By Debo Oladimeji
Another eight people were killed in Indianapolis FEDEX mass shooting recently in the United States.
There was the police killing of another person (a 13 year-old boy) by Chicago police. As of March 31, 126 mass shootings fit the Mass Shooting Tracker criterion leaving 148 people dead and 481 injured, for a total of 629 total victims, some including the shooters.
The former Founder and Executive Director of the Nigeria Network of NGOs and Chief Executive, Ransome Properties Nig. Ltd, Ms. Yemisi Ransome-Kuti has said that this behavior must stop. She also said that Nigerians and Africans should learn from these shootings:
“We must love our fellow Nigerians and Africans and join hands to lift each other up. We must restore the economic and social wellbeing of every citizen and combat the insecurity, poverty and underdevelopment which is currently the sad story that defines us.
“We need good leaders at all levels to guarantee security and socio economic development to a nation. We need to embrace principles, values and ethics as a nation so that good leaders can emerge from a population of citizens with similar characteristics.”
According to her America needs to come to terms with it’s failure to enact and enforce gun safety laws and escape the control of the NRA. She said that America needs to reform policing and the internal security architecture.
“As Nigeria has been clamouring for community policing, they should re-imagine this framework to support the needs of the community. The gun culture and the way it’s managed, isn’t helpful.”
She regretted that racism is an additional dimension and you can’t divorce that from the politics.
She recalled that it appears Trump’s inability to put his country first rather than himself has culminated and illustrated in his current push to destroy the democratic process by casting doubt on the electoral process.
“This behaviour has diminished America in the eyes of the world to an extent that the beacon and bastion of democracy will have a tough time recovering from this assault. “His term of office has culminated in the current show of shame, attempted coup and insurrection. “
“His divisive behaviour, encouragement of systemic racism and white supremacy. Allegations of corrupt business practices and political malfeasance which got him impeached. His constant lies and abusive comments on women, Muslims, immigrants and the disabled turned off a lot of independent minded Americans, particularly women who didn’t want him as the best role model for their children.”
She regretted that Donald Trump promoted racism: “His father was a member of the Ku Klux Klan. His conspiracy on the birthplace of former President Obama, his campaign against the Central pack 5, black youths who were wrongly convicted of raping a woman. His discrimination against blacks in his building projects, the US Department of Justice sued him for racial discrimination. His pandering to white supremacy after they held a violent rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. His racist slurs on Kamala Harris and audio comments about blacks in his interview with Bob Woodward and many other incidents which are well documented, would appear to indicate that Trump is a racist and hates blacks. With regards to Nigeria we can only point to the fact that he placed us under the list of banned countries without justification. His comments about shit hole countries and his administration’s objections to the nomination of Dr Adesina at the AfDB and Okonjo-Iweala at the WTO would certainly indicate that he doesn’t love us.”
She recalled that there might have been some mistakes and irregularities due to human error in the election that brought Biden into power. “Given that this was such a consequential election and knowing that the whole world was watching, electoral officers were extra careful to ensure transparency in the process. All the legal and election experts that I have heard have testified that the elections were free and fair.
“I would have been surprised if Trump didn’t complain. He hates to lose. His fragile ego, vanity, pride and entitled, autocratic mindset makes it difficult for him to accept his defeat. Unlike statesmen like President Ebele Jonathan, George H Bush, Al Gore, Mitt Romney, John McCain, Hilary Clinton etc. he’s unable to put the country above self.
She said that Biden’s experience and competence to govern is the critical factor.
“He was effective as the Vice President during the Obama years in addressing the economic depression. Moreover, President Joe Biden made his campaign pitch, the battle for the soul of America. If he can follow through on that to restore the integrity, dignity and values that was associated with the Obama administration and previous Presidents.
“If he’s able to unite the citizens to embrace compassion, empathy, tolerance and coming together to address common challenges, he would have come some way in healing a wounded, bruised and battered nation. His campaign strategy and subsequent admonition to Americans to wear masks and social distance, if supported by citizens will actually save lives.
“We have always respected age in Africa and his decades of experience in government and decent character, his open hearted expression of embracing everyone, young and old. His capacity to be flexible in embracing science and new ideas should benefit the majority of Americans, particularly the working class.”
She said that presidency is about good character, humility, Integrity, wisdom, compassion, competence and capacity should always determine the performance of a leader not age.
“President Joe Biden was a friend of Africa during the apartheid years, we hope he will always stand up against oppressive behaviour by our leaders. We hope he will ensure corrupt officials and stolen funds do not find a safe haven in America.
“Joe Biden was able to assist Obama to rescue America from the devastating effects of the last depression which threatened the global economy.
“It is said that when America sneezes, the whole world catches cold, if he’s able to enact policies that will stimulate, sustainable economic growth, Nigeria will certainly benefit. Whilst we understand that all leaders will put the interest of their country first, we envisage that he will not directly, unjustifiably oppose Nigeria in the international arena. It would be wonderful if our own leaders would work tirelessly to improve the lives of their citizens.”
