Photo: AP
THE WHITE HOUSE
Office of the Press Secretary
August 3, 2016
REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT AT THE YOUNG AFRICAN LEADERS INITIATIVE TOWN HALL
Omni Shoreham Hotel
Washington, D.C.
3:28 P.M. EDT
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you so much! (Applause.)
Thank you. Thank you. (Applause.) Thank you. Thank you so much.
Thank you. Thank you, everybody. Everybody, please sit down, sit down.
Everybody, sit down.
AUDIENCE: Yes, we can! Yes, we can! Yes, we can!
T
HE PRESIDENT: Thank you so much! Thank you, everybody. (Applause.) Thank you.
Well, it is so good to see all of you. Okay, everybody settle down, settle down.
(Audience sings “Happy Birthday.”) (Applause.)
THE PRESIDENT: Thank you! Well, you know, I — let
me first of all just say that — let me first of all say I’m a little
disappointed with the lack of enthusiasm. (Laughter.) Everybody is so
shy and quiet.
First of all, I want to thank Emmanuel for the great introduction and
the outstanding work on behalf of the people of Uganda. Please give
Emmanuel a big round of applause. (Applause.) I don’t know whether
they chose Emmanuel because he’s such a great speaker — which he is — or
because they thought he and I were cousins — (laughter) — because
Odama, Obama — (laughter) — there must be some connection.
Now, I know that you’ve been in this fellowship for a few weeks. I
know that for many of you, this is your first visit to the United
States. So let me start by saying on behalf of the American people,
welcome to the United States of America. (Applause.)
I don’t want to give a long speech because I’m really here to hear
from you and answer your questions and to get your comments and ideas.
But I do want to just take a moment to step back and talk about why you
being here is so important, not just to me but to all of our countries
and to people around the world.
I stand here as the President of the United States and the son of an
African. Michelle and I have always tried to instill in our girls, our
daughters, a sense of their heritage, which is American and African and
European — with all the strengths and all the struggles of that
heritage. We took them to Africa. We wanted to open their eyes to the
amazing tapestry of history and culture and music. We looked out from
those doors of no return. We stood in the cell where Mandela refused to
break.
As President, I’ve now visited Sub-Saharan Africa four times, which
is more than any other U.S. President. (Applause.) And even as Africa
continues to face enormous challenges –- poverty and disease and
conflict -– I see a continent on the move. You have one of the world’s
fastest-growing regions, home to a middle class that is projected to
grow to over 1 billion consumers. You are more connected by technology
and smartphones than ever before — as I can see here today. (Laughter.)
Africa is sending more of its children to school. You’re saving more
lives from HIV/AIDS and infant mortality. And while there’s still more
work to do to address these challenges, today’s Africa is a place of
unprecedented prosperity and opportunity.
So over the past seven and a half years, I’ve worked to transform
America’s relationship with Africa
so that we are equal partners. As so
many Africans have told me, you want trade not aid –- trade that
supports jobs and growth. (Applause.) So we’ve been working to boost
exports with Africa. We’re working to promote good governance and human
rights; to advance security; to help feed families.
Earlier today, I signed a new executive order so that we’re doing
even more to support American companies that are interested in doing
business in Africa. (Applause.) And this fall, we’ll host the second
U.S.-Africa Business Forum to encourage more trade and investment. And
we’re going to keep working together in our Power Africa initiative to
bring cleaner electricity to more than 60 million African homes and
businesses. (Applause.)
And we’re doing this not just because I love the people of Africa,
but also because the world will not be able to deal with climate change
or terrorism, or expanding women’s rights — all the issues that we face
globally — without a rising and dynamic and self-reliant Africa. And
that, more importantly than anything else, depends on a rising
generation of new leaders. It depends on you.
That’s why, six years ago, I launched the Young African Leaders
Initiative. Because I’ve always believed that one person can be a force
for positive change; that one person, as Bobby Kennedy famously said
when he visited Soweto, that one person can be like a stone, a pebble
thrown in a lake, creating ripples — ripples of hope, he called it. And
that’s especially true for all of you. You’re young, you’re talented,
optimistic. You’re already showing you can make a difference. So what
we wanted to do through YALI is to connect you with each other and to
resources and to networks that can help you become the leaders in
business and government and civil society of tomorrow.
And the response has been overwhelming. Across Africa, more than
250,000 people have joined our YALI network. They get access to online
courses. They have a network of peers and mentors across Africa and
across the globe. We’ve issued nearly 150,000 certificates from those
courses. I might, when I have a little more time, maybe teach one of
those courses myself. (Applause.) Right now I’m kind of busy.
(Laughter.) We’re training thousands of young people in leadership and
entrepreneurship and networking at our four Regional Leadership Centers
in Dakar, Accra, Nairobi, and Pretoria.
And today, I’m proud to welcome all of you, the third class of
Mandela Fellows. (Applause.) More than 40,000 people applied. You’re
our biggest class yet -– double the size of the previous year –- 1,000
YALI fellows strong. And for the last six weeks, you’ve been studying
and learning at some of America’s best universities. Today, you’re not
just Mandela Fellows but you’re also Hawkeyes and Buckeyes, and —
(applause) — Sun Devils. We’ve got some Fighting Irish here.
(Applause.) We’ve got our first class of Energy Fellows -– (applause) —
young people at UC-Davis studying new ways to promote clean energy and
fight climate change.
And not only have you been studying and learning, but you’ve also
immersed yourself in American culture. You’ve looked at sites from our
nation’s founding in Boston and Philadelphia. You’ve visited the 9/11
Memorial in New York. You’ve spent time in my hometown of Chicago.
