The foregoing is far from being a rhetorical question.
To be sure, it would be important to know if teams of election observers from Nigeria and other African countries have left for the United States to monitor the do-or die American elections.
After all, if American civil society organisations could sponsor the observer teams to monitor Nigerian elections, it should not be beyond contemplation that the American elections should be monitored by Nigerian observers too.
To think otherwise would be nothing but inferiority complex and sheer Afropessimism in appreciating the dialectics of democratic development.
Last year, the reports of western observers of the Nigerian elections were branded as the most authoritative on the emergent issues from the polls. The verdict on the results of the election by western observers were deemed supreme. Editors, columnists, bloggers, television and radio anchors as well as other public intellectuals quoted profusely the reports of the foreign observers as they pummelled the Independent Electoral Commission (INEC). Meanwhile, hardly was notice taken of the fact that the Nigerian Bar Association also put up teams to monitor the election and issued reports.
Election monitoring is said to be in three broad stages – pre-election; during the election and post-election. Beyond monitoring, psephologists (theorists of elections) would find ample materials for study in the American presidential election, which some commentators have described as the election like no other!
Doubtless, election observers already have their job well cut out for them as America decides on its future at the polls.
There is indeed a lot to monitor in the elections. What with the fact of the strange news from America in the last few months, the campaigns have been defined by what the most charitable observers would call un-American manifestations. Before yesterday’s final day of voting, fears have been rife that America may be heading towards an inconclusive election, a development often associated with nascent liberal democracies. There have been reports of violence in words and action. Security men have been put on red alert. Former President Donald Trump, the candidate of the Republican Party, has escaped two assassination attempts on the hustings. The candidate himself has threatened bloodshed in the event that he loses the election. On one occasion he said this would be the “last election” should he not be declared as the winner. Even before the first ballot was cast, Trump and his supporters had begun to question the integrity of the election. Ballots of the early voting have been reportedly burnt. Only a few days ago, Trump said at a rally that he wouldn’t mind if journalists covering his campaigns were shot because they “are fake news” purveyors. On another occasion he wished nine guns were pointed on the head of Liz Cheney, a former Republican congresswoman, who has endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris the candidate of the Democratic Party. More ominously, Trump said at the eve of the election that he regretted leaving the White House after losing the 2020 election.
In the light of the foregoing, it would not be an extravagant claim to propose that Nigeria’s democracy has indeed grown enough to be in position to critically observe what is going on in America.
This was the point eloquently made yesterday by the director-general of the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA) and an eminent scholar, Professor Eghosa Osagie, in his introductory remarks at a roundtable hosted by the foreign policy think-tank. As Osagie rightly put it, Nigeria should keenly observe the American election from the viewpoint of democratic development. Later, Osagie, a political scientist, summed up the points by saying that whatever the outcome of the election, while America might not change it would be the responsibility of Nigeria to devise its policies in relating to America.
The vigorous discussions at the roundtable was brilliantly moderated with a lot of insights by Amarachi Ubani of CHANNELS Television. Interestingly, as Amarachi, a member of the Institute, expertly teased out perspectives of speakers, it became clear that there were pro-Harris, pro-Trump and the neutrals on the forum.
In some respects, the roundtable was akin to a team of observers monitoring the American election, albeit from a distance of 8, 719 kilometres away.
For instance, a public policy analyst and development strategist, Mr. Magnus Onyibe, who has met Trump, excitingly articulated the case for the Republican presidential candidate. Onyibe presented Trump at the august forum as the “change” America needs and a “non-traditional politician” who would “ drain Washington.” Onyibe, an author, said “Trump is not anti-immigration; but he is anti-illegal immigration.” He recalled that Nigeria once expelled “illegal Ghanaian immigrants.” while South Africans are also hostile to “illegal Nigerian immigrants.” For Onyibe, Trump remains essentially a businessman in his approach to politics. Onyibe said “Trump knows Nigeria,” recalling that the former American president talked about the Nigerian oil reserves when they met in the U.S. And, of course, Onyibe reminded his audience that “Trump’s daughter is married to a naturalised Nigerian.” So Trump is, after all, an in-law, as it would be put in the Nigerian parlance !
In a way, Onyibe, was responding to other distinguished speakers, who had earlier made weighty submissions.
While acknowledging the importance of the American election for reflection in Nigeria, veteran political scientist, Professor Adele Jinadu, situated the emergence of Trumpism in American politics within the context of the “perpetual crisis of democracy” and the “upsurge of populism’ in some liberal democracies. He warned against personalising the trends in the politics of the most powerful country as “contending social forces” are actually at play. Jinadu also underlined the institutional resilience which has ensured a “pushback” to some of the absurdities of Trump and Trumpists. Jinadu pointed to the institutions sustaining the American institutions despite the Trumpist assaults. He described these institutions as “guardrails” that would prevent the system from collapsing. The social scientist, who has remarkably intellectualised the process of election monitoring in Nigeria, also emphasised the importance of “character in politics” and the need “to look beyond elections and hold elected leaders accountable” at the end. He also demystified election polls, insisting that they could sometimes go wrong. According to Jinadu, the respondent only tells the pollster what he would do on election day. This might eventually not be the case.