She said that both the party’s manifestos and the individuals contesting for election matter. “The manifesto outlines the party’s prescriptions for their actions to deliver good governance to citizens. A good and competent President is best positioned to actualise these objectives.
However, this isn’t enough as one person cannot do it.”
She is happy that Biden has been receiving high ratings from Americans, which is the most important measure.
“His management of the Covid 19 pandemic has been a marked improvement on the last administration. The ultimate success will depend on the willingness of Americans to sacrifice their individual “liberties” for the greater good.
She recalled that Donald Trump’s biggest failure appears to be his incompetence in managing the coronavirus pandemic.
“The avoidable death of over 371,000 Americans, and more than 21 million cases was too difficult to justify or ignore. He denied scientific evidence on the disease and climate change issues which alienated young people and millennials.
On her take on Biden’s support for LGBT and attempt to influence or coerce Nigeria/Nigerians to support same? “Biden has made human rights a pillar of his foreign policy. This fits in with that agenda. The Pope has also declared his support for the rights of the LGBTQ community. I believe dialogue should begin between the Nigerian government, other relevant stakeholders about the understanding and management of this issue. Whatever we may think of them, they are human beings first and foremost.”
What lessons from American election:
“The welfare of all the citizenry must be no.1 priority of the government, however Citizens participation is critical in a democracy. An educated, informed and engaged citizenry, demanding transparency and holding our leaders accountable is the bulwark against authoritarian tendencies.”
She continued: “Our citizens should not be fooled by liars and false prophets. We should put the Nation before self, ethnicity and religious beliefs. Character, ethics, fundamental values and integrity matters. Strong structures and efficient Institutions make the difference.
“The rule of law should be the overarching principle guiding the6 nation. Institutional check on the psychiatric state and mental capacity of presidential candidates is now more urgent than ever before. We must do everything to respect the humanity and dignity in each other and be our brothers and sisters keeper.
“The government must invest massively in youth development, gender equality, education, health and infrastructure to avert a repeat of the disaffection among the people, that created the environment a character like Trump to emerge.
“Trump’s history seems to indicate a very dysfunctional upbringing, where his mother was disrespected, money and winning was valued over everything. He was able to get away with corrupt and bad behaviour. Home training is the foundation of good character, we should focus on parenting practices and support families to develop the men and women who will not end up creating chaos for the rest of us in future.
“The implications of Trump not attending the Biden’s inauguration only highlights his inadequacies. He isn’t man enough to put his country before himself. He doesn’t believe in democracy anyway.
“The fact that he’s a loser is probably driving him insane and he doesn’t have the courage to face the truth. He’s also raising, grifting huge amounts of money based on his lie that the election was stolen from him and his attendance will likely put a stop to that. His absence might give his millions of supporters, particularly the 34% or so, who are with him, no matter what, more ammunition to continue protesting the lie that the election was stolen from him.
“He did say he could shoot someone in the middle of Fifth Avenue and wouldn’t lose any votes, crazy as it sounds. However, once he’s out of office and his power diminishes, it’s very likely his hold on this group will wane over time. This decline will be accelerated if Biden addresses the concerns of this group, who feel that politicians have neglected them. Even more so, if there is a massive campaign to engage with them in order to inform and educate them about the truth as opposed to the lies and disinformation, perpetrated by trump and the right wing media eco-system, that has created the divisive and toxic environment in the country.
“The fact will remain loud and clear that Joseph R. Biden won the election and was sworn in as the 46th President of the United States of America.
“It’s reassuring that the institutions held out in the end. However, imagine the assault and condemnation that would have come from America, if this had been happening in any other country. Trump has removed the shine from “God’s own country”, and the fact that 70+ million Americans still voted for such a character in spite of the failure in so many areas, some with deadly consequences is still puzzling.
“The fact that some politicians are ready to fight for him till the end, will be an eternal stain on this “bastion of democracy”. His supporters are behaving like wives of abusive husbands, too terrified to stand up against the crazy man terrorising their lives. We women can sympathise.”
She said that Biden can only support Nigeria in this process of fighting Boko Haram.
“Nigeria should develop a robust strategy which includes logistics, tactical and intelligence systems training. The deployment of appropriate up to date and equipment that’s fit for purpose is critical. Once we have a good plan it will be easy for Biden and our international development partners to support and execute. We should also bear in mind that the US is also facing it’s own security threats, therefore the discussions should be conducted with respect and the sensitivity required from equal partners.
“We have to keep reminding ourselves over and over again, that governments that ignore the plight of their citizens and do not safeguard their security, economic and social wellbeing give room for demagogues to emerge. The citizens have the power and responsibility to decide who will lead them. We all, particularly our elites, academics, professionals and businessmen and women have to organise and engage more effectively in the political process. More importantly, engagement shouldn’t end with the elections, demanding transparency and accountability.