(Applause.) So you’ve got a taste of America, which, for some of you,
apparently included something called lobster ice cream, which I’ve never
tasted myself. (Applause.) But I have to admit, it sounds terrible.
(Laughter.) But that’s okay. You were very brave. (Laughter.)
You’ve also gotten a front-row seat on the fascinating roller coaster
process of American democracy, because you’re here during election
seasons. And I hope you’ve buckled your seatbelts. (Laughter.) But it
actually has been a good lesson and a reminder democracy is hard
everywhere — even in the world’s oldest, continuous democracy. It’s
always challenging and it is always messy. But as you’re watching our
election, I want you to know that one of the things that leaders in
Washington agree on, on both sides of the political aisle — Republicans
and Democrats — is the importance of a strong American partnership with
the nations and peoples of Africa. That’s true today. I’m confident it
will be true for years to come. (Applause.)
So we’re going to keep standing with you. America is going to keep
standing with activists like Geline Fuko of Tanzania. Where’s Geline?
(Applause.) Geline is a lawyer and human rights activist. A few years
ago, she thought people in Tanzania should be able to use their mobile
phones to read their constitution, so she went out and designed
Tanzania’s first — (applause) — she designed Tanzania’s first database
of constitutional resources, opening up her government to more of her
people so they could understand their law and their rights and their
responsibilities. So thank you so much, Geline, for the great work.
(Applause.)
We’re going to keep standing with social entrepreneurs like Awa Caba
of Senegal. (Applause.) Whoa. Where is Awa? Where? You’re over
here. (Applause.)
So who was this guy who jumped up? (Laughter.) He’s what you call
your hype man. (Laughter.) He was hyping you up. (Laughter.)
So Awa co-founded a tech hub to offer free training for women in
coding and IT skills. And she also started an e-commerce platform to
help Senegalese women take their products, whether it’s cosmetics or
fruits or jams “to the market and the world.” Because Awa knows that
when our women succeed, our countries succeed. So thank you, Awa, for
the good work. (Applause.)
We’re going to keep standing with strivers like Mamba Francisco of
Angola. Where’s Mamba? (Applause.) Mamba is his own hype man.
(Laughter.)
So two years ago, he wanted to be a Mandela Fellow, but he didn’t
qualify because he didn’t speak English. So he buckled down — he
studied, he learned. And he’s here today helping other young people in
Angola learn to read and write and make it to college. So, thank you.
(Applause.)
And finally, we’ll stand together in memory of John Paul Usman. As
many of you know, John Paul was a bright young leader from Nigeria who
inspired people around the world with his work for peace. Tragically,
he lost his life earlier this summer in a hiking accident, and I know
you’re showing solidarity with the green ribbons that some of you are
wearing. Like you, I have faith that John Paul’s legacy of building
peace and fighting for children’s rights will live on, not just in
Nigeria, but in all those he inspired in your countries back home, and
here in the United States.
Because this is a two-way street. For all the experiences that
you’re gaining here in the United States, we’re learning from you.
We’re energized by your passion. We’re learning from your perspectives.
And that’s why this year, for the first time, Americans travel to
Africa to visit Mandela Fellows in their home communities so that
Americans — (applause) — so that Americans can learn about development
and community building and more from Africans. And even more Americans
will participate in this exchange next year. It’s also why I’m excited
to announce new support from the Millennium Challenge Corporation, the
U.S. African Development Foundation, and the Citi Foundation, to provide
even more Africans with grants and professional opportunities. Give
them a big round of applause for their support. (Applause.)
So these partnerships don’t just change the lives of young people
like you, they’re also energizing our countries and shaping our world.
We’ve created programs like this not just in Africa, but in Southeast
Asia, in the Americas, in Europe. So you’re part of a huge and growing
network of the next generation of leaders around the world. And while
I’m going to leave it up to historians to decide my overall legacy, one
of the things that I’m really proud of is my partnership with young
people like you because all of you inspire me. (Applause.)
So years from now, when you’re running a big business, or doing a
great nonprofit, or leading your country as a president or a prime
minister, or a minister of finance or something, my hope is that you can
look back and you will keep drawing from strength and the experience
that you’ve gotten here.
I hope that you’ll remember those of us who believed in your
potential. And I hope, as a consequence, you then give back to the
people who are coming up behind you. Because that’s how we keep making
progress together, across oceans and across generations. (Applause.)
So as you do that, you should know that you’ll always have a partner
and friend in the United States of America. I could not be prouder of
all of you and the great work that you’ve done.
I want to once again thank our outstanding institutions, our
universities that have been hosting you. We’re very, very proud of
their great work. (Applause.)
And so with that, now what I want to do is open it up for questions.
I know that some people are watching on the YALI network online. So
hello, everybody.
Over the past week, they’ve been sending in questions over Facebook,
so we’re actually going to start with one of those. And we’ve got a
YALI alum here to read our first question, Steve Zita. Where are you,
Steve? There you are. You’re going to read our first question. Go
ahead, Steve.
Q Thank you very much, sir. By the way, you just
said that people might wonder if you and Emmanuel were cousins. I just
wanted to say that in this room, we’re all brothers. And you’re one of
us. (Applause.)
THE PRESIDENT: Although I have to say that at this
point, I’m probably an uncle. (Laughter.) I wish I could say I was a
brother or a cousin, but now I’ve got some gray hairs. (Laughter.) So
you got to call me uncle.
Go ahead.
Q Yes, sir. So thank you very much. I’m Steve
Zita from DRC. I’m a 2015 alum. I was at the University of Texas at
Austin. (Applause.) There they are.
