Slowly and quietly, the BP oil spill is becoming Obama‘s Katrina. After days of optimistic talk and reassurance from the BP spokesmen, the situation is more grave than thought. It seems that the Obama administration has been taken by surprise.

The spill is already affecting the US coasts and affecting the fishery industry. It takes years to clean up an oil spill. At this point, the US governement needs to wake up and take the lead to stop the leak.

Despite promises to compensate losses, money will not repair the ecological damage already done. The conflicting statements by BP have shown that they were hiding something bigger. The people living on the Gulf coast are the first to pay the price. As the Hausa of Niger say “Be aware of a man with a sweet tongue. He can lead you to buying bad meat.”