage is, always has and always will be between a man and a woman. This is how you and I arrived on this planet.

Isn’t it obvious biologically, big brother, that reproduction depends on a man and woman coming together in sexual intimacy? Isn’t it obvious that children need a father and a mother? Don’t you know Mr President that mommies don’t make good daddies and daddies don’t make good mommies? Why in the world do you think the Creator ensured there was gender differentiation among humans? Think about that Mr Prez.

There is a feeling in the Western world that a global redefinition of marriage is inevitable. That sooner or later places like Africa will catch up with the West to this modern advancement. But in my personal view Africa needs this modern invention like I need a hole in my head. And that seems to be the consensus of opinion from Cape to Cairo.

Traditional marriage is the building block upon which human society is built. And African Christians in particular are concerned that “if the foundations be destroyed, what can the righteous do?” (Psalm 11:3).

And while it may be a self-evident fact that all human beings have the fundamental freedom to live as they choose, the fact remains: no-one has the right to redefine marriage. No one but God – Mwari – Umkhulumkhulu.

Welcome home Barack!

[Bishop Dave Chikosi writes on various religious and political topics. He can be reached by email on [email protected]]