And as you know, the YALI network is a huge pool of about 250,000
people. So we couldn’t all be here. Unfortunately, I think we might
not fit in the room.
And our first question comes from Charles Stembo (ph), from Zambia,
who wanted to know, what has been the most challenging issue you’ve had
to handle since you’ve become President of the United States? And also,
what will be your last message as a President, of course, to the young
people across the globe?
THE PRESIDENT: Well, I’ve had my share of tough
issues. The issue that had the greatest magnitude was the issue I faced
when I first came into office, and that was that the world economy was
in the midst of an unprecedented financial crisis that was then spilling
over into the broader economy. And the growth and trade and the entire
financial system was contracting at a pace that we hadn’t seen since
the 1930s, since the Great Depression.
And so the series of actions that we had to take very quickly to
strengthen our banks, to coordinate internationally, to unlock the
financial system, to make sure that people did not engage in
protectionist behavior, to resuscitate our auto industry, to put people
back to work, to make sure that we didn’t get a further downward spiral
to stabilize the housing market here — that was important not just for
the United States, but that was important internationally because we’re
such a big engine for economic growth. And we’re still suffering from
some of the scars from that Great Recession that we had in 2007, 2008.
But overall, we averted the worst of the crisis and we were able to
stabilize the situation so that the world could start growing again.
And that means jobs and opportunity and prosperity for a lot of people.
Probably the most frustrating challenge that I’ve had on an ongoing
basis typically involves conflicts outside of the United States. Syria
is the toughest example. But the conflicts that we continue to see in
South Sudan, for example, where after years of fighting and millions of
people dead, finally there was the opportunity to create an independent
country of South Sudan. And yet now, within South Sudan, there is still
conflict between the two countries — or between two factions. Those
are very challenging because the United States, on the one hand, cannot
police and govern every spot in the world. On the other hand, people
look to us to have a positive influence. And our goal has been
consistently to try to bring people together so that they can sit down
and resolve issues politically rather than through violence.
It is a source of ongoing daily frustration for me that we have not
been able to stop some of these conflicts. One of the things that we’ve
seen in the world today is a shift. It used to be that you had these
big wars between great powers. Now so often the greatest suffering
arises out of either ethnic conflict or sectarian conflict or states
that are unstable. And the consequences for ordinary people in those
countries are enormous. And in some ways, it’s harder to stop those
kinds of conflicts than it is simply to defeat an army that is clearly
identified.
And the challenge of terrorist networks, which has been an ongoing
project of ours and many of our partners around the world, is tied up
with this issue — because when you have regional conflicts and young
people are displaced and they are without education and they are without
prospects and they’re without hope, then the possibilities of them
being recruited into an organization like ISIL or al Qaeda or Boko
Haram, even if it’s just a tiny, small percentage, is obviously going to
be higher than if people are given opportunity and there’s stability in
their lives.
So the one thing that I know is that the way we’re going to solve
these problems is not in isolation but by having people of good will
from across regions, across continents working together. And that
begins with many of the young people like you around the world who are
trying to do the right thing. (Applause.)
Oh, by the way, I always go boy, girl, boy, girl here to make sure
things are equal. (Laughter.) That was a young man who asked that
question, right? So it’s a lady’s turn. Go ahead, right there. Here,
you’ve got a microphone.
Q Hi, thank you for the chance, Mr. President of the United States. (Laughter.) I work in international advocacy.
THE PRESIDENT: What’s your name?
Q My name is Samreen. I’m from Sudan. (Applause.)
I’m a co-founder of something called the Sudanese Human Rights
Initiative. I go work in international advocacy a lot, and we meet
representatives from your government, and they play a big role
influencing the resolutions that come in Sudan, which part they will be.
So I really want to understand how the United States stands, because
we have sanctions, and sometimes I feel they’re not enough. So I want
to see in the international relations what the situation of the United
States and how can they help to empower young people like us, and to be
heard, and to be in roundtables, to help and develop democracy in the
country. (Applause.)
THE PRESIDENT: Good. Excellent. Well, Sudan is an
example of some of what I was talking about earlier. I mean, there’s a
history in Darfur and other parts of the country of enormous conflict
internal to Sudan. And our goal when we — woops, uh-oh, sorry, guys.
(Laughter.) I’m tearing up the stage here. (Laughter.)
Our goal when we put together a package of sanctions is not to punish
the people of that country, but is rather to make sure that we can
exert some leverage so that the country is more responsive to the needs
of the people; that they are more prepared to open up government to
peaceful concerns and people who are trying to organize around human
rights or democracy or so forth. The pressure that we apply is not
always enough to actually entirely change the practices inside those
countries. And sometimes, let’s face it, there are countries that are
very resentful and suggest, why don’t you mind your own business? Their
attitude is, who is America to tell us what to do when you yourselves
have your own problems inside your country.
And my response is that America has to have some humility in
recognizing that we have our own issues; that ultimately, whether it’s
people in Cuba or people in Sudan or people in other parts of the world
where there are challenges around human rights — that ultimately it’s
going to be up to the people themselves in those countries to determine
their fate.
But I do believe that there are certain principles that apply
everywhere. I believe that governments should follow the law and not be
arbitrary. I believe that every individual has certain rights — to
speak freely, and to practice their own faith freely, and to assemble
peacefully to petition their government. I believe that women should be
treated equally, and if you come from a country in which it is
traditional to beat women or not give them an education, or engage in
genital mutilation, then you should change your traditions because those
are bad practices. (Applause.)
