As an African-American, I appreciate the interest Namibians and other African Peoples have shown in American politics and Mr. Obama in particular, afterall he is of proud African ancestry and indeed represents the aspirations of all people of color. Having visited your beautiful country twice, I have become a subscriber of your publication and look forward to reading the news daily. In your article, you touched upon a subject that has boggled my mind for quite some time and that is the distructive nature of tribal divisions and its continuation even in this era of post-colonialization. As former slaves we experienced a similar spirit in America long after slavery had been so-called abolished. And while it was not based on any tribal divisions, this pheonomon produced the same socio-political and economic negative affects that currently strike at the progress of African people. Lets hope that Mr. Obama becomes that bright beacon of light that will blind the eyes of Africans and African-Americans alike to all the tribal differences that continue to divide us as people of color.

The writer touches on a very important issue as related to Africa in general. Africa needs to wake up and realize that real development starts when all Africans are Africans not tribal. It is okay to maintain our tribal cultures and languages, and we MUST, but there should be a way to UNITE Africa as a Continent (one Africa, one Umuntu) regardless of our different origins. We MUST also stop fighting each other on small issues that are not developmental.

Having said all that, Barack Obama is almost a Messiah for Africa. This is an eye opener for Africa. Obama has and will open doors for the African continent that have never been opened before. Africa has NEVER had their own "son" as the Leader of the MOST POWERFUL country in the world. This is now a matter of time. Africa has always been an invited guest at Roundtables in Europe, America, and Asia while the "principals" made decisions for Africa. Now, by example, Africa might learn a thing or two about taking responsibility for herself. The Obama mania is OKAY for ALL Africans BUT all Africans MUST start to see beyond the excitement and focus this joy to developing our people, enabling our continent and enriching our future generation regardless of their tribal affliations.