Justice Okon Abang of an Abuja Federal High Court has sounded a note of warning to the leadership of Makarfi-led Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) not to go ahead with its proposed national convention in Port Harcourt on Wednesday, August 17, unless they want to go to jail for contempt.
The judge on Tuesday, turned the interim order which he earlier gave into an interlocutory injunction that will subsist till the time the substantive suit is heard and determined even as he adjourned the hearing of the case till September 7.
He gave a stern warning to the Chairman and Secretary of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) not to monitor the planned convention.
The judge, who faulted the decision of the Port Harcourt Division of the Federal High Court to assume jurisdiction on the case relating to the PDP convention, also directed that his order be endorsed with Form 48 (Notice of disobedience of court order) and served on the INEC chairman and secretary.
He said that failure by INEC or any of the defendants to comply with his order “will attract disciplinary action” provided “the plaintiffs know what to do.”
He made the order after the plaintiffs, comprising the factional National Chairman of the PDP, Ali Modu Sheriff and others moved their motion praying for the interlocutory order on Tuesday.
The judge held that the motion was not opposed as the respondents, including members of Ahmed Makarfi-led caretaker committee of the party, failed to file a counter-affidavit opposing the motion.
He said that the Makarfi-led caretaker committee members who were only on Tuesday joined as the third to the ninth respondents adopted strategy of not filing counter-affidavit but other processes that were not found in the court file.
“They must sink and float with their legal strategy,” the judge ruled.
Justice Abang said the request for an adjournment by their counsel, Mr. Yunus Ustaz (SAN) and Chief Ferdinand Orbih (SAN), after the plaintiffs’ counsel, Chief Adeniyi Akintola (SAN), had moved his motion was an afterthought.
Counsel for the PDP, Mr. Olagoke Fakule (SAN) and that of INEC, Alhassan Umar, did not oppose the application.
The judge ruled: “In any case, the plaintiffs’ application is not opposed by any of the parties. The law must take its course. The facts placed before this court are unchallenged by the respondents when they had the opportunity to do so. The facts deposed to by the plaintiffs are credible.”
The judge blamed the Port Harcourt division of the Federal High Court for the conflicting orders that had so far been issued by him and from Port Harcourt.
Justice Abang said the Chief Judge, Justice Ibrahim Auta, having first assigned the case relating to PDP convention to him as far back as July 4, the Port Harcourt division ought to have drawn the CJ’s attention to the a case later filed with respect to the same subject matter. [myad]
Abrasive, accusative, aggressive and abusive, Donald Trump at initial stage of primaries for a Republican Party nominee for president of the United States seemed a joke. He was notorious for having insisted that President Barack Obama was not born in the USA. As the number of contestants increased in the primaries, Trump was expected to drop out. Surprisingly, he kept on waxing stronger. Unopposed, he was nominated as presidential candidate of the party. He had sent his 14 rivals crashing out one after the other.
The primaries witnessed unforgettable profane language, mainly dished out by Trump against his opponents. For example, he characterized former Governor Jeb Bush as having “low energy” and was “Dumb as a rock!”. Senator Ted Cruz did not know whether to laugh or cry when Trump posted an unattractive picture of Cruz’s wife, Heidi, juxtaposed against that of Melania, his supermodel wife. To Carly Florina, the only woman in the group, Trump said: “Look at that face. Would anyone vote for that? Can you imagine that as the face of our next president?” Senator Marco Rubio had taken to calling Trump “Big Don” whilst he was “Little Marco” to Trump, a thinly veiled reference to their exchange earlier on sizes of their masculine organs.
Trump’s supporters hailed him as authentic, straight and not corrupted by the establishment.
But around the world, media reports and many world leaders could not comprehend how Trump could be America’s best candidate for any office, least of all aspiring to become president of USA.
