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Tag: america

  • The Mass Shootings In America Must Stop, Says Ransome-Kuti

    The Mass Shootings In America Must Stop, Says Ransome-Kuti

    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.

  • America and Gay, Lesbianism, Others, By Carl Umegboro

    America and Gay, Lesbianism, Others, By Carl Umegboro

    By Carl Umegboro

    United States President, Joe Biden a moment ago launched a campaign towards shielding lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex and queer (LGBTIQ) people with directives to embassies to ensure that violence and discrimination against the group are resisted, and with sanctions to noncompliant nations. Biden further directed all agencies to come up with protective plans within 180 days. This controversy which began from his former boss, Barack Obama but suffered severe setback under Donald Trump, incidentally resurfaces despite criticisms from many quarters particularly religious bodies.

    In his memorandum, Biden emphasized; “All human beings should be treated with respect and dignity and should be able to live without fear no matter who they are or whom they love”. This statement no doubt reflects the position of the UN Charter on Human Rights which many nations are signatory to, and domesticated in their respective laws. The Catholic Pontiff, Pope Francis has also overtly jerked against discriminations against LGBTIQ people. The Pontiff argued that they are humans, possibly born with the traits and therefore unfair to castigate them over a trait acquired from birth without their freewill, and perhaps beyond their control. This has continued to dominate as major argument coupled with the fact the acts ostensibly harm nobody or jeopardize lives.

    Logically, Biden, a Christian is holding a public office, thereby leading people of diverse beliefs, but his office is governed by positive laws than morality or religious beliefs. A critical question is; should an occupant of such office enforce religious doctrines above laws – laid down rules particularly human rights considered above other laws. This is where the problems begin. If a political leader succumbs to be guided by religious doctrines, what would be the fate of the society when a successive government imposes anyone it chooses? This is the danger of arbitrariness.

    For instance, some predominantly Muslims countries prohibit drinking of alcohols publicly or women openly associating with men. And the battles to quash the barbaric laws have continued without positive outcomes. In the same vein, Christian doctrines prohibit premarital sex known as fornication in the Bible as immorality, nonetheless, the act is not a crime under the laws provided the adults indulge with consents. Without consent and backed by an essential element – penetration, a rape may be established.

    In other words, while premarital sex is forbidden in Christian doctrine, it is legalized under the laws. It therefore implies that positive laws alone do not shape the society. Not all acts prohibited in religious circles constitute crimes as the present situation on LGBTIQ. Among acts forbidden for Christians include idolatry, adultery, fornication, masturbation, homosexuality, covetousness, theft, extortion, envy. In the list, only ‘theft and extortion’ are criminalized in the laws of most countries. The rest is overlooked. But does their legality imply they are expedient as acceptable norms in the society, not at all. Incidentally, they are all protected by Right to Privacy enshrined in the UN Charter on Human Rights, and domesticated in Nigeria.

    Section 37 of the 1999 Constitution, FRN provides “The privacy of citizens, their homes, correspondence, telephone conversations and telegraphic communications is hereby guaranteed and protected.” The Bible foresees the colossal conflicts and thus admonished Christians in first Corinthians 6:12 – “All things are lawful for me; but not all things are expedient. All things are lawful for me; but I will not be brought under the power of any”. (American Standard Version). It suggests some conducts may not constitute crimes in law, nevertheless destructive and offensive. Instructively, for any act to qualify as a crime in law, it must be enforceable. Conducts or deeds that do not pass enforceability test cannot constitute crimes and also, must not be in any conflict with fundamental human rights.

    Suffice to say that the battle to eradicate or transform LGBTIQ people falls majorly on religious bodies; not by pressure but preaching and persuasion. If done with force, it is no longer within the ambit of the law. Besides, they are mostly done in private, and therefore, would amount to infringement to peoples’ privacy when interfered. For example, Sorcery (witchcraft) is a known terrific act but not recognized as a crime in law, however, typically dealt with at religious atmospheres. It is hard to prove demonic activities in law despite the fact societies including law-officers recognize their existence.

    Again, it should be noted that premarital sex which often led to abortion and deaths arising from sundry complications is not prohibited as a crime, yet, many keenly abstain from it on account of preaching, evangelization. Thus, though America openly protects LGBTIQ people on account of human rights, nobody is enthused to indulge in them. Obama, Biden are happily married to ladies. America’s position shouldn’t therefore be misconstrued to bidding to LGBTIQ. Its goal as a leading nation is to protect human rights vis-à-vis discrimination and violence same way it promotes contraceptives including condoms; indirectly endorsing premarital-sex or extramarital affairs – but on principles.

