US 2016 ELECTION: THE AMERICAN GAIN, THE AFRICAN PAIN

Perhaps the saddest country and continent in the world today over the American election of Donald Trump as the 45th President of America is Nigeria and Africa respectively; and this kind of makes me wonder what the fussed is all about. With the way people are going about the outcome of the election, it is as if this election result is what will determine the destiny of the continent and the country.

There is no doubt that we live in a global village where event in one country has an effect on the nearby country, and if it is US, it is the whole world. This is because if the US sneezes, the whole world sneeze. Yet, I still do not believe the current frenzy in the country over the outcome of the election is worth the worth if all things is to be well with us as a people and as a nation; after all, the last time I checked, Nigeria is still an Independent country.

In International Law, country relations are built on cooperation, equality and principle of reciprocity which simply says: what you do to me, I do to you; but you say this is in a situation where the two-legs of the equation is of equal balance; and I asked: why can the two sides of the equation be balanced? To me, it boards down to what we have choose to do as a people and as a nation.

If we are economically viable nation, and politically stable country, then we will care less about the threat of Donald Trump to send back as many black people because we need all our people in the first instance to build our continent and country. 

Unfortunately however, the Nigeria State is in a mess, politically, economically and socially all thanks to long years of misrule and governance. Hence, a sizable number of Africans and Nigerians in particular have made USA the next point of destination. The resultant effect is the migration of our best brains and improvisation of the whole country. 

What therefore we need as a people and as a nation is not to cry over a spilled milk, but to think deep and find away to make our continent and nation, an enviable country for Africans and the rest of the world that people of nations will be willing to reside in and do business with it. 

To me, the saddest and the worst thing Donald Trump presidency can do is to limit African migrants and probably eject those who got there illegally out, but beyond that Nigeria remain a sovereign State with potentials to be great and make her voice known among the community of nations. An hostile US foreign relation will be a disservice to the Americans and humanity as a whole and as such, Donald Trump cannot and will probably not toil with the idea.

Indeed, Nigeria has little to fear economically as most of our goods are imported from China as disturbing as that appears to be; and unlike before, China and India have overtaken US in the consumption of our crude oil. The AGOA policy we should be worrying about has not been properly explored by the African leaders.  This is not to say that Nigeria and other Africa countries have nothing to gain from the US friendly relation; for instance, the US has continued to offer military assistance to Nigeria in the fight against Boko Haram. 

LESSON FOR NIGERIANS

To me, here is a great lesson to Nigerians. Like the Americans did, we Nigerians can do the same come 2019 election by dislodging the political establishment. It is time for us to stop the recycling of the national leadership. A cursory look at the Nigeria political history shows that the same set of people who have been ruling the country have continued to be in the saddle of leadership till date. Speak of the President, most of his cabinet members, the members of the National Assembly, among others are the same set of leaders who have been there since Independence. Forget about the change of political party, what an average politician knows is politics of convenience.

It may not be an overstatement that most of these people have lost touched with reality and run out of ideas, so it is time for us to rock the boat and make the needed changes. This is my dream and wish ,but it appears a tall order dream but not an impossible task to achieve. Sincerely, if we are going to witness exponential growth and development that we all yearn for, we cannot continue to recycle the same set of leaders and expect such an appreciable change. Let's do things differently to have positive changes of our dreams.

God bless Nigeria!