In December 2015, then Prime Minister of the United Kingdom David Cameron disagreed with Trump’s comments on London police, and called them “divisive, unhelpful and quite simply wrong.” Then Mayor of London Boris Johnson said that they “were ill-informed”. Sadiq Khan, who later became Mayor of London, said Trump “can’t just be dismissed as a buffoon – his comments are outrageous, divisive and dangerous”. Britain, the closest ally of USA is hardly known to express such official views on American presidential candidates. But Trump was unusual and his personality draws ire, as it attracts unwavering following.
“A person who thinks only about building walls — wherever they may be — and not building bridges, is not Christian,” Pope Francis said of Trump. “His discourse is so dumb, so basic,” said Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa. Mexican President Enrique Pena said, “That’s the way Mussolini arrived and the way Hitler arrived.” “Trump is an irrational type,” said Chinese Finance Minister Lou Jiwei. The numerous world leaders who admonished Trump included French President Francois Hollande, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and Isaac Herzog, Israeli opposition leader, Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega, Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama, Germany’s Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel, Prime Minister of France Manuel Valls, and Danish Foreign Minister Kristian Jensen.
Somehow, those who cried,”No” were drowned out by the “Yes” noise. Trump’s increasing high opinion poll in the USA was surprising, to put it mildy. Fawning crowd filled his campaign gathering.
How could a country that has so much to offer be imprisoned by such limited viewpoint? America has produced more breakthrough research findings, more discoveries, more knowledge in almost any field of human endeavour, than the rest of the world combined. It is the country with the largest foundations, charitable organizations that give to causes and people in lands that some of the donors have no idea whether they actually exist. It is the land of refuge for most people where needs and hopes are met in more ways than they ever imagined. Yet Trump was against outsiders, tolerance and collaboration.
America is a democracy. It was founded and built on the notion of freedom, unfettered and unlimited, except by agreement in areas that are institutionalized. It is a country where to be yourself is real. And what is different is right… unless it is wrong.
The tension between theory and practice of democracy finds all kinds of expressions in peoples and places all over America. Trump is the “kick-arse” American. Loud, brazen, daring and with a must-win compulsion. Even when he loses he makes it look like he wins. Tony Schwartz, co-author of Donald Trump’s autobiography, said in The New Yorker magazine that if he were writing The Art of the Deal today, he would have titled the book The Sociopath. “Lying is second nature to him…More than anyone else I have ever met, Trump has the ability to convince himself that whatever he is saying at any given moment is true, or sort of true, or at least ought to be true,” said Schwartz.
It is not what the world says or thinks that will stop Trump. The strongest opponent of Donald Trump is the phenomenon that Donald Trump represents, and that he champions. Among his unhinged believers it is necessary to be daring, angry, even obscene and, why not, fascist.
There are many reasons why Trump’s election as president of USA is a major problem for America’s leadership position in the world. Here are five reasons his victory cannot make America great again.
Firstly, beyond the notion that a character of his type can emerge from a most admirable country, it would confirm that through a democratic expression of votes, such a leader could indeed be accepted. Trump, repulsive as he may be, would become the face of “real” America.
Secondly, it would legitimize the use of crude, abusive language in American campaign politics at a level never witnessed in the modern era, and perhaps ever before. Trump as presidential candidate during TV broadcast denigrated a female journalist, Megyn Kelly; mocked a handicap journalist at a campaign rally; dismissed the service of a most respected veteran of the Vietnam war, Senator John McCain; and disrespected parents who lost their son fighting a war for his country.
Thirdly, it would confirm that being a bully is normal, accepted, even admired by most Americans.
Fourthly, it will undermine the two-party system which is the basis of America’s politics. Trump has fragmented the Republican Party. His victory would help him consolidate the division and effectively he would re-mould the party as his new empire. Such a situation would render very difficult coalescence around the middle range where balance is attained; where neither far left nor far right can dominate, and where both right and left converge in elections that have been won in turns over time almost rhythmically by Democrats and Republicans..