And so I do think it is important for us to stand up for those
principles, recognizing that we’re not perfect, that we need to listen
to criticism just like other countries do, and also recognize that even
as we may sanction a country, for example, we also need to engage with
them so that there becomes the opportunity for dialogue and hopefully we
can have some positive influence.
Now, there are going to be times where — and I’ve said this before —
where the United States is standing up for human rights but the country
that we’re dealing with also is a partner on national security issues.
And so we have to balance the needs for our security interests and
having diplomatic relations with that country while still applying some
pressure. And I think that sometimes people view this as hypocritical —
why aren’t you always putting pressure on every country; if a country
is doing some bad things to its people, you should have no dealings with
them at all. And I will tell you that that’s a luxury for people who
are outside of government to be able to say that. But when you’re
inside of government, then you have to try to balance, okay, I’m going
to engage with this government, we’re going to talk to this government,
we’ll meet with them, and we will be honest with them about our
differences even as we’re working with them on some of the things that
we agree on.
And hopefully, over time, this makes a difference, it has some
impact. Our hope is, is that Sudan, over time, is more responsive to
the basic principles that we’ve discussed; that by engaging with them
sometimes around regional conflicts where we have common interests, or
around anti-terrorism efforts, that the opportunities for dialogue
improve the prospects for human rights.
But ultimately, it’s going to depend on the courage and the
conviction of people like you, people inside of Sudan or inside of any
of your countries, to be able to bring about change in a peaceful
fashion. But we’re very proud of you, so keep up your good work.
(Applause.)
It’s a guy’s turn. That man in the corner right there. Go ahead.
No, no, this one right here. You, yes. Right there. Go ahead.
Q Thanks very much, Mr. President. I need —
first of all, if you can allow me to ask to my fellow — all of us, if
you can just stand up and thank again once more President Obama.
(Applause.)
THE PRESIDENT: Oh, you don’t need to do that. That’s fine. (Applause.) Thank you.
Q Thanks very much. I appreciate you too much.
I’m Christian Mapandano (ph) from Congo. And first of all, I would like
to thank you because you have given me the opportunity to know
something about America. I’ve noticed that America is not perfect. Our
countries are not perfect. But I’m a journalist and we have used media
to destroy our Africa, to destroy our countries. Today, all they know
about Africa — it’s poverty, it’s hunger, it’s malnutrition. Although
what I know — I’m speaking like a Congolese — Congo that I love too
much.
My country has got many natural resources. And it’s a victim of this
wealth, of this richness, because powerful countries have used this to
destroy our people, to bring war in our countries, to bring armed groups
in our countries. And people are being poorer and poorer every day,
and countries which are making armed weapons keep on improving — keep on
developing. And this is not good.
So I’m going to ask a favor from you. The first one is that you are going to leave the White House I think by November.
THE PRESIDENT: January, but that’s okay. (Laughter and applause.)
Q That’s good. It will be in January. So I’ll
ask you one favor. First of all, if you can be a mentor to our leaders,
political leaders, as soon as you are going to leave the White House.
Please be a mentor to our African leaders, because you are an African
American — (applause) — to change this continent.
And the second one favor — the second favor, I’ll need a really a
special picture with you. (Laughter.) Thanks very much, President.
(Laughter.)
THE PRESIDENT: All right. So this is as good a
time as any to let you know that after I’m done, I’m going to shake
everybody’s hands. (Applause.) No, no, no, no, wait. Wait, wait, wait
— when I say everybody, I don’t mean literally everybody. (Laughter.)
I’m going to — because there are a thousand of you. I can’t shake
everybody. But —
AUDIENCE: Yes, you can! (Laughter.) Yes, you can!
THE PRESIDENT: I’ve got another job I’ve got to do.
(Laughter.) But here’s what I cannot do is take selfies, because then
I’ll be here for the next four hours. It won’t work. So, no, you
can’t get your picture. I’m sorry.
But let me address your broader question. The Congo is a good
example of a country with, as you said, enormous natural resources, and a
terrible history of abuse during colonialism, of conflict. As you
said, weapons that are not made in the Congo pour into the Congo as part
of other people’s agenda.
And so you both have enormous opportunities, but enormous challenges.
But a couple of things I would say. Number one, even though it’s
important to know this history of what happened during colonial times in
the Congo and what happened subsequent during efforts of independence,
and the way that other countries from the outside have meddled in ways
that were not helpful to the people there — it is also important for
every country to, at some point, say it is now our responsibility —
(applause) — even if we have an unjust history, now it is our
responsibility, and we can’t use the past as an excuse for some of the
problems that we have today. And that’s true everywhere.
So you have to be mindful of your history, because if you weren’t
mindful of your history then suddenly you think, wow, what’s wrong with
us? And in fact, there’s reasons why a country like the Congo has had
so many problems. But it can’t be an excuse to then just sit back and
say it’s somebody else’s problem, or it’s somebody else’s fault. And
that is a very important principle I think for every country on the
continent.
We know the history of Africa. But now the question is, what’s the
new history that we’re going to write? What are the next chapters that
we’re going to write? (Applause.)
In terms of media portrayals of Africa, I think you’re correct that
the United States sometimes only sees Africa in terms of stereotypes —
it’s either the wildlife channel and its beautiful safaris, or it’s
poverty and war. And too often, Americans just don’t realize there are a
lot of people who are just going to work every day — (laughter) — and
they do wear clothes, it’s true — (laughter) — and raising families and
getting an education and creating businesses.
So since you’re a journalist, one of your goals should be to help
tell Africa’s story. (Applause.) And the good news is, is that because
of the power of the Internet, it used to be that in order to make a
film, you had to have millions of dollars and cameras and this. Now you
take out your phone, or you have a small camcorder and you can produce
content that immediately is reaching millions of people. So you can
tell your own stories in a way that you could not before.
