POLSCOPE with Eddy Odivwri, Email: eddy.odivwri@thisdaylive.com 08053069356
Not many, across the world, including this reporter, gave that man, Donald John Trump the chance of a dog to win the American presidential election. But last Tuesday/Wednesday, Trump shocked the world and the political bookmakers to emerge as the 45th American president. Many had even wondered how he was able to overtake well-established Republican politicians to emerge the candidate of the conservative party. His carriage and utterances were weird. Many people wrote him off and declared that the farthest he could go was the candidacy of the Republicans. How wrong we were!
In fact, it was the near oracular certainty that Trump would lose that made Professor Wole Soyinka to boast that he would destroy his American Green Card (residence permit) if Trump won the election. Like me, I am sure Soyinka is dazed that Trump triumphed. And may now be at a quandary on how to make good his vow of destroying the document come January 20, when Trump will be sworn in.
While a few jubilated at his victory last Tuesday, it caused global depression to many including presidents of nations. The French president, for instance, was blunt to say his congratulatory message to Trump was just a fulfilment of official diplomacy, stating that he had looked forward to working with the Democratic Party candidate, Hilary Clinton, adding further that with the Trump presidency, he has to open his eyes and approach it with clarity of head. Perhaps aside, the Russia and maybe India, the rest of the world have been apprehensive of a Donald Trump presidency. But last Tuesday, the reality of it hit the world like a thunderbolt on the face, courtesy of the electoral verdict of Americans.
It was not for nothing that he was literally “hated” across board. He said, we thought, all the wrong and politically incorrect things. He was like an unguarded canon, shooting indiscriminately and irreverently at the entire world. His campaign rhetoric was shocking and loathsome. He was acrimonious in his campaign. His attacks on his opponent were laced with bitterness and barbs. He was simply uncouth. His democratic temper is suspect. He had declared that unless he won, he would not believe the election was not rigged. Even before the election got underway, he had begun screaming about irregularity.
By the type of campaign he orchestrated, America is deeply divided down the line. It will require more than ordinary political brinksmanship to heal the wounds inflicted on the people by Trump’s unbaked conduct.
Millions of people, even outside America fasted and prayed that such a one with most uncharitable heart and disposition should not smell the White House, a powerhouse that approximates a global secretariat. Somehow, God did not hear the prayers of those of us opposed to Trump. He won. Yes, he did. As if he conjured some western metaphysics on the voters…. Gosh, just like a dream!
But pray, what happened to the many polls that gave Hillary the crown? Were they a hoax? Were they fake? Or was it that American voters were just weird?
It speaks nobility to the American democratic culture, when Mrs Clinton gave her emotional speech conceding victory to Mr Trump. In Africa and many other places, the supposed hatred attached to the person of Trump and his hate campaign, were more than enough grounds to disparage the outcome of the election and cry blue murder to the high heavens and begin long rounds of electoral violence.
But even at that, many shocked American citizenry, including students, stormed the streets in New York, Chicago etc., to protest against the Trump victory. Many of the protesters declared, “Trump, Not My President”.
Already, the talks about secession and self-determination are reverberating in places like California.
Who would not be skeptical about a man whose campaign nexus centred on hatred, discrimination, racism, intolerance and outright political and diplomatic cruelty? Trump massed up those vices and more. He had threatened all kinds of political Armageddon against immigrants whom he said have come to seize America from the original owners and he was poised to return America to Americans. It was a message that resonated well among the white supremacist clan, but riled the inner nerves of legal and illegal immigrants. Trump himself is the son of a Scottish immigrant.
He seemed particularly vexed with Nigerians. Too often, he blurted out uncomplimentary and scathing comments about Africa in general and Nigeria in particular. On one occasion, he had declared that Africans were lazy, good at sex and theft, adding that, “African Americans are very lazy. The best they can do is gallivanting around ghettos, lamenting how they are discriminated”. Trump blurted further, “In my opinion, most of these African countries ought to be recolonised again for another 100 years, because they know nothing about leadership and self-governance”. What a cheek!
He had not only vowed to build a separationist wall between America and Mexico, he had sworn that his first one hour in office will be to process the deportation of millions of immigrants and people of colour out of America. That is why there is a general anxiety that his victory is akin to the ascension of a satanic agent to the throne, which can only be a prologue to global disaster.
As at last Thursday, the Canadian immigration website was reported to have crashed because of the excessive hits from people who would want to flee America to Canada. Such is the fright that had gripped humanity over Trump’s emergence.
With his victory, it is said that he spoke the minds of many white Americans, many of whom have been too pretentiously decent to voice it out. But Trump is it that had to be the racial megaphone of the white supremacist folks.
Aside his unguarded and undiplomatic campaign narratives, his public moral standing is/was a great suspect. He is vulgar and unashamedly so. The video of his many unpresidential acts, even with ladies had gone viral. In one of such, he was seen digging into the crotch of some three Caucasian ladies who wanted a photo shot with him. He gave no hoot to the impropriety of such indecency, even in the public.
But last Tuesday, Americans discounted all that we hold against Trump and yet voted for him in all clear-eye consciousness. We cannot be more Catholic than the Pope. The Americans have spoken, and so shall it be, at least for the next four years.
Some however believe that despite all that Trump has boastfully planned to do, he will be checked by the provisions of the American constitution and institutions. He cannot be so whimsical as to perpetually over rule the grandnorm of the American nation.
Those who so argue, point to the fact that Trump’s acceptance speech was already showing conciliatory signs, implying that he would not, after all, be as awful as he had planned to be.
All things considered, we can only crouch in our corner, waiting and praying that Trump will not be an instrument of global blight.