For another notable political scientist, Professor Femi Otubanjo, “Trump will not be good for Nigeria; but it is not sure if Harris will be great for Nigeria either.” He rated the American election managers highly; but he said that “ the problem will be the electoral college.” While Otubanjo decried the “isolationism” of Trump, he conceded that Harris could be “more institutionally minded.” Otubanjo made it clear: “Trump will be dangerous to the world.” The scholar is not, however, excited about a democrat being in the White House. He recalled that while former President Barack Obama, a democrat, did not permit the sale of Tucano aircraft to the government of President Goodluck Jonathan to fight terrorism, it was Trump that later made the sale of arms to Nigeria possible. Remarkably, when discussions drifted to the perennial question of Nigeria’s bid for a permanent on the Security Council of the United Nations, Otubanjo dismissed such efforts as “fighting for nonsense.” Instead, he advocated the scrapping of the Security Council itself to enable the genuine democratisation of the United Nations. This, he said, would upend the present anti-democratic oddity in which one nation can veto the decision of all the other members of the world body.
The focus should be on “domestic policies,” according to Dr. Reuben Abati, the celebrated anchor of ARISE NEWS Television. Abati says Nigeria would have to do its work in order to “hold its head within the international space.” He asked : “Do Nigerian Trump supporters truly know Trump”? He, of course, acknowledged that a second term for Trump in the White House would have consequences for immigration, energy sector, the value of the Dollar and, of course, geo-political stability.
A lawyer and author, Mr. Femi Ojomu, said with the American election, “the world faces a crossroads.” He reminded the forum that “Nigeria is a non-aligned nation.” For him, the challenge “is taking advantage of the opportunities” available in the Nigeria-American relations regardless of “who emerges as American president.” He pointed to areas of security, African Growth and Opportunity Act (AGOA), immigration, social rights etc. Ojomu made a clear distinction between the agendas of Harris and Trump.
For this reporter, the expectations from the outcome of an American presidential election should be tempered by a historical reality. Harris and Trump represent the two sides of the same face of American imperialism to the world. If you doubt it, ask the helpless victims of the ongoing crimes against humanity in Gaza in which America is openly complicit. The difference is that Harris could be a pretentious imperialist while Trump would be barefaced dismantling the post – second world war order, which America led other imperial powers to build. .
Unlike the pretentious Democrats, Trump wants ethnic cleansing of Gaza so that it would become a “beautiful beach front.”
The government, in which Harris is the Vice President, has been spending billions of dollars to arm Netanyahu to kill children, women, UN workers, journalists and health workers for over a year. The position of Harris during the campaigns has been kaleidoscopic depending on the audience. Harris said she would stand by Israel to exercise its right of self-defence (a refrain of successive American administration for decades) in Pennsylvania with a significant Jewish population. She only spoke of a ceasefire and relief for Palestinians in Michigan while facing a huge population of Arab voters.
As experts ponder the implications of the seeming degeneration of the America’s political system, it is noteworthy that one of America’s best thinkers on liberal democracy, Francis Fukuyama, seemed to have foreseen Trumpism and other American tragedies. In 2014, one of Fukuyama’s books, “Political Order and Political Decay” was published. That was two years before the election of Trump in 2016.
In the book Fukuyama wrote inter alia: “No one living in an established liberal democracy should therefore be complacent about the inevitability of its survival. There is no automatic historical mechanism that makes progress inevitable, or that prevents decay or backsliding. Democracies exist and survive only because people want and are willing to fight for them; leadership, organisational ability, and oftentimes, sheer good luck are needed for them to prevail…”
Despite the ugly face of American politics on display during the campaigns, some Nigerian public intellectuals are wont to fall back to the default position in analysing the elections in America. As Dr. Abati puts it, the next few days the media space would be replete with essays on the “lessons to learn from the American elections.”
It might be unthinkable in not a few quarters that America could indeed have lessons to learn from Nigeria’s democratic development.
Two contrasting events in the political histories of United States and Nigeria could be recalled to make this point. In the cool evening of March 31, 2015, incumbent President Goodluck Jonathan of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) called to congratulate General Muhammadu Buhari of the All Progressives Congress (APC) while collation of the results was still in progress. Before Jonathan’s historic call, the nation was on a knife edge as it awaited the conclusion of the presidential election that year.
Contrast the Nigerian positive story with the American tragedy of January 6, 2020. President Donald Trump inspired a mob to stymie the conclusion of the presidential election which he clearly lost as an incumbent. The Trumpist thugs invaded the Capitol, America’s citadel of liberal democracy, in an abortive attempt to prevent the certification of the election of Joe Biden as president of the United States. In the process six persons died and at least 170 police officers were injured. No, it is not every time Nigeria has lessons to learn from America in democratic development. At least on this occasion, it is important to transcend the national pastime of self-flagellation in order to see that America has huge lessons to learn from Nigeria.
In fact, in the next few hours both Harris and Trump have some lessons to learn from Jonathan of Nigeria, an under-celebrated hero of liberal democracy.
You never know, the crucial lessons could help in saving America from itself as chaos is widely predicted for the superpower.
QUOTE
“In fact, in the next few hours both Harris and Trump have some lessons to learn from Jonathan of Nigeria. You never know, the crucial lessons could help in saving America from itself as chaos is widely predicted for the superpower”
Credit: Kayode Komolafe