Is It True President Obama Didn’t Deserve The 2009 Nobel Peace Prize?

Just like anyone else, a few weeks ago I read about The Nobel Committee’s ‘regret’ in selecting President Barrack Obama as the recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize in 2009 with very little emotion. The award, you could quietly tell,was as a result of the Obamamania wave sweeping across the world before and after his election in 2008.

Everyone wanted a piece of him for themselves and the Nobel Peace Prize Committee was not to be left behind.Heck!Even Kenya couldn’t hold herself together and had to have a public holiday in his honour!

Details of the decision making moment having revolved around a Norwegian Beer festival probably helped the committee let their hair down, according to Thorbjorn Jagland, chairman of the Nobel Peace Prize Committee.That everyone was ‘’legless drunk ’’ as they listened to Obama’s Cairo speech repeatedly with the realization that America would now be led by a black man,probably elicited the Schadenfreude phenomenon persuading them in their inebriated state to throw caution to the wind.

You can correctly guess that no one was more discomposed by the award than the Presidency of the United States,even going to the extent of enquring if Obama had to be physically present during the ceremony.All this has been brought to light,though it has been in daylight all long,by Geir Lundestad’s memoir Secretary Of Peace,who admits that their intention was to strengthen Obama;another way of saying,’’Well done for the significant feat in pulling down the racial barrier,but it’s not going to be easy from here on.’’

All factors considered,perhaps it was just the right thing to do at the time,considering that this is one of the most,if not the most,prestigious honours in the world.With ‘Obama’ on everyone’s lips,from Rosario, Argentina to Xinghua, China(apparently the furthest two cities apart),a photo-op with the golden boy would impress on people’s minds that you were on the right side of history(To use Obama’s words).The peace agenda,the committee re-assured,was not owed to his citizens,but to the world.

It is important to remind the drunken committee that in his will,Alfred Nobel had bequeathed most of his wealth amassed from his invention of dynamite, for the establishment of a prize out of regret.

The story goes that Nobel’s brother Ludvig had passed on and the newspapers inadvertently published Nobel’s obituary with the headline, ‘‘The merchant of death is dead’’.They went ahead to condemn him for amassing his fortune through finding ways to kill more people faster.This caused him a lot of anguish and he vowed he was going to be on the right side of history;whether he achieved that or not is clear for everyone to see.

Obama didn’t really need the Nobel Peace Prize to deliver on his mandate,but it probably made him realise that,unlike his predecessors in the White House,the world expected his midas touch that had overnight changed America,to rub off on them too.

Nevertheless, I’ve tried to gather a few of his achievements from what is in the public domain, that can attest to his contribution towards World Peace, even as the likes of Lundestad and Jagland attempt to isolate his War on terror record only.

1.          Restoring diplomatic ties with Cuba after more than 50 years-You can’t choose     your neighbor.
2.       The initiative and diplomatic success involving The Iran Nuclear Deal
3.        Being the first American president to address an African Union assembly and        notably hitting hard on the ignonimity of clinging on to power after the expiry      of constitutional term.
4.       Fostering trade and economic as well as security ties with known nemesis like      Putin,Xi Jinping for the collective good,for instance,on the threat of cyber-        crime,terrorism

    V.          Domestically:

·       Racial equality-Being the first black president in America-those who thought their race was a handicap to attaining their full potential choose to think otherwise now.

·       Obamacare-Affordable health insurance for all(This alone deserves another Peace Prize)

·       Managed to resuscitate the American economy during the financial meltdown

·       Same-sex marriage endorsement(Story for another day)

·       Push for gun control (Heartfelt condolences to the victims of the San Bernadino senseless shooting)

You can go on and on.

So while it might be true Obama didn’t deserve the peace Prize and that he should consider shipping it back in a nice box(alcohol talking),as the chairman of the committee has suggested, he sure deserves some respect.
Otherwise,in the same token,Mama Wangari Maathai's prize risks recall as the world gathers in Paris to deliberate on climate change,since her gallant efforts towards sustainable development amounted to naught.

One hopes that by the time the committee sobers up after Obama’s second term ends next year,they will have come to the realisation that their objective in the year 2009 was transcended,albeit by a mere mortal, not Superman.

By the way,what will Obama do with his life after presidency?