And I would encourage all of you, no matter whether you’re in
business or in politics or working for an NGO, to think about how are
you telling a story about Africa and its possibilities. Because the
platform now exists for more and more people to understand the enormous
potential and the good news that’s taking place in Africa, not just the
bad news. (Applause.)
Okay, it’s a woman’s turn. I don’t want to neglect everybody here —
right here in back, this young lady in the purple here. Go ahead.
Q Thank you, sir. My name is Judy (ph). I’m from Botswana. (Applause.)
I want to ask a question about balance and responsibility. Yes.
I’ve watched how you have led in your presidency with your wife,
Michelle Obama — (applause) — your family life in the public squares,
and how you’ve managed to have balance between your public office and
your home. And I believe charity begins in the home. And I’ve admired
that about America, that your democracy is so open. You are
investigated before you get into power and when you are in power.
How important is it for the young people here today to understand
that it’s important when you are in public office to run your family
well, to take care of your wife or your husband and your children, also
that it’s very important for us to hold each other accountable — if you
are a ruler, not to engage in greed or nepotism or corruption, and also
us to hold them accountable for what they are doing? Thank you.
(Applause.)
THE PRESIDENT: Well, I think that’s a great
question. Well, let me separate out the two questions. Because one
question is about holding leaders accountable in their public lives and
how they do their jobs. And the other question is really a more
personal question about maintaining balance in your life.
With respect to the personal question, what I would say would be that
maintaining balance, having a strong partnership with your wife or
husband, raising children who are kind and useful and strong and
generous and all of the things that my wonderful daughters are —
(applause) — that really is its own reward.
The truth is we’ve had some very great leaders who did not always
have great personal lives. And I’m not actually somebody who believes
that if you go into public office, that your personal lives — unless
you’re committing crimes or things like that, that that is necessarily
the best measure. Because we’ve also had people who were wonderful
fathers and great husbands who were bad leaders. So the two things
don’t always align.
For me, the reason that it’s been useful for me to maintain that
balance is because I think it’s grounded me. It’s given me a sense of
perspective. It’s allowed me during the course of my presidency, when
things aren’t going so well, to remember that I have this beautiful
family and this wonderful wife. (Applause.)
And when things are going very well, it’s good to go home and then my
wife teases me about how I left my shoes in the middle of the living
room. (Laughter.) Or my girls think what I am talking about over
dinner is boring. And that brings me down to Earth, right? And so it’s
been good for me to maintain perspective in my work.
But ultimately, I do that for very selfish reasons; it’s for my own
rewards. Because the one thing I’m almost positive about — in fact, not
only am I almost, I am positive that if I’m lucky enough to live to a
ripe old age and I’m on my deathbed, and I’m thinking back on my life, I
won’t be remembering some speech I gave or some law I signed. I’ll be
remembering holding hands with one of my daughters and walking them to a
park; that that will be the thing that is most precious for me.
(Applause.) So that’s on the private side.
Now, on the public side what I would say is, is that although not
perfect, the United States is actually pretty good about holding its
leaders accountable. Part of that has to do with freedom of the press.
Part of it has to do with our separation of powers so that it’s not one
person in charge of everything. But even the President of the United
States is subject to the Constitution. That Constitution is interpreted
by a Supreme Court. If I want to pass a budget, it has to go through
Congress. Even if I get everything through the federal level, there are
still states and cities that have their own perspective. You have a
private sector. So power is dispersed not just in one big man, but
across the society.
And I think that is very good. Now, it’s frustrating sometimes — I
won’t lie. There are times where the press — right now I’m at the end
of my presidency, so the press is kind of feeling a little sentimental.
And they think, oh, he’s gotten old. Look at him — we’ve beat him up.
(Laughter.) Now, let’s focus on the new guys coming in.
But there have been times where I thought the press was very unfair,
and I’d open up the newspapers and I’d go, what? And I’d start arguing.
But there have also been times where the press investigated something
and I thought, you know what, this is a problem. And the United States
government — you have — I have 2 million people who work in the federal
government. We have a budget of over a trillion dollars. It’s the
largest organization on Earth. So there are going to be times where
government is screwing up. And the fact that the press is there to ask
questions and to expose problems does make me work harder. It focuses
me on, that is a problem.
And too often, in too many countries around the world, the attitude
of the people in charge is, I want to shut up the criticism instead of
fixing the problem. And that is not good for the people, and in the
end, it’s not good for the president, the prime minister, those in
charge. Because over time, what happens is you get — you just hear what
you want to hear.
It’s as if you had a doctor who, whatever the checkup, he just kept
on telling you you’re fine. And then suddenly you start having a big
growth in your neck — (laughter) — don’t worry about it, it’s fine.
(Laughter.) And you start limping, and it’s like, aw — if you’re
healthy, you’re great. And you never get well.
So I think the importance of accountability and transparency in
government is the starting point for any society improving. And that
also means that the press has responsibilities to make sure that it’s
accurate, to make sure that it doesn’t just chase whatever is the most
sensational but tries to be thoughtful and present, as best it can, a
fair view of what’s happening. But in the end, I’d rather have the
press err on the side of freedom, even if sometimes it’s a little
inaccurate, than to have the person who is governing the country making
decisions about who is wrong and who is right and who can say what and
who can publish what. Because that’s the path to not just dictatorship,
but it’s also the path to not fixing the real problems that exist.
(Applause.)
Okay. It’s a gentleman’s turn. I’ll call on this guy right here.
So I need a translator — my sign language is not so good. We need a
sign.