Fifthly, Trump as president would put to rest the belief that a woman could reach the highest political office in the USA. Despite criticisms of her, Hillary Clinton has had the best preparation and experience that can be required for the presidency. Absent Clinton, the political horizon is not replete with strong possible female contenders. Not only would Trump’s triumph, if it happened, kill the enthusiasm generated by Clinton as a possible next president, it will send a message that the country is not prepared for such a change. The 1920 presidential election was the first in which women were permitted to vote in every state, more than a century after men had dominated political life of the country. It may then take about two centuries before a woman would emerge as president.
Within the Republican Party, many have dissociated themselves from Trump and would like to see the end of the phenomenon that he extols. His attackers call him “insane”, “reckless”, “unfit”, “temperamental”, “racist”. He is seen as lacking patience, curiosity, knowledge, character, and balance. The surge against him from within is the force that can destroy the Trump phenomenon.
The view that Trump and his views represent America is not false, nor is it correct. This is the crux of the matter. In fact, it is the paradox of the country’s democracy. America is like the pendulum of grandfather clock. It swings between two tendencies, right and left. But it does not hit the walls of the clock.
Bunmi Makinwa is the CEO of AUNIQUEI Communication for Leadership and former Africa head of United Nations Population Fund. [myad]
Controversial entertainer and TV personality, Charles Oputa, aka ‘Charly Boy,’ has described most Nigerians as religious ‘mumu’ being deceived by fake Pastors.
In his social media outing, the ‘Area Father,’ as he is fondly called, insisted that most Nigerian Pastors are fake leading hypocritical Christians who claim to be religious but constantly fall for the antics and deceit of fake pastors.
“A country full of religious mumus. A lot of us being brainwashed on how to worship God as some churches now come up with different gimmicks.
“It is not surprising to see people attend church rituals involving frantic falls as if grasped by epileptic seizures, feigning attack by the spirits.
“Yes, most of these dramatics are paid, like the Nollywood actor who claimed that the devil exited his body through his foot.
“I’m not suggesting that all men of God are tinted, but out of a hundred you may not find four that live what they preach.
“Would it surprise you if I tell you I’ve read the bible page to page over 20-times? So I know more than I make out. I know that true men of God do not misquote the Bible.” [myad]
In the wake of a string of prison breaks that have unfolded across Nigeria, 23 Nigeria Prisons Service (NPS) officers have been sacked while 11 others are facing suspension.
This was announced to the public on Monday in a press release issued by NPS Public Relations Officer Francis Enobore. The decision to dismiss the officers was made at an emergency meeting called by the Civil Defence, Fire, Immigration and Prisons Service Board (CDFIPB) and held on August 11, 2016.
In the letters of dismissal issued to the affected staff, the CDFIPB cited “negligence of duty” as the cause for dismissal, stating that CDFIPB’s disciplinary actions are in line with the provision of Public Service Rule 030402 (O).
Among the dismissed officers are 3 senior officers and 7 junior staff from Kuje Medium Security Prison and 3 senior officers and 10 junior staff from Koton Karfe Prison. Meanwhile, Nsukka Prison Deputy Controller for Prisons (DCP) Okonkwo Lawrence and 10 of his colleagues were suspended.
Nigeria has endured three separate prison breaks throughout the summer. The first occurred in June at Kuje Prison in Abuja, in which two inmates escaped only to be recaptured less than a week later. In July, 13 prisoners escaped Koton Karfe in Kogi State. Just last week, 15 inmates escaped from Nsuka Prison, but 6 were recaptures shortly thereafter. [myad]
A lady lawyer who was one of the three people declared wanted on Sunday by the Nigerian Army, Aisha Alkali has made it clear that she and members of her family were embarrassed by such declaration.
In a statement on Monday, Aisha maintained that she had never hidden herself from the authorities, adding: “I have been in front fighting for peace long before Chibok girls were kidnapped. Nigerian security knows me too well, I’m not shady. Why declaring me wanted?”
Aisha said that she had been having meetings with Chief of Army staff and his people.
