By Owei Lakemfa
Unto us, a man-child is again born by the United States, US, electorate. Donald Trump is actually a reincarnation sent to upset the world.
Friends like the European Union and neigbouring Canada are jittery for he is unpredictable and, foes like China are girding their loins. Trump is the weird one the incompetent and visionless Biden administration has given a smooth ride back to the White House.
The re-emergence of Trump once again raises the
question: is it true that the Western democracy that produced Adolf Hitler is
the best humanity can offer? This democracy, rather than concentrate on the
qualitative development of society based on the greatest good for the greater
majority, emphasises a lot on the ballot, and letting the votes count. This is
equated with the will of the people and is sacrosanct.
My earliest reading of the power
of the ballot was in the Holy Book when the state had to grant pardon, and
there was a ballot between Jesus who was preaching salvation, honesty, good
neighbourliness and righteousness, and Barabbas, said to be a robber and
notorious prisoner. Barabbas won that election by a moon-slide (Matthew 27:
15-26).
This November 4, 2024, Americans were, like the Biblical Jews, asked to vote for two contrasting candidates. Where Kamala Harris was an attorney and minister in the temple of justice upholding the law, Donald Trump was a crooked businessman already convicted for falsifying his business records and had even carried out treasonable felony.
Where the former has a record of bringing criminals to justice, the latter
already had 34 felony convictions. Where Kamala was for human rights, justice,
equality and respect for women, Trump has no affinity with human rights,
justice or equality, nor respect for women.
A total 76,962,889 Americans
voted for Trump, giving him 312 electoral votes to Kamala’s 226 electoral
votes.
Previously, in the 2016
presidential election, Hillary Clinton with 65,845,063 votes or 48.2 per cent
of the total vote, lost to Donald Trump with 62,980,160 votes or 46.1 per cent
of the votes. These are the unique qualities of the American democratic system
and the preferences of its electorate.
Trump had threatened his
European allies that if he won the election they would have to “pay a big
price” for not buying enough American exports. A panicky British government
sent party strategists to openly work for Harris.
So, when Trump won, French
President, Emmanuel Macron, and German Chancellor, Olaf Scholz, warned that he
might be a danger to Europe. The latter said: “The European Union must stand
close together and act in a united manner.”
Trump, even as President-elect
has gone to work, doing what he is best known for: unsettling an unsettled
world.
This Monday, November 25, 2024 when Trump threatened
China, Canada and Mexico with trade sanctions, the latter, Australia, Turkey,
Indonesia and South Korea under a coalition called MIKTA, were engaging
Nigerians in Abuja. So, while the US is playing the usual politics of the big
powers, those countries are jointly trying to build a global structure of
middle powers that can balance out the world.
A boastful Trump had bellowed
that when he returns to office on January 20, 2025: “I will sign all necessary
documents to charge Mexico and Canada a 25 per cent tariff on all products
coming into the United States. This tariff will remain in effect until such
time as drugs, in particular Fentanyl and all illegal aliens, stop this
invasion of our country!” He added: “Both Mexico and Canada have the absolute
right and power to easily solve this long simmering problem. It is time for
them to pay a very big price!”
Trump also declared: “We
will be charging China an additional 10 per cent tariff, above any additional
tariffs”, until it cracks down on fentanyl smuggling.
China responded by warning the
man-child that a trade war would harm all. Its embassy in Washington declared:
“The idea of China knowingly allowing fentanyl precursors to flow into the
United States runs completely counter to facts and reality. China believes that
China-US economic and trade cooperation is mutually beneficial in nature. No
one will win a trade war or a tariff war.”
Canada took a different path,
pleading with Trump. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau in a phone call tried to
shift the blame on Mexico. He said compared to Canada, most of the illegal
immigrants Trump is complaining about, cross through US-Mexico border.
But Mexican President Claudia
Sheinbaum was defiant. She warned Trump: “For every tariff, there will be a
response in kind.”
She told the bully: “It is not
with threats or tariffs that the migration phenomenon will be stopped, nor the
consumption of drugs in the United States. Seventy per cent of the illegal
weapons seized from criminals in Mexico come from your country. Tragically, it
is in our country that lives are lost to the violence resulting from meeting
the drug demand in yours.”
The Leader of the Mexican
Senate, Gerardo Fernández, in supporting President Sheinbaum, asked: “What
tariffs should we impose on their [America’s] goods until they stop consuming
drugs and illegally exporting weapons to our homeland?”
This promises to be a bruising
war as the three countries being threatened account for about 40 per cent of
the $3.2tn of goods US annually imports.
The five-country MIKTA alliance
founded on September 25, 2013 said in Abuja that they are working for a
different trajectory for the world.
Their ambassadors met a cross
section of Nigerian industrialists, technocrats, politicians, diplomats and
mass media influencers to talk about their mission, explain how they developed,
present opportunities being offered by each of them, and inviting Nigerians to
do all-inclusive businesses with them.
Australian High Commissioner,
Leilani Bin-Juda, said her country’s commitment to sustainability and green
energy is an example for other countries. She informed that Australia’s
contribution under the Paris Agreement is 43 per cent reduction from 2005 levels
to net zero by 2050. The plan, she said, includes an 82 per cent target for
renewable energy by 2030. Australia, she said, is offering Nigeria technology
that allows remote and rural households to be electrified.
South Korean Ambassador, Kim
Pankyu, talked about his country’s journey from a war-torn, impoverished and
authoritarian state into a developed one. Ambassador Hidayet Bayraktar of
Turkey said his country had emerged as a vital trade and investment hub, and
bridge between Europe and Asia.
Ambassador Alfredo Miranda of
Mexico informed that his country has become a manufacturing powerhouse and
global leader in electronics, automotive and aerospace production.
Indonesian Ambassador, Usra
Hendra Harahap, said his country’s success in balancing security efforts with
economic priorities would be beneficial to Nigeria.
It remains to be seen how such alliances would
operate in a world under the shadow of Trump.
*Lakemfa is a commentator on public issues
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