"President Obama's soaring rhetoric on resolving conflict has yet to be matched by the kind of leadership necessary to make a dent in the unparalleled suffering in Darfur and Congo," he said.
The 24-hour trip to Ghana was the latest in a string of foreign policy initiatives by Obama in his six months in office. In Cairo last month, he spoke about forging a "new beginning" with the Muslim world. In Moscow he worked to "reset" the frosty U.S.-Russian relationship.
For Africa, Obama is calling for a "new approach" to dealing with its democratic and economic back-sliding.
Rather than look to the rest of the world, Africans should turn inward, Obama said.
"Africa's future is up to Africans," he said.
That's a departure from the prescription offered by many anti-poverty advocates, who argue that Africa's problems -- ranging from declining agricultural productivity to rising poverty rates -- could be solved with a dramatic boost in foreign development assistance. Blair's commission, for example, called for rich nations to spend 0.7% of their gross domestic product on aid to Africa.
Rami Hayesh, an education consultant who watched the speech at the University of Nairobi in Kenya, agreed that it was time for Africans to stop blaming, or depending on, the West.
"African leaders should start looking at themselves," he said. "They need to understand how we ended up where we are and how to pull ourselves out before taking help from the West."
As Obama shook hands with Ghanaian lawmakers, a choir in the balcony sang, "Yes, we can, yes we can," his campaign slogan, to the tune of the spiritual "Amen, Amen."
Diana Hopeson, president of a Ghana musicians union, said she hoped leaders would take to heart Obama's message about good government.
"Corruption makes things harder," she said. "He is one of us, and he is able to say, 'We need to strengthen our institutions.' "
But in Khartoum, Sudan, medical student Giel Thuok said his country and others continue to suffer the effects of Western colonialism.
"White people still have a lot of influence in Africa," he said.
Umar Abbas, who has his own construction company in Accra, said the U.S. and Obama couldn't solve Africa's problems. "It has to do with us working it out ourselves. He sees it from his point of view. His role here is inspiration."
Most agreed, however, that Obama's criticisms and his message that Africans should pull themselves up by their bootstraps were more easily digested because of his heritage.
Adam Mohamed Ibrahim, a training coordinator in Khartoum, said, "People listen to him more because of his roots."
And Ghanaian President John Atta Mills said Obama accomplished something just by setting foot in the country.
"This encourages us," he said, "to sustain the gains that we have made in our democratic process."
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edmund.sanders @latimes.com
cparsons@latimes.com
Sanders, currently on assignment in Jerusalem, is The Times' Nairobi Bureau chief. Special correspondents Nicholas Soi in Nairobi, Kenya, and Alsanosi Ahmed in Khartoum contributed to this report.