“I told them the way forward, to allow me come with some commanders of Boko Haram and discuss with them, present the release of CBGs but they chose to do things their own ways only, and never gave considerations to any of my suggestions.
“I want to inform the Nigerian people of my innocence and make them realize that I am in constant relation with the security personnel and they know where to find me but wonder why I had to be declared wanted on national news even mentioning my husband’s name alongside. “This has put my immediate and extended family under a lot of pressure and I do not deserve this from the Nigerian government. “Though they may not appreciate all my efforts to proffer peaceful solutions to the menace of Boko Haram, my name should not be mudslinged nor my character defamed.” [myad]
The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) has asked Nnamdi Kanu, the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), to swallow his pride and denounce Biafra which it said is a business venture and scam.
In a statement by its spokesman, Jomo Gbomo, MEND advised what it called ‘already frustrated and desperate Mr. Kanu and IPOB’ to swallow their pride and make a public denunciation of Biafra so that the gullible donors and followers, deceived by the illusion of a Biafra Republic that aims to annex the Niger Delta region as part of its territory, shall become fully aware that the so-called Biafra Republic is merely a business venture and scam “whose sole beneficiaries are Kanu, directors of IPOB and their families and cronies.” MEND expressed surprise over the recent spate of hypocritical and provocative statements issued by the IPOB and its leader, Nnamdi Kanu which purport to dissociate IPOB/Kanu from some of the concessions that have so far been secured by MEND in the ongoing talks aimed at resolving the current Niger Delta crisis between the Federal Government and MEND. “MEND hereby uses this opportunity to inform the entire world that, following the group’s ongoing negotiations with the Federal Government, Nnamdi Kanu has made it clear that he is willing to renounce “Biafra” in secret; in exchange for his freedom.
“MEND and the Federal Government have however, flatly rejected the IPOB/Kanu hypocrisy to remain defiant in public; while accepting to secretly renounce secession.” [myad]
A Journalist declared wanted by the Nigeria military authorities, Ahmed Salkida has said that he did not deserve the treatment he is getting from Nigeria in view of the great personal sacrifices he had made over the years to secure the release of Chibok girls.
“Clearly, my status as a Nigerian journalist who has reported extensively, painstakingly and consistently on the Boko Haram menace in the country since 2006 is an open book known to Nigerians and the international community. Equally, my total allegiance and sacrifice to the Federal Republic of Nigeria is self evident. I have stayed within the creed of professional journalism in my work.”
Salkida, who reacted, in a statement, to the news about his being on the wanted list list of the Nigerian Army, said that as a testimony to the credible and professional values of his access, since May 2015, he had been to Nigeria three times on the invitation of Federal Government agencies.
“I made personal sacrifices for the release of our Chibok daughters,” Salkida said, adding that the Army is aware that he is not in Nigeria presently. “In the coming days I will seek to get a flight to Abuja and avail myself to the Army authorities. Indeed, my return will be hastened if the Military sends me a ticket.” [myad]
President Muhammadu Buhari has appealed to political leaders in Guinea Bissau to embrace unity and avoid any act that could plunge the nation into further crisis. Speaking while receiving the Special Representative of the United Nations Secretary-General on Guinea Bissau, Mr. Modibo Toure, at the State House on Monday, President Buhari decried the lingering political crisis in the West African country. Buhari advised the people to accept responsibility for leadership to stabilize the country, adding that it is only the country’s political leaders, not outsiders that can effectively resolve the political crisis. President Buhari said that Nigeria would welcome increased support from ECOWAS and the United Nations to stabilize the country and prevent breakdown of law and order. He said that Nigeria had a responsibility to the region and the rest of Africa and assured: “we will not shirk on our responsibility, in spite of the hardship confronting us.” The UN representative, Modibbo Toure, had requested Nigeria to use its clout in ECOWAS to break the deadlock in the country. He warned that Guinea Bissau is facing a very grim future if the country continues without a functioning government. [myad0]
No fewer than 1,860,877 Zambians, representing 50.35 of the total votes have returned Mr. Edgar Lungu as the country’s President for a second-term, even as the opposition leader, Hakainde Hichilema, has alleged electoral fraud.
