Snippets of Lessons from the 2016 American Presidential Elections

9 November 2016 , 20 Comments

A Trump presidency has always been a possibility for me. I guess like so many other passionate supporters of Hillary Clinton, I was hoping that the majority of the American electorate would learn for once to reign in their emotions, compare apple for apple, and see under which of the two major parties their economic fortune has always blossomed in the last 24 years of my interest in American politics.

There are many critical lessons that the 2016 American election has reinforced or taught me. I hope to be able to share them in a detailed post in the nearest future, but for now, I will mention just a few.

(1) Regardless of how developed or undeveloped a country is, emotions still rule majority of electorates. Emotions of fear, hatred, greed, hunger, etc.

(2) Bamidele Ademola-Olateju needs to do an update to her post titled ‘The Vagina Rules Again and Again!’. The article should be titled ‘The Fear of the Vagina: Misogynism in Global National Politics’. It should explore why women are feared and every step is taken to bully, suppress, or cower them into submission.
Otherwise, I still cannot understand how ‘rational’ human beings, especially male voters, would prefer a pussy grabbing ‘business man’ over a woman with notable track records in public office.

(3) Every human being has a physical and spiritual side to them. I am not a prophet, but I have learnt not to ignore what some people call hunches and others call ‘the spirit of God talking to you in a quiet, solemn voice’.
My hunch on the direction of the US of A and the world with a Trump presidency, against the background of world history, still gives me cause for concern.

(4) For all those Nigerians quoting the Bible to affirm their positions in the elections, may I remind them that God can not be mocked. I have learnt how humorous he can be – allowing you to ascribe so many things to him including your human callousness and sabotage, patiently waiting for you further down the line to show how mistaken, foolish and stupid you have been.
If I were to be Bible fishing to justify my apprehension like some of my Nigerian brethren, I will remind them that there are passages in the Bible for everything underneath the heavens, including where God allowed certain kind leaders to emerge in order to teach some nations lessons they did not want to voluntarily learn to the extent of bringing kingdoms and empires from their height of might to nothingness.

As Robert Nesta Marley sang, ‘Time alone – oh, time will tell’.

N.B.
A word of advise to all my Nigerian brothers and sisters in diaspora. I have always lived my life outside Nigeria with the proviso that regardless of becoming a citizen of these host countries, the Pharaoh that knows Joseph may one day give way to one that completely disregards him.

Years of project management have inculcated in me: planning not just for the best case but also the worst case scenario; carrying out risk analysis, risk planning and risk management; and alternate plans for every circumstances. My professional life has become so much infused into my personal life. In decision making, I try as much as possible to be dispassionate, not ruled by emotions but guided by facts, and rational thinking while allowing the clarity of my thoughts to be illuminated by those ‘tiny voices of guidance and direction’ from my spiritual being.

So, what will happen to you if in spite of holding a British, American or Canadian passport, an ethno-national government emerges in your host country and it insists that you head back to where you originally came from?

Ponder over this likely scenario.
I guess, one could even yearn for it. It may be the point-of-no-return, the ‘Trump moment’ we all need to sanitise the joke of a national space currently called Nigeria.

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20 thoughts on “Snippets of Lessons from the 2016 American Presidential Elections”

  1. Well written piece, as usual! No need. To worry too much. Trump can’t be stupid to consider sending back 5m Nigerians legally resident in his country. The backlash will be too much to even imagine, not to even the effect on the economy of the USA.

  2. It is purely a case of “cutting your nose to spite your face” as the saying goes. Agreed there’s a lot of anger and disaffection with the political class who has failed to meet the yearnings of the ordinary blue collar and marginalised people. Politicians have kow towed to Bankers, Arms dealers, financial interest and political alliances for long and just like Brexit – the people fought back even though going the wrong way about it. Like the Yoruba saying goes ” if you push a goat too far it wouldturn round to gore or bite you! The new President though will spend a better part of his tenure on relationship/bridge building; a serious consequence of his unguarded and misguided views and utterances. The nation needs to heal but time will tell.