Q (As interpreted.) Thank you so much. So
you’re definitely a visionary. And with Martin Luther King, I can
relate to you — I can relate the both of you together. So in America, a
lot of countries — sorry, there’s a lot of states and there are a lot
of countries that we are coming from that have diversity. There are
visas that have to be filled out, there’s a lottery system that you have
to go through. And so while everyone is coming to the U.S. — there’s a
medical system, there are people who are seeking to get their PhDs, to
get their doctorates, to get a lot of educational advances. There’s a
lot of educational advances that people are having.
And so while people are coming here, they’re seeing that they’re not
able to — for example, becoming a physician or becoming an engineer;
that individuals that come from Africa can, in fact, achieve their
dreams. They can come to the United States and they have a limitless
option of educational tracks that they can take to have good work and
not necessarily depend specifically on the profession to do it for them.
And the government can be an aid in that process to help them excel in
their profession.
And also, the second part of my question — there are many objectives
and goals, but right now, as you are coming to the end of your
presidency, how do you feel as though you can personally continue the
initiatives that you’ve set forth for Africa since you are coming so
quickly to the end of your presidency? What are your plans to continue
those objectives? (Applause.)
Q (As interpreted.) I have a supplementary third part, I’m so sorry. (Laughter.)
THE PRESIDENT: But we don’t want too long a question. All right, can I answer? No? Good.
So, first of all, I thought that was very cool that you had like kind
of a three-way translation going on there. So you had the sign
language, that was then signed back, that was then translated to
English. So there was just a whole bunch of really smart people
communicating. (Applause.)
But if I understood the first part of your question, look, one of the
great achievements of the United States is our university system, which
it really is unparalleled anywhere in the world. It’s not just one or
two great universities. We have hundreds of great universities.
(Applause.) And we have an entire community college system that allows
people to get practical training as well, even if they don’t get a
four-year degree. And that is a huge advantage because those countries
that are investing in human capital, that are training people, are going
to do better — that’s the most valuable resource. There are countries
that have natural resources, but if their people are not valued as the
more important resource, those countries will not succeed.
Yesterday, I had a state dinner with the Prime Minister of Singapore.
Singapore is a tiny, little island, just a little spot, a little dot
on a map. But it has one of the most wealthy, well-educated, advanced
populations in the world — not because they’ve got oil or because
they’ve precious gems, but because their people have been educated and
they can thrive in this new knowledge-based society. So it’s a huge
advantage for us.
Now, I think in each of your countries, it is really important for
your current leadership and many of you who will be future leaders to
make sure that, first and foremost, that educational infrastructure is
in place. (Applause.) And it has be to be provided for everybody — not
just boys, but girls — and it’s got to start early, because you can’t
leave half of your population behind and expect that you’re going to
succeed. (Applause.)
And, by the way, let’s face it, the mothers, even in enlightened
marriages like mine, are probably doing more in terms of teaching
children than the fathers are. So if you’re not teaching the mother,
that means the child is also not getting taught. And so the first is to
create the infrastructure where people are learning. But I think one
of the points you’re making also, though, is we have some countries
where people are getting degrees but, because of the rules and the
regulations and the policies, are not allowing for enough
entrepreneurship and enough private sector growth. Then you have people
who are educated but they’re frustrated because they can’t find good
work.
And so it’s not enough just to educate a population. You then also
have to have rules in place where if you want to start a business you
don’t have to pay a bribe. (Applause.) Or you don’t have to hire
somebody’s cousin who then is not going to show up on the job but
expects to get paid. Or if you want to get electricity installed, you
have to wait for five months to get a line into your office.
So all the rules, the regulations, the laws, the structures that are
in place to encourage development and growth — that has to be combined
with the education in order for those young people who now have talent
to be able to move forward. And too often, what I’ve seen in a lot of
African countries — and this is not unique to Africa; you see it in a
lot of other places — there’s this perspective of, okay, you get an
education and then you get a slot in some government office somewhere.
And if you don’t get one of those slots then that’s it, you don’t have
any — there’s no opportunity. And I am a strong believer that
government — strong, effective, transparent government — is a
precondition for a market-based economy. You can’t have one without the
other.
But what is also true is that if every job is a government job, then
there’s going to come a point where you’re not going to be able to
accommodate all the talents of your people. So you have to be able to
create a private sector, a marketplace, where people who have a new
idea, who have a new product or service, they can go out there and they
can create something. And if you don’t have that, then you’re going to
frustrate the vision and the ambitions of too many young people in your
country.
So I think America in the past has done this well. Our big problem
here in this country is sometimes we forget how we became so wealthy in
the first place. And you start hearing arguments about, oh, we didn’t
want to pay taxes to fund the universities. Or we don’t want to pay
taxes to maintain our roads properly because why should I have to invest
in society, I made it on my own. And we forget that, well, the reason
that you had this opportunity to go work at Google or to go work at
General Motors or to go work at IBM had to do with a lot of investments
that were made in science and research and roads and ports and all the
infrastructure that helps preserve the ability of people who want to
operate effectively in the marketplace to be able to make it.
And I always tell people who are anti-government in the United
States: Try going to a country where the government doesn’t work.
(Laughter and applause.) And you’ll see that you actually want a good
government. It’s a useful thing to have, but it’s not enough on its own
if you also don’t have then the ability of people in the private sector
to succeed. (Applause.)
It’s a woman’s turn. Let’s see. The guys, you can sit down. Guys,
it’s not your turn. (Laughter.) This young lady right here. No, not
you — I said this young lady right here. (Laughter.) Come on, bro.
What’s your name?