    Another point is that adults that bid for uncharacteristic lifestyles should bear responsibility provided it poses no harm to next persons. Measuring LGBTIQ from this angle, it could be said that homosexuals, lesbians, others harm nobody but merely wasting valuable times on unproductive, filthy activities. And the actors that pose as matrimonial couple knowingly deceive themselves as none has lasted after flings, thus merely for shows. Also, no ‘wife’ of the same-sex union has ever changed surname or ‘husband’ paid dowry which is a basic requirement in a marriage, thus, a self-deceit.

    Thus, grownups that knowingly choose the bush in place of pathways should personally face the consequences. Nonetheless, America should, advisably desist from pushing LGBTIQ too far with sanctions as a model. The manner it is hard-pressed is unconsciously, giving the outlandish conducts undeserved promotion albeit the goal, without doubt, is for preservation and protection of human rights against violence and discrimination.

    Umegboro, a public affairs analyst, and Associate, Chartered Institute of Arbitrators (United Kingdom) writes via: Carl@CarlUmegboro.com (+234) 07057101974-SMS only)

  • Biden holds first presidential talks with American allies; speaks to Britain, Canada, Mexico leaders

    Biden holds first presidential talks with American allies; speaks to Britain, Canada, Mexico leaders

    U.S. President Joe Biden spoke with leaders of Canada, Britain, and Mexico in his first presidential calls since being inaugurated on Jan. 20.

    In his first call to a European leader, Biden discussed the Coronavirus pandemic (COVID-19), climate change, and security with Britain’s Boris Johnson.

    Johnson tweeted that it was “great” to speak to President Biden.

    “I look forward to deepening the longstanding alliance between our two countries as we drive a green and sustainable recovery from COVID-19,” he wrote on Saturday evening.

    A Downing Street spokesperson said they also discussed the benefits of a potential free trade deal and Johnson committed to resolving trade issues as soon as possible.

    Britain is seeking new deals after its post-Brexit transition period ended and it officially left the European Union’s internal market and customs union this month.

    The White House did not mention any trade discussions in a later confirmation of the call, but said Biden conveyed his intentions to strengthen the special Britain-U.S. relationship and revitalise translatlantic ties.

    He also underscored support for the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation.

    Biden’s first call to a foreign leader after his inauguration was to Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau on Friday.

    The two agreed to have a meeting next month to work on “renewing the deep and enduring friendship between Canada and the United States,” Trudeau’s office said.

    The White House said the leaders talked about reinvigorating cooperation on combating the pandemic, defence, economic ties, and global leadership to address climate change.

    Biden and Trudeau discussed their shared vision for sustainable economic recovery and agreed to cooperate to achieve net-zero emissions.

    Biden also acknowledged Trudeau’s disappointment at his decision to rescind the permit for the controversial Keystone XL pipeline, the White House said.

    In one of his first actions as president, Biden revoked the permit issued in March 2019 for the pipeline, which would have carried oil from Canada to the U.S., stating that its construction was not consistent with his administration’s economic and climate goals.

    Biden also spoke to Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador on Friday.

    The two leaders discussed migration among other topics and Biden described his plan to reverse the “draconian” immigration policies of the previous administration, the White House said.

    Biden plans to slow illegal migration through providing aid to countries of origin, among other measures.

    Biden told Lopez Obrador the U.S. would support Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador with four billion dollars to combat the root causes of migration, the Mexican president said in a Saturday speech.

    The vast majority of people who attempt to make unauthorised crossings into the U.S. via its southern border with Mexico come from those three countries.

    Biden’s predecessor Donald Trump had halted millions of dollars of financial help in a bid to push those countries to prevent their citizens from migrating towards the U.S.

  • Assuming U.S. presidency, Biden tells divided nation ‘democracy has prevailed’

    Assuming U.S. presidency, Biden tells divided nation ‘democracy has prevailed’

    Democrat Joe Biden was sworn in as president of the United States on Wednesday, assuming the helm of a country reeling from deep political divides, a battered economy and a raging coronavirus pandemic that has killed more than 400,000 Americans.

    With his hand on a five-inch thick heirloom Bible that has been in his family for more than a century, Biden took the presidential oath of office administered by U.S. Chief Justice John Roberts just after noon (1700 GMT), vowing to “preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States.”

    “Through a crucible for the ages, America has been tested anew, and America has risen to the challenge,” Biden said as he began his inaugural address. “Today we celebrate the triumph not of a candidate but of a cause: the cause of democracy…At this hour, my friends, democracy has prevailed.”

    Biden, 78, became the oldest U.S. president in history at a scaled-back ceremony in Washington that was largely stripped of its usual pomp and circumstance, due both to the coronavirus and security concerns following the Jan. 6 assault on the U.S. Capitol by supporters of outgoing President Donald Trump.

    The norm-defying Trump flouted one last convention on his way out of the White House when he refused to meet with Biden or attend his successor’s inauguration, breaking with a political tradition seen as affirming the peaceful transfer of power.

