New Telegraph

Trump, this house is ‘For-Biden’

Democracy in God’s own country, the United States, was heavily threatened in the just-concluded election. It was an election that showed the importance of leadership and what the absence of it could mean for a people, no matter the situation.

 

It was a contest of raw power versus the power of the people’s thumb. Donald Trump showed his habitual tempestuous bravado typical of a Nigerian politician seeking for office, and seeing the handwriting of defeat boldly written, he will try to show some last-minute kick of a dying horse.

 

We saw the brashness, we saw the kicks, we read his tweets, we saw the slant in his allegations, his complete disagreement with the outcome of the election. All of those, put American democracy at great risk.

 

They also rubbished the moral authority of America on issues of credible, free and fair election which has always been America’s creed of engagement in most developing democracies around the world. A peculiar democracy with strong institutions, where the constitution holds sway, the temper in Donald Trump’s voice will surely diminish when the secret service will gradually assume their role.

 

The office will definitely leave Trump behind when it is time to inaugurate the President-elect on January 20th. If we trace Trump’s background very critically and introspectively, it won’t be far from the truth if we conclude that he is Nigeria’s own viable export to America.

 

His character, his responses, his idiosyncrasies, his abuses, his insults, tirades and gestures, are symptomatic of Nigerian politicians’ style. No Nigerian politician seeking for election would ever concede to any argument that he would lose in an election, even when he does not have any chance at all to put up a fight.

 

Even the most obscure of contestant, without campaigns, would claim victory before election day. When the results are finally rolling in, the response you get fits into Trump’s quarrelsome, noisy, uncontrollable anger, snooping, wanting to bring down the roof.

 

Former President Goodluck Jonathan was an extra-ordinary Nigerian in the way he handled his defeat in 2015. The man that succeeded him has since become a colossal damage on the psyche of average Nigerians. Jonathan’s sobriety saved blood that would have flown like river were he to behave cantankerously like Donald Trump.

 

But it does seem Trump’s ardent supporters love his drama, no matter how bizarre and ribaldrous, it gives them something to chew on. Trump was scaling down the steepy slope, aiming at every item, and wanting to destroy a democracy that remains America’s best global export to the world.

 

If America’s elections lack credibility, the same way Trump does, what will be its moral authority over other democracies that are still struggling to up the ante in terms of credible, free and fair election? John Adams, on 4th March 1801 displayed a similar behaviour when he refused to leave office, having been defeated by Thomas Jefferson. He suddenly discovered that the office had left him.

 

The institution of American democracy is firmly rooted in its constitution and not the individual who presides over the Oval Office at any given time. Respect is accorded to the office because of the sanctity of the constitution. An American president cannot order people around like herds of sheep as often done in Nigeria. Over there, they set goals to achieve within a given time frame as the global watchdog.

 

Back here, we wait for the president to smile before we smile, he coughs before we cough. We even begged our president to address us when the country burns, he refused until it became shameful to sustain silence. He sent out his ambassadors to go on fact-finding jamboree, using his ministers, chief of staff, and other principal officers as his foot-soldiers.

 

He awaits their return in the inner fortress of the Aso Villa. You often wonder the whereabouts of the Vice President, Yemi Osibanjo, completely relegated to the background? In America, the effectiveness and functionality of the institutions is the reason why age is not an issue in their campaigns.

 

The system runs irrespective of the age of the president. For Trump, the White House is now ‘for- Biden’, and on January 20th, the rent deduction from Biden’s salary would commence.

 

Trump must know when to say goodbye to protect the sanctity of America’s democracy, but for a man of drama, everything is about a script. Trump lacks finesse. He lacks candour. His vulgarity undermines his personality as the number one most important citizen in the world. He does not venerate the office he occupies. When he travels out of the White House, the aura of the office refuses to leave the confines of the Oval Office.

 

When he comes back to the White House, the aura departs from it. He appears and acts very uncoordinated. He elevated stupidity to an art, a piece of drama, often “Trumped” up to amuse his audience. His mannerisms are uncultured, a piece of bad comedy, whose footnote is another piece of idiocy, some derision, or graffiti scribbled on the imaginary Mexican walls to mock the ugliness of a Trump’s evocations. No charm, no diplomatese. He rushes to his tweets without conclusive understanding on issues.

 

He’s a piece of showbiz presidency that was gradually exposing the inherent contradictions of a democracy that has endured 240 years. Americans would have none of that. Its global police role must remain sacrosanct.

 

Rather than break the myth built around the institution of democracy in America, Trump would rather be broken into pieces. The White House may now be ‘for-Biden’, but Trump is trying hard to put up a last fight to spice his drama like an ambiguous denouement. The grace has left him.

 

The angels have departed his threshold. They now have fresh intakes in the leadership rostrum. The Supreme Court has to be mindful not to inflict colossal injury on a system that has become the cynosure of all democracies. Trump may not be a bad president after all, but his leadership was loaded with flaws. He hires and fires at the speed of light. He rubbishes persons who refused to toe his line of thoughts and position.

 

He uses his tweets to confuse everyone, including himself, on issues that may not have been conclusively dealt with. He tells a lot of lies in the process, and reduces the candour and grandeur of that respected office. From issues of Black Lives matter to tax laws violations and evasions, to gay rights, anti-abortion and others, Trump has been an abrasive actor, playing all roles: scripting, directing and acting. His personality is a piece of drama

 

. His gait is dramatic. His look conveys the symphony of a tough cookie, very unsmiling, unfriendly and frowny. Each time he mounts the dais to speak, the world waits with bated breath to hear the elocution of a clown who tries to dramatise every bit of his message to amuse his select audience. He has made new enemies for America in the process, damn all consequences like a bull in a China shop, ready to press the nuclear button if provoked beyond reason.

 

He tried calling out the military against Black Lives matter protesters but for the supremacy of the constitution over the whims and caprices of the President, Americans would have witnessed avoidable carnage.

 

Reports about the untoward activities of his thugs and supporters trying to intimidate voters abound. Reports of sponsored violence by his campaigners littered the streets of America, because of the Nigerian spirit in him. Trump was simply a loose cannon that was ready to undo a system that has since departed him, in a country that is largely polarised and urgently needs healing.

 

A lot of fence mending is required. A lot of building new frontiers while cementing old ones is required. The country needs to rally round the leadership to create a consensus that would help combat COVID-19 pandemic which Trump caressed like toys.

 

Death tolls alone has hit 230,000 with more cases being reported daily. Biden and Harris surely need to galvanise their energies to build a synergy that would make Americans benefit from their combined experiences as seasoned legislators. As Senators, they already have working experience about the expectations of the people. They already know their roles.

 

They are aware that the world is awaiting to see a new candour, aura and diplomacy as they assume office on January 20th. They need to heal broken hearts, broken country, broken boundaries, with immigration laws that would be favourable to America’s foreign policy. It is a lot of work to do; trying to fix a shop, after a bull has just passed through it. We need Biden in Nigeria. Boko Haram insurgents need Biden. The blood must stop. The kidnap must stop.

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