Q My name is Falaca Diane (ph). I come from
Benin. (Applause.) Thank you, Mr. President, for giving us this
opportunity. When you were speaking, you spoke about leaving people
behind. I want to use that same phrase to mention here that we have
left a lot of young and dynamic other people behind to come here in the
United States. And what has been the barrier? I want to pay tribute to
every fellows who come from every African countries, but I want to pay a
special tribute to all fellows who come from Mali, Senegal, Niger, Cote
d’Ivoire, and Benin. (Applause.)
The challenge is twofold, Mr. President. Not only do we have to
qualify as good leaders, we also have to qualify as good English
speakers. (Applause.) But we have people back home who cannot speak
this language. Mr. President, you are at the end of your term. I would
like you to partner with all these countries — Mali, Benin, Senegal,
Cote d’Ivoire, Mozambique — (applause) — to help us build English club,
English language centers for young people to be able to be more
efficient and seize this opportunity. Thank you very much. (Applause.)
THE PRESIDENT: Good. I think you make an excellent
point. Obviously we have people who are here from Francophile
countries or from Portuguese-speaking countries, but what we also want
to make sure of is that everybody can participate. And for a range of
historical reasons, English has become in some ways a lingua franca.
And frankly, I wish we as Americans did a better job of learning other
languages. One of the things about being a big country, we’ve always
kind of felt like, oh, we don’t need it. But now, in an interconnected
world, the more languages we speak, the better.
So I think it’s excellent practical advice. And we will work with
our team to think about how we can incorporate English learning into our
program. (Applause.) So thank you very much for that news I can use.
All right, let’s see. We’ve got a gentleman — this guy right here in the cool hat.
Q Which —
THE PRESIDENT: Well, you both have cool hats, but I was calling on him. (Laughter.) Right here. Go ahead.
Q Thank you so much, Mr. President. I want to
start by saying thank you so much for this opportunity. I think you’ve
done a great job as a President, and you inspire a lot of us Young
African Leaders. (Applause.) Also, I want to say that back home where I
come from — my name is Falah Ano (ph), by the way. I’m Nigerian.
Where I come from there are lots of bottlenecks and barriers to the
youths participating in politics — because politics we see as a platform
that offers change we desire to implement. So what is your advice,
being in the White House for eight years, coming as a young (inaudible)
to the White House and after eight years the things you’ve seen from
where you came from and now — what advice do you have for young Africans
who aspire to run for office? And what do you think they can do to
make a difference even when they get to political office?
And secondly, this is — just use this opportunity to say a big
shout-out to my wife, Admaz (ph). And I promised her if I get a chance
to talk to you, I would say hi on her behalf. (Applause.)
THE PRESIDENT: Okay. So you see, he’s keeping
balance. (Laughter.) Making sure he can go back home and say, hey,
honey, I’ve — (laughter) — I was looking after you.
People here in the states — we have a White House interns program,
and I often talk to young people after they complete their internship at
the White House. And they ask me a similar question: What advice
would I give for people who are interested in public service and
politics? And obviously, each country is different. Some countries are
more challenging because democratic policies are still not so deeply
entrenched; oftentimes there’s not as much turnover in government
because people, once they get in, they don’t want to leave. In part, by
the way, that also has to do with the lack of opportunity in the
private sector.
One of the reasons why you want to have a country that has a good,
strong government but also a private sector is if you don’t have a good,
strong private sector, then the temptation for people to stay in power
in government — because that’s the only way to make a living or to
succeed — that becomes a strong temptation, and that then leads to the
temptation to corruption or to suppress opposition, or to not have
honest elections. Because you’re hanging on — because if you lose,
you’ve got nothing, right? (Applause.)
And one of the good things about the United States is that, look, you
run for office, if you lose, there’s other ways of making a living.
It’s not a tragedy. And, no — and it’s interesting — I mean, there were
times where — during my political career, there were times where I
thought, you know what, this isn’t going all that well. And I remember
when I ran for the United States Senate, I had already lost a race to be
in Congress. I had been in the state senate for eight years. It was
putting enormous strains on my family because I was traveling a lot.
And I thought to myself, you know what, this is it — if I don’t win this
U.S. Senate race, I’m getting out of politics, I’m going to go do
something else. And I was comfortable with that view.
It also meant that once I became President — and people have talked
about, for example, in my first term when I was trying to get the health
care law passed, and the politics of it were not going well, and people
were very angry and oftentimes misinformed about what it would do — I
decided, look, even if this means that I don’t get a second term, I’m
going to go ahead and do it anyway. And part of the reason was because I
said, if I lose I’ll be upset, it’ll be a little embarrassing, but I’ll
be okay, and there’s no point in me being in office if I can’t actually
do something with the office. (Applause.)
Now, that leads me to the main advice that I would have for those of
you who are interested in politics or government. I always say to young
people: Worry less about what you want to be and worry more about what
you want to do. (Applause.) Because those are two different things.
I think one of the problems we get sometimes here in Washington is we
have people — not everybody, and maybe not even the majority — but
there are people here who — they had in their mind very early on, “I
want to be a congressman.” And then they’re doing everything they can
to be a congressman, and then once they become a congressman, they don’t
know why they’re a congressman. (Laughter.) All they know is they
want to stay a congressman.
And so this is true not just in politics; I think this is true in
business, as well. The most successful businesspeople I know, they
don’t start off saying “I want to be rich.” What they say is, “I want
to invent the personal computer.” And then it turns out, wow, Steve
Jobs, or Hewlitt and Packard, Bill Gates — you guys did a really good
job, and it just so happened that it made you really rich. But there
was a passion about trying to get something done. It’s certainly true
in politics.