According to the official results made public on Monday, Mr. Lungu of the Patriotic Front (PF) secured 50.35% of the votes totaling 1,860,877 votes, while Mr. Hichilema of the United Party for National Development (UPND) received 47.67% of the votes, totaling 1,760,347 votes.
The electoral commission requires the winner to have more than 50% of the votes to avoid a runoff election.
The main opposition party, UPND, however alleged that the electoral commission worked in conjunction with the ruling party to rig the elections in favor of Mr. Lungu. “We have evidence to the effect that the votes for Hakainde Hichilema have been deliberately reduced in collusion with the electoral commission of Zambia,” said Jack Mwiimbu, the UPND’s lawyer. “We have confidence that the constitutional court will rise above the board and declare the results a nullity,” the lawyer added. Meanwhile, the PF has rejected the allegations. These elections were, in a sense, a rerun of last year’s elections as Mr. Lungu took office in January last year after a keenly contested election against Mr. Hichilema. The election was held because the former president, Michael Sata had died in office – the second time that a Zambian president had died in office in the last five years. In that election, Mr. Lungu defeated Mr. Hichilema by fewer than 28,000 votes. In the general elections on Thursday, however, the margin of victory was about 200,000 votes. Mr. Mwiimbu had earlier expressed doubts that the polls would be credible given the fact that the ballot papers, which had always been printed in South Africa, were printed in Dubai. According to Voice of America, Mr. Mwiimbu said that the UPND had “documentary proof” of some Zambians celebrating after the chairman of the Zambia Electoral Commission, Justice Essau Chulu, announced that the Dubai company had won the bidding to print the ballot papers. Election officials have also dismissed the allegations of rigging, saying that the slow publication of the results was due to the fact that the general elections featured votes for the president, parliament, mayors, local councilors and an amendment to the constitution on changes to the bill of rights. Zambia has enjoyed a history of conducting peaceful elections, with its election climate being held up as a model for democracy in Africa. However, these elections have seen both candidates implicated in violence during the campaign. As a result, international observers have urged Zambians to take any discontent with the elections to the courts, rather than taking to the streets. [myad]
Nigerian female sprinter, Blessing Okagbare, has on Monday, qualified for the Rio 2016 Olympic 200 metres semi-final after clocking 22.71 seconds. Okagbare won heat 5 on Monday in the 200m 1st round to qualify alongside Cote d’Ivoire duo of Marie-Josee Ta Lou and Murielle Ahoure. As a 19-year-old, Okagbare won a bronze medal in the women’s long jump event at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing. She scored a 100 m/long jump double at the NCAA Women’s Outdoor Track and Field Championship for University of Texas at El Paso, completing an undefeated collegiate streak that year.
