President Barack Hussein Obama is in his final days in office. By January 20^th of this month, Obama will pass down the baton of leadership of the United States of America to Donald Trump, the president elect; as the 45^th President of the World’s most powerful nation. There is no doubt in the fact that the President’s eight years in office may not have been the best or the worst in the history of the United States. If you ask conservatives to name the worst thing Obama has done in his presidency, many would say the failed Obama care that took healthcare away from the reach of millions of Americans. Some might even say the worsening U.S./Israel relationship or the Benghazi attack on U.S. embassy in Libya that resulted in the death of U.S. diplomats.

On the best things his administration is able to achieve, the killing of Osama bin Laden; the mastermind of the September 11, 2001 terror attack in New York that killed thousands of Americans; ended the 2008 recession, ended the Iran and Afghanistan wars, created more than 17 million jobs, brokered a nuclear agreement with Iran amongst many other ones. Although, these achievements have not gone down without harsh criticisms, there is no doubting of the fact that Barack Obama’s two term reign as United States 44^th President recorded some mile stones.

Away from the above achievements and failures, Obama’s greatest legacy to the world would be that irrespective of peoples’ background and disadvantages, one can rise to become the envy of the world, and a force for positive change. Who would have thought of an African-American becoming the president of the World’s most influential nation? In a country where racism and black segregation still prevails, where un-armed black folks are being gunned down by white police officers for mundane offences, where African-Americans are being rated as second-class citizens, compared with their white counterparts (even the issue of whether Obama was born in the United States dominated the political landscape for months), where Muslims are being labelled as terrorists.

Irrespective of these negatives, Obama became the 44^th President of the United States of America, first as a Senator from Illinois (2005 to 2008) and member of the Illinois Senate from the 13^th district; a position he held from 1997 to 2003. Obama’s story has proven to the World that a man can be what he has been destined to be, irrespective of the odds against him. Your odds will present all the wrong reasons why you do not deserve to be the man in charge, to lead the nation or to even succeed in what you have chosen to do. Just like Barack Obama, look at the odd and say “Yes I can”. I can succeed irrespective of my background, the parents that gave birth to me or where I was even given birth to. Yes, you can seize your future. Don’t allow your background to keep your back on the ground.

Determine to succeed no matter the obstacle against you. Be positive and focused. Obama’s legacy as the first African-American President cannot be erased from history. His courage and resilience is a classic example that there is nothing that cannot be achieved. Other African-Americans in the future can boldly look at history, and contest for the office of the president of the United States of America. He may not have been politically correct in some cases, his foreign policies may have been whacked and his economic programs may have failed in some areas. But one thing is important, there is hope for the blacks. Barack Hussein Obama has broken the jinx; he has set the pace for the black people living in the United States. This I think, in my opinion, is Obama’s greatest legacy. Thanks for reading.