So if you want to be in politics, my advice to you would be, why?
What is it that you want to do? (Applause.) Do you want to provide a
good education to young people? Do you want to alleviate poverty? Do
you want to make sure that everybody has health care? Do you want to
promote peace between ethnic groups in your country? Do you want to
preserve the environment? And whatever it is that you want to do, start
doing it. Because you don’t have to have an office to do that.
(Applause.)
You can start a program to help young women in your village
get an education. You can decide in whatever part of Nigeria you’re
from that you’re going to go back and try to promote health and wellness
programs for young people. And the experience you get from actually
doing these things then will inform the nature of why you might want to
go into politics.
First of all, it may turn out that you are making such a difference
and having such an impact without going into politics that you decide, I
don’t want to do that, I want to keep on building what I’m doing. If
you do decide to go into politics, you will have not only the experience
but also the credibility with the people you want to represent, because
they’ve seen you actually do something useful.
And the last point I would make is, politics is a little bit like
going into acting, or being a musician. And what I mean by that is you
can be really talented, but maybe the timing is off. Maybe you didn’t
get the lucky break. And so you can’t guarantee that you’re going to be
elected or successful in a particular office.
I mean, when you think about me being President of the United States,
it was quite unlikely. (Applause.) And I still remember I ran for the
Senate, I won my primary, but I still had a general election. And then
I was selected to speak at the Democratic National Convention. This is
in 2004. And the fact that John Kerry picked me to speak was sort of
accidental. And I gave a pretty good speech. (Applause.) No, no —
but, wait, wait. So the day after the speech, my name is everywhere,
and I’m on television. And people are saying, wow, who is this guy,
Obama? (Laughter.) That was wonderful. We’re really impressed. And
he’s got a future. And maybe someday he’s going to run for President,
et cetera.
And I told my friend — because we were still in Boston, and we were
walking, and there were these huge crowds, and everybody is wanting to
shake my hand, and I said, I’m no more smarter today than I was
yesterday. (Laughter.) I didn’t suddenly magically become so much
better than I was when I was just a state senator. Some of it had to do
with just chance. It was luck.
So you don’t have control completely over luck, over fate, over
chance. But you do have control over being useful and getting good work
done in your communities. (Applause.) So stay focused on that.
And then if you stay focused on that, then maybe success comes in
politics. But if it doesn’t, you will still be able to wake up every
morning and say, you know what, I’m making a difference. I’m doing good
work. (Applause.)
I’ve only got time for one question. Yes, I’ve been working hard up
here. One question. So the young lady in the hijab, right there. Yes.
Right there, go ahead. Where are you from?
Q I’m from Sudan.
THE PRESIDENT: Oh, no, no, I can’t do another
Sudanese. I love you, though, but I have to be fair to — I’ve got to
make sure every country — countries get a chance. I can’t hear. I
can’t hear. Wait, wait, wait, I can’t hear. Cameroon. All right,
right here, from Cameroon. But I will shake your hand, though, because I
feel it was unfair for me to call on you. So you can come up to the
front. I’ll make sure to shake your hand. (Applause.)
All right, go ahead.
Q Thank you, Mr. President, for this opportunity. I’m Lily. I’m from Cameroon. (Applause.) Thank you.
Some of us come from areas where our governments don’t really
integrate what we do here in the U.S. — governments that are a little
bit maybe hostile, environment hostile. What are some of the strategies
you’re putting in place to make sure that this, our governments,
integrate all that we have done here so that we can better impact our
environment? Thank you. (Applause.)
THE PRESIDENT: Well, we’ve been talking about this
with the State Department. Because one of my goals is to make sure that
the program continues after I leave. (Applause.)
And I think that we have a great interest in both promoting this
program, but then also working with your governments so that they see
this is an enormous opportunity for them. What we want to let them know
is that the talent that all of you represent is going to be the future
of your countries.
And so take advantage. We’ll partner with you but also with your
governments to work on the projects that you’ve designed, to make sure
that you have a sort of a sponsor that is kind of looking out for you. I
think the fact that we’ve created these four regional centers and this
network and that embassies in each of your countries are aware of what
you’ve done will be helpful to you.
But in the end of the day, as I’ve said before, you’re going to be
the ones who actually have to take advantage of the opportunities.
There’s going to be some things we can do, but at the end of the day,
your vision will have to be won by you and by your fellow countrymen and
women.
So part of the reason why I love this program is this isn’t a matter
of what America is doing for you, this is us being partners but mainly
seeing what you can do yourselves to change, transform, and build your
countries.
And I don’t want to be — look, I want to be honest with you. There
are over 50 countries represented here. It represents a wide spectrum.
Some of you are going to go back and what you’re doing is welcomed.
Some of you will go back and not so much. Depending on the kinds of
things that you want to — maybe if you’re just focused on public health,
you’ll get less resistance. If you are interested in human rights or
democracy, you might get more resistance. There are some countries
where you being active and speaking out publicly can be dangerous.
There are some places where it’s welcomed. There are some places where
freedom of the press is observed; other places where it is viewed as
objectionable.
I can’t, and America cannot, solve all those problems. And if I were
to promise that, I would not be telling the truth. (Applause.) But
what I can do is to make sure that the program continues, that the
network continues to get built, and that the State Department is engaged
with your countries explaining why what you represent is so important
to the continent.
And what I can also commit to is, is that even after I am President,
that this will be a program that I continue to participate in and work
with because it’s something that I’m very, very proud of. (Applause.)
So thank you very much, everybody. Thank you. (Applause.)
END 4:45 P.M. EDT