She won the Nigerian 100 m title in 2010, running a time of 11.04 seconds, and stated that she was opting out of the long jump in order to save herself for the upcoming African championships. At the African Championships in 2010, she won gold in the long jump again with a distance of 6.62 m while her compatriot Comfort Onyali took silver. Okagbare also won gold in the 100 m distance with a run of 11.03 s flat, while Gabon’s Ruddy Zang Milama and compatriot Oludamola Osayomi won silver and bronze with runs of 11.15 s and 11.22 s respectively. She won her third gold at the end of the championship as part of the Nigerian 4×100 m women’s relay team. The team of Okagbare, Osayomi, Lawretta Ozoh and Agnes Osazuwa set a new championship record with a run of 43.43 s, more than a full second ahead of the silver-winning Cameroonian quartet. In 2011, Okagbare continued to build on her earlier endeavours by establishing herself as a 100 m runner. At the 2011 World Championships in Daegu, Okagbare placed fifth in the 100 m final with a run of 11.12 second. However she did not make it to the final of the long jump as her best jump of 6.36 m was not enough to get her out of her qualifying group.[8] She concluded her 2011 season by winning three medals at the All Africa Games in Maputo, Mozambique. She won silver in the 100 m behind compatriot Oludamola Osayomi with a run of 11.01 s and gold with in the long jump with a jump of 6.5 0m. She was part of the Nigerian quartet that won gold in the 4 × 100 m with a time of 43.34. 2012 was a busy year for Okagbare. She jumped 6.97 m in the long jump in Calabar during the Nigerian championship. She won new continental medals at the 2012 African Championships in Porto Novo. In the 100 m she was beaten to silver by Zang Milama, while in the long jump she claimed gold with a jump of 6.96 m. At London 2012, Okagbare participated in her second Olympic Games. Going into the Olympics she had run a number of fast 100 m races and there was much anticipation and hope of a medal. However the 2012 Olympics were not as successful for Okagbare as her 2008 outing. She established a new personal best of 10.92 s in the 100 m semi-final but placed eighth in the final with a run of 11.01 seconds. 2013 would prove to be a breakthrough year for Okagbare. In April 2013, in Walnut, California, Blessing Okagbare set a personal record in the 200 m with a time of 22.31 s. Then, in July, she improved her personal best in the long jump with successive jumps of 6.98 m at the Athletissima meet in Lausanne, and 7.00 m during the Monaco Herculis meet. On July 27, 2013, at the London Anniversary Games, Okagbare set a new African record of 10.86 s in her 100 m race. She won the final about an hour later, setting a new African record of 10.79, in a race where she beat reigning 100 m Olympic gold medalist Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce. Okagbare’s record eclipsed the existing record by compatriot Glory Alozie of 10.90 s which had stood since 1998. At the 2013 World Championships in Moscow, Okagbare won the silver medal in the long jump. Her jump of 6.99 m put her in second place behind Brittney Reese of the United States by only two centimetres.[10] In the 100 m final, she placed sixth with a run of 11.04 s and also placed third in the 200 m race. Okagbare participated in both the 100m and 200m races. She made it through to the finals of the 100m and won with a time of 10.85, breaking the games record of 10.91 seconds set by Debbie Ferguson-McKenzie 12 years earlier at the 2002 Commonwealth Games in Manchester. Okagbare also won the gold medal in the 200, with a time of 22.25 seconds. In doing so, she became the fourth woman to win the 100m and 200m double at the Commonwealth Games. She ran the lead off leg in the 4 x 200 m at the 2015 World Relays. The team consisting of Okagbare, Regina George, Dominique Duncan and Christy Udoh, won the race and set an African Record in the process.[11] She did not appear in the 200 metres at the IAAF World Championships or the All Africa Games due to a hamstring injury she sustained while finishing last in the final of the 100 metres at the World Championships. At the end of the season, she did participate in the IAAF Diamond League meet, the Weltklasse Zürich in Zurich, finishing second in the 100 metres. The Director General of Nigeria’s National Sports Commission Al Hassan Yakmu was angered by the perceived snub: “I was shocked when I saw Okagbare competing in the Diamond League in Zurich last Thursday. I was wondering if it was the same Okagbare who refused to compete for Nigeria in the 200m event at the IAAF World Championship in Beijing. She even opted out of Team Nigeria for the All-Africa Games in Congo. Why? I have said it times without number that any athlete who feels too big to compete for Nigeria in the All-Africa Games should not bother about the Rio 2016 Olympic Games. No athlete is bigger than Nigeria. It was initially reported that Okagbare was banned from representing Nigeria at the 2016 Olympics.The Athletics Federation of Nigeria eventually refuted the claim.Though she opted out of the individual events at the All-Africa Games, she did run in the 4 x 100 m relay and help the Nigerian team (Cecilia Francis, Okagbare, Ngozi Onwumere and Lawretta Ozoh) secure the gold medal. In September 2014, she married Nigerian footballer Igho Otegheri. [myad]
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A lady lawyer who was one of the three people declared wanted on Sunday by the Nigerian Army, Aisha Alkali has made it clear that she and members of her family were embarrassed by such declaration.