  4. The much deeper meaning of this election goes beyond what can be discussed on an open forum like this. It shouldn’t confound us if 2 out of every 3 voters think he is unfit to rule and still voted for him…..I hope you understand what I’m trying to say but you have summed it up by your last paragraph, as in “Ile ni abo isinmi oko” ala Brexit etc.
    Also in part, it’s a middle finger to the elites, trade globalisation, immigration, Obamacare and even Obama himself despite the wonderful statistics of his 8 year tenure.

  5. Masterclass sir. Very telling point that emotions play a central role in politics. Humans are the most rationally irrational of all species that inhabit this world.

  6. All these concerns would not have subsisted had Hillary won abi? America needs fixing and all the years from Bill Clinton to Obama didn’t fix America. It’s natural to try the Republican. All politics are local. Trump appealed to the local, Hillary appealed to the global. Americans are human and have their preferences as expressed in the voting. We can’t fault their decision simply because it is not global. America is entitled to it’s local concerns.

    1. Yes, America is entitled to its local concerns, but within a global perspective.
      Just as a failed Nigeria will have consequences for the whole of the West African region and indeed Africa, an unstable Presidency has consequences for not just the USA but the whole world.
      Always bear this in mind. There is always a global in the local.

    2. Yes. Absolutely relevant juxtaposition. Let’s take it a bit further. Supposed a quarter of Nigeria’s population is made up of other African and non-African countries. And all along, Nigeria lived to accommodate this ethnic rainbow to the detriment of Nigeria natives. And this election happens with Buhari campaigning that he will send away all illegal immigrants in Nigeria, that he will be more interested in natives than the diasporas etc, etc. Don’t you think the lowly Nigerian will follow him? Will we now be justified to call these followers stupid? Politics is first and foremost about local interest. That matters a lot in an enlightened campaigns.

    4. @Mr Isaac, I don’t think immigrants should be blamed for a country’s woes. Remember “Ghana must go”? What happened to the Nigerian economy afterwards? Second, no nation or set of people can have all the resources to advance their cause. Crossfertilizing with peoples from other places deepen competitiveness and helps stimulates conversations and ideas that ensure human progress.

  7. America Votes,2016: It is a boy after all!
    America Votes 2016 has come and gone.
    Americans have spoken.
    And God has ruled.
    History has been made.
    Are there lessons to be learnt from this election?
    There are tons of lessons to be learnt.
    One lesson, and a very important one for that matter is that God is in control of history and that history does not control God.
    Another lesson is that there is no crowding God out of history.
    Also, this election further strengthen my conviction that both logic and emotion are key parameters in decision making.
    That said, my concluding thoughts therefore will be the scripture “…Till you know that the Most High rules in the kingdom of men , and gives it to whomever He chooses” (Daniel 4:25b).
    God bless America.
    Adebayo Adeneye-Adejuwon
    November 9,2016

  11. Well said!!! We are not as rational as we’d like to think. Most people react emotionally and that’s what lots of people have done. Buyers remorse will set in soon enough but Trump can’t be returned..

    1. Reading your comment Lanre, I was just laughing.
      America in relation to this election is like a Nigerian consumer without any protection – you buy it, pay for it, you are stuck with it. No exchange, no refunds.

  13. The groundwork for this electoral defeat was laid long ago. The democrats were too aggressive with their liberal policies and they thought the American electorate are ready for the change. This is a reality check. When the Supreme Court gave a judgement on gay marriage all over America, the Obama government celebrated it by lighting the white house in rainbow. That worried a lot of Americans. Clinton in her last debate said she believed America has made so much progress and should not be going backward.
    Take a look at the electoral map, and you realize the areas Clinton won in each state were in the urban centres and metropolis. This is where you have mixed races and Liberian leaning individuals. In the small villages and towns, Trump carries the day. The people in those areas are there mostly because they are not yet to accept the fact that their cities are filled with the people of colour. That is the Trump constituency.

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