As a friend of Kenya, I am proud to support Obama

Democratic presidential nominee U.S. Senator Barack Obama (D-IL) delivers his acceptance speech at the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver, Colorado August 28, 2008. Photo/REUTERS

What you need to know:

  • I support the candidacy of Senator Obama to be the next president of the US.
  • We need a president who sees the rest of the world as filled with equal individuals
  • We need a president who knows Africa and Africans and treats them with the respect

More than a decade ago, I had the good fortune to know Kenya through many trips that I made to Nairobi.

At the time, I had been asked to do some consultancy work for the Nation Media Group regarding the internet.

As a US media lawyer who had the privilege of having worked in many African countries, I did the best I could to help the Nation better serve Kenyans.

One of the Kenyans whom I admire the most is Dr Khama Rogo. He now works for the World Bank and is a past head of the Kenyan Medical Association.

Dr Rogo worked with my wife on issues related to women’s reproductive health, and I feel privileged to have known him and his family.

Some years back, he told me how impressed he was to have met Barack Obama. My reaction was one of surprise and pleasure.

I have come to know a lot about Senator Obama, thanks to Dr Rogo, who spoke eloquently about him.

As a close friend of Kenya and a proud citizen of Ireland and the United States, I support the candidacy of Senator Obama to be the next president of the US.

I want Kenyans and other Africans to know how strongly many of us feel about what having a president of African descent can mean to the US and the rest of the world.

Those who call Kenya and East Africa home can rightly express their pride in seeing a native son in this position. I have my own version of that pride as a friend.

This combination of family and friends is a large part of what makes me excited about the Obama candidacy. We need to be brought together and I firmly believe that Obama is the man to do this.

We need a president who sees the rest of the world as filled with individuals equal to those who will elect him in the US, nothing more and nothing less.

Act forcefully

We need a president who starts with conversation and the community when challenges and opportunities present themselves, and rejects the notion of bombs.

He should be ready to act forcefully when all else fails.

We need a president who knows Africa and Africans and treats them with the respect and spirit of equality that is so sorely needed.

We need a president who is committed to solving problems, through bargaining, negotiation, innovation and commitment, traits that I have seen so often demonstrated by many of the Kenyans I have come to know.

In short, I support Barack Obama as the next US president and want to share my excitement and commitment with the people of Kenya.

If we Americans elect Obama, it will be because he convinced us that he is the man the US and the world needs.

When he is sworn in as president of the United States in January 2009, the whole world, especially Kenyans, will share his joy.

We have an obligation to help him realise his potential.