The Movement for the Emancipation of the Niger Delta (MEND) has asked Nnamdi Kanu, the detained leader of the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB), to swallow his pride and denounce Biafra which it said is a business venture and scam.
A Journalist declared wanted by the Nigeria military authorities, Ahmed Salkida has said that he did not deserve the treatment he is getting from Nigeria in view of the great personal sacrifices he had made over the years to secure the release of Chibok girls.
President Muhammadu Buhari has appealed to political leaders in Guinea Bissau to embrace unity and avoid any act that could plunge the nation into further crisis.
No fewer than 1,860,877 Zambians, representing 50.35 of the total votes have returned Mr. Edgar Lungu as the country’s President for a second-term, even as the opposition leader, Hakainde Hichilema, has alleged electoral fraud.
For America’s Sake, Donald Trump Must Lose, By Bunmi Makinwa
Abrasive, accusative, aggressive and abusive, Donald Trump at initial stage of primaries for a Republican Party nominee for president of the United States seemed a joke. He was notorious for having insisted that President Barack Obama was not born in the USA. As the number of contestants increased in the primaries, Trump was expected to drop out. Surprisingly, he kept on waxing stronger. Unopposed, he was nominated as presidential candidate of the party. He had sent his 14 rivals crashing out one after the other.
The primaries witnessed unforgettable profane language, mainly dished out by Trump against his opponents. For example, he characterized former Governor Jeb Bush as having “low energy” and was “Dumb as a rock!”. Senator Ted Cruz did not know whether to laugh or cry when Trump posted an unattractive picture of Cruz’s wife, Heidi, juxtaposed against that of Melania, his supermodel wife. To Carly Florina, the only woman in the group, Trump said: “Look at that face. Would anyone vote for that? Can you imagine that as the face of our next president?” Senator Marco Rubio had taken to calling Trump “Big Don” whilst he was “Little Marco” to Trump, a thinly veiled reference to their exchange earlier on sizes of their masculine organs.
Trump’s supporters hailed him as authentic, straight and not corrupted by the establishment.
But around the world, media reports and many world leaders could not comprehend how Trump could be America’s best candidate for any office, least of all aspiring to become president of USA.
In December 2015, then Prime Minister of the United Kingdom David Cameron disagreed with Trump’s comments on London police, and called them “divisive, unhelpful and quite simply wrong.” Then Mayor of London Boris Johnson said that they “were ill-informed”. Sadiq Khan, who later became Mayor of London, said Trump “can’t just be dismissed as a buffoon – his comments are outrageous, divisive and dangerous”. Britain, the closest ally of USA is hardly known to express such official views on American presidential candidates. But Trump was unusual and his personality draws ire, as it attracts unwavering following.
“A person who thinks only about building walls — wherever they may be — and not building bridges, is not Christian,” Pope Francis said of Trump. “His discourse is so dumb, so basic,” said Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa. Mexican President Enrique Pena said, “That’s the way Mussolini arrived and the way Hitler arrived.” “Trump is an irrational type,” said Chinese Finance Minister Lou Jiwei. The numerous world leaders who admonished Trump included French President Francois Hollande, Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, and Isaac Herzog, Israeli opposition leader, Norwegian Prime Minister Erna Solberg, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Nicaraguan President Daniel Ortega, Albanian Prime Minister Edi Rama, Germany’s Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel, Prime Minister of France Manuel Valls, and Danish Foreign Minister Kristian Jensen.
Somehow, those who cried,”No” were drowned out by the “Yes” noise. Trump’s increasing high opinion poll in the USA was surprising, to put it mildy. Fawning crowd filled his campaign gathering.
