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US President Barack Obama delivered a three-page address two days ago to an audience made up of largely members of the Ghanaian parliament. It took place at the International Conference Centre, Accra. Also in the audience were Ghananian President John Atta-Mills, two former Ghanaian presidents, Jerry Rawlings and John Kuffour. Former Lagos State Governor Bola Tinubu and two of his former commissioners, Mr. Dele Alake and Mr. Tunji Bello also listened to Obama speak. So was renowned essayist Prof. Adebayo Williams. As Nigerians, Tinubu, Alake, Bello and Williams, perhaps, wished it were their country that Obama was speaking about in glowing terms. In the relatively long speech, Obama only mentioned Nigeria once and it had nothing to do with the President Umaru Yar�Adua administration. Rather, he was commending an inter-faith effort of Christians and Muslims to confront malaria. He also mentioned Lagos in passing when he said: "With strong institutions and a strong will, I know that Africans can live their dreams in Nairobi and Lagos; in Kigali and Kinshasa; in Harare and right here in Accra." The first African-American US President said he was proud that "this is my first visit to sub-Saharan Africa as President of the United States" and "I have come here, to Ghana, for a simple reason: the 21st century will be shaped by what happens not just in Rome or Moscow or Washington, but by what happens in Accra as well." Of Ghana, he said again: "You show us a face of Africa that is too often overlooked by a world that sees only tragedy or the need for charity. The people of Ghana have worked hard to put democracy on a firmer footing, with peaceful transfers of power even in the wake of closely contested elections. For that the minority deserves as much credit as the majority. And with improved governance and an emerging civil society, Ghana�s economy has shown impressive rates of growth." He, however, regretted: "Despite the progress that has been made � and there has been considerable progress in parts of Africa � we also know that much of that promise has yet to be fulfilled. Countries like Kenya, which had a per capita economy larger than South Korea�s when I was born, have been badly outpaced. Disease and conflict have ravaged parts of the African continent. In many places, the hope of my father�s generation gave way to cynicism, even despair. "It is easy to point fingers, and to pin the blame for these problems on others. Yes, a colonial map that made little sense bred conflict, and the West has often approached Africa as a patron, rather than a partner. But the West is not responsible for the destruction of the Zimbabwean economy over the last decade, or wars in which children are enlisted as combatants." Even though he did not directly say that the West has nothing to do with the selection that passes for election in Nigeria, it is inherent in the fact that for his first visit to sub-Saharan Africa, he preferred Ghana, which he praised for deepening democracy with smooth transfer of power after election year. This development once made former Head of State, General Yakubu Gowon, ask the country to learn from Ghana. Gowon even urged the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to take a cue from the Ghana Electoral Commission. Nobel laureate Prof. Wole Soyinka also said it was a shame that Ghana had conducted two successful transitions, while Nigeria is still groping in the dark.