Yes we Kenya!

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Today is a big day for Barack H. Obama and the US. The world spotlight is on him and the Washington. It is approximated that 4.5 Billion people on planet earth are eagerly waiting to see the swearing in of the 44th and the First Black President of a superpower nation-US. It is a historic moment, a defining moment indeed for US and the entire globe.

All eyes will be glued on the TV Screens to watch a man with the Kenyan roots being sworn in as a head of state and Commander -in -chief of the US.

Already 5 major Television stations in Kenya have announced that they will be showing the Obama’s swearing in live starting from 8.00 PM. Kenyan FM Radio Stations are also expected to cover the swearing in Ceremony.

In the Republic of Kenya and the neighboring countries, Obamania is at its zenith.

Obama.’s election as 44^th US President has made him an icon in his father’s homeland Kenya, with his pictures gracing calendars, vehicles, the walls of many homes, business premises as well as offices.

The nation for 5 days now has been holding a mega- cultural extravaganza to celebrate the inauguration of America’s first black -head of state.

“Obama is very popular everywhere in Kenya,” said Mohamed Mubarak, a Kenyan Muslim. “I went for dinner to one Muslim friend and he had portraits of Obama alongside pictures of Mohamed.” He added.

“In the traffic jams, vendors run up to cars selling his autobiography and pictures to hang at home. Vehicles have his photos painted on them,” Said Mr.Kones, a pastor with End time Revival Ministries in Kenya.

No wonder the inauguration celebrations for Obama started in Kenya much earlier than in the US.

The Jan 16-20 cultural event in his ancestral village Kogelo, Siaya District in Western Kenya included traditional African music, dance, poems, art exhibitions, folk stories and feasts.

Kenya’s Ministry of Culture and Heritage in conjunction with the Ministry of Tourism is assisting to organize the major event, which has been attended by many elders from his tribe and experts on African culture and is alleged to cost 1.5 Million Kenyan Shillings.

“The most important guest at Obama’s inauguration is from Kenya,” headlined an American newspaper reporting on Sarah Obama, Barack’s Kenyan grandmamma.

The US embassy in Nairobi granted visas to eight members of the Kogelo community to attend Obama’s inauguration on Jan 20 in Washington, DC. The group includes five immediate family members of Obama.

Today being the historic, auspicious and defining moment, when the first African American takes the oath of office to lead the most powerful nation of the world, Kenyans will be singing to hail him.

The trail blazing Boys Choir of Kenya, a group of 26 young men, will perform for Obama and his guests in Washington during the inauguration. They will present the song “America the Beautiful”, a US national song, and “Jambo Bwana”, a popular Kenyan ditty that means “Hello, Boss”.

The Kenyan President Mwai Kibaki declared a national holiday when Obama won. The next national holiday will be when he visits Kenya, which will be an event in itself, dubbed “Obama’s Heroic Visit to his Fatherland”.

The African country is already reaping a bonanza for its tourism sector, which had taken a big hit following the ethnic violence in January 2008 soon after the elections in December 2007, which led to wanton destruction of properties,, looting and deaths of over 1500 people and left 350,000 people displaced.

The Coastal Province has attracted a big number of tourism and the hoteliers are saying the business is booming.

Now no Kenyan safari is complete without a visit to Kogelo village in Nyanza Province of western Kenya, which was not very popular on the tourist circuit until Obama won the US elections.

Many tour companies start their safaris from his village and then escort the tourists to the national parks. The safari packages, costing between $2,000 and $3,500, are promoted as “Obama Kenya Roots and Heritage”, “Presidential Heritage safari”, “Roots of Obama” and “Discover Obama’s Kenyan Roots”.

A tour operator cautions tourists: “There will be no entry into the private residence of Obama’s grandmother nor will there be any interviews or contact with any of the Obama family members.”

The road to Kogelo has been upgraded, a police post has been established, the airport in nearby Kisumu town is being expanded and a museum telling the story of the Obama heritage is under construction and set to open later this year.

Kenyan tour operators, including many Kenyan Indians who own safari companies, are traveling to the US to promote Obama Safaris and bookings have increased since November 2008.

Many Kenyan companies and politicians are also cashing in on Obama’s victory. A company producing the vastly popular beer called Senator launched a new beer named President when Obama won.

Obama posters and T-shirts are top sellers. Kenyan politicians published advertisements congratulating Obama on his victory to promote themselves.

“I came across one coach on Mombasa Road with Obama’s portrait painted on the back. It was a race to get a good vantage point from my car seat to take a picture of the moving coach. I drove the driver crazy, asking him to get as close as possible on this dangerous stretch of the road,” said Dickens Ogwada.

“After several wasted shots, I got my exclusive at the cost of being cursed by the driver and passengers. They could not fathom the reason why someone would want to take a photo of the back of the bus bearing Obama’s photo.” Mr. Ogwada said.

“To me, this photo embodied aspirations of ordinary Kenyans who strive for greater achievements in terms of monetary gains, power, high powered connections and personal embellishments,” he added.

As the clock ticks towards the Obama’s swearing, all ears will be keen to hear him deliver a speech will give hope to the hopeless ones and steer America off the hooks of an economic inflation.

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This story is filed under: Politics