How could a country that has so much to offer be imprisoned by such limited viewpoint? America has produced more breakthrough research findings, more discoveries, more knowledge in almost any field of human endeavour, than the rest of the world combined. It is the country with the largest foundations, charitable organizations that give to causes and people in lands that some of the donors have no idea whether they actually exist. It is the land of refuge for most people where needs and hopes are met in more ways than they ever imagined. Yet Trump was against outsiders, tolerance and collaboration.
America is a democracy. It was founded and built on the notion of freedom, unfettered and unlimited, except by agreement in areas that are institutionalized. It is a country where to be yourself is real. And what is different is right… unless it is wrong.
The tension between theory and practice of democracy finds all kinds of expressions in peoples and places all over America. Trump is the “kick-arse” American. Loud, brazen, daring and with a must-win compulsion. Even when he loses he makes it look like he wins. Tony Schwartz, co-author of Donald Trump’s autobiography, said in The New Yorker magazine that if he were writing The Art of the Deal today, he would have titled the book The Sociopath. “Lying is second nature to him…More than anyone else I have ever met, Trump has the ability to convince himself that whatever he is saying at any given moment is true, or sort of true, or at least ought to be true,” said Schwartz.
It is not what the world says or thinks that will stop Trump. The strongest opponent of Donald Trump is the phenomenon that Donald Trump represents, and that he champions. Among his unhinged believers it is necessary to be daring, angry, even obscene and, why not, fascist.
There are many reasons why Trump’s election as president of USA is a major problem for America’s leadership position in the world. Here are five reasons his victory cannot make America great again.
Firstly, beyond the notion that a character of his type can emerge from a most admirable country, it would confirm that through a democratic expression of votes, such a leader could indeed be accepted. Trump, repulsive as he may be, would become the face of “real” America.
Secondly, it would legitimize the use of crude, abusive language in American campaign politics at a level never witnessed in the modern era, and perhaps ever before. Trump as presidential candidate during TV broadcast denigrated a female journalist, Megyn Kelly; mocked a handicap journalist at a campaign rally; dismissed the service of a most respected veteran of the Vietnam war, Senator John McCain; and disrespected parents who lost their son fighting a war for his country.
Thirdly, it would confirm that being a bully is normal, accepted, even admired by most Americans.
Fourthly, it will undermine the two-party system which is the basis of America’s politics. Trump has fragmented the Republican Party. His victory would help him consolidate the division and effectively he would re-mould the party as his new empire. Such a situation would render very difficult coalescence around the middle range where balance is attained; where neither far left nor far right can dominate, and where both right and left converge in elections that have been won in turns over time almost rhythmically by Democrats and Republicans..
Fifthly, Trump as president would put to rest the belief that a woman could reach the highest political office in the USA. Despite criticisms of her, Hillary Clinton has had the best preparation and experience that can be required for the presidency. Absent Clinton, the political horizon is not replete with strong possible female contenders. Not only would Trump’s triumph, if it happened, kill the enthusiasm generated by Clinton as a possible next president, it will send a message that the country is not prepared for such a change. The 1920 presidential election was the first in which women were permitted to vote in every state, more than a century after men had dominated political life of the country. It may then take about two centuries before a woman would emerge as president.
Within the Republican Party, many have dissociated themselves from Trump and would like to see the end of the phenomenon that he extols. His attackers call him “insane”, “reckless”, “unfit”, “temperamental”, “racist”. He is seen as lacking patience, curiosity, knowledge, character, and balance. The surge against him from within is the force that can destroy the Trump phenomenon.
The view that Trump and his views represent America is not false, nor is it correct. This is the crux of the matter. In fact, it is the paradox of the country’s democracy. America is like the pendulum of grandfather clock. It swings between two tendencies, right and left. But it does not hit the walls of the clock.
Bunmi Makinwa is the CEO of AUNIQUEI Communication for Leadership and former Africa head of United Nations Population Fund. [myad]