    Trump, who never conceded the Nov. 3 election, did not mention Biden by name in his final remarks as president on Wednesday morning, when he touted his administration’s record and promised to be back “in some form.” He boarded Air Force One for the last time and headed to his Mar-a-Lago retreat in Florida.

    Top Republicans, including Vice President Mike Pence and the party’s congressional leaders, attended Biden’s inauguration, along with former U.S. Presidents Barack Obama, George W. Bush and Bill Clinton.

    Biden’s running mate, Kamala Harris, the daughter of immigrants from Jamaica and India, became the first Black person, first woman and first Asian American to serve as vice president after she was sworn in by U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sonia Sotomayor, the court’s first Latina member.

    Harris used two Bibles, including one owned by Thurgood Marshall, the first Black U.S. Supreme Court Justice.

  • Trump pats self on the back, says “We did so much” in farewell speech [See full script]

    Trump pats self on the back, says “We did so much” in farewell speech [See full script]

    My fellow Americans: Four years ago, we launched a great national effort to rebuild our country, to renew its spirit, and to restore the allegiance of this government to its citizens. In short, we embarked on a mission to make America great again— for all Americans.

    As I conclude my term as the 45th President of the United States, I stand before you truly proud of what we have achieved together. We did what we came here to do—and so much more.

    This week, we inaugurate a new administration and pray for its success in keeping America safe and prosperous. We extend our best wishes, and we also want them to have luck—a very important word.

    I’d like to begin by thanking just a few of the amazing people who made our remarkable journey possible.

    First, let me express my overwhelming gratitude for the love and support of our spectacular First Lady, Melania. Let me also share my deepest appreciation to my daughter Ivanka, my son-in-law Jared, and to Barron, Don, Eric, Tiffany, and Lara. You fill my world with light and with joy.

    I also want to thank Vice President Mike Pence, his wonderful wife Karen, and the entire Pence family.

    Thank you as well to my Chief of Staff, Mark Meadows; the dedicated members of the White House Staff and the Cabinet; and all the incredible people across our administration who poured out their heart and soul to fight for America.

    I also want to take a moment to thank a truly exceptional group of people: the United States Secret Service. My family and I will forever be in your debt. My profound gratitude as well to everyone in the White House Military Office, the teams of Marine One and Air Force One, every member of the Armed Forces, and state and local law enforcement all across our country.

    To serve as your President has been an honor beyond description. Thank you for this extraordinary privilege. And that’s what it is—a great privilege and a great honor.

    Most of all, I want to thank the American people. To serve as your President has been an honor beyond description. Thank you for this extraordinary privilege. And that’s what it is—a great privilege and a great honor.

    We must never forget that while Americans will always have our disagreements, we are a nation of incredible, decent, faithful, and peace-loving citizens who all want our country to thrive and flourish and be very, very successful and good. We are a truly magnificent nation.

    All Americans were horrified by the assault on our Capitol. Political violence is an attack on everything we cherish as Americans. It can never be tolerated.

    Now more than ever, we must unify around our shared values and rise above the partisan rancor, and forge our common destiny.

    Four years ago, I came to Washington as the only true outsider ever to win the presidency. I had not spent my career as a politician, but as a builder looking at open skylines and imagining infinite possibilities. I ran for President because I knew there were towering new summits for America just waiting to be scaled. I knew the potential for our nation was boundless as long as we put America first.

    So I left behind my former life and stepped into a very difficult arena, but an arena nevertheless, with all sorts of potential if properly done. America had given me so much, and I wanted to give something back.

    Together with millions of hardworking patriots across this land, we built the greatest political movement in the history of our country. We also built the greatest economy in the history of the world. It was about “America First” because we all wanted to make America great again. We restored the principle that a nation exists to serve its citizens. Our agenda was not about right or left, it wasn’t about Republican or Democrat, but about the good of a nation, and that means the whole nation.

    With the support and prayers of the American people, we achieved more than anyone thought possible. Nobody thought we could even come close.

    With the support and prayers of the American people, we achieved more than anyone thought possible. Nobody thought we could even come close.

    We passed the largest package of tax cuts and reforms in American history. We slashed more job-killing regulations than any administration had ever done before. We fixed our broken trade deals, withdrew from the horrible Trans-Pacific Partnership and the impossible Paris Climate Accord, renegotiated the one-sided South Korea deal, and we replaced NAFTA with the groundbreaking USMCA—that’s Mexico and Canada—a deal that’s worked out very, very well.

    Also, and very importantly, we imposed historic and monumental tariffs on China; made a great new deal with China. But before the ink was even dry, we and the whole world got hit with the China virus. Our trade relationship was rapidly changing, billions and billions of dollars were pouring into the U.S., but the virus forced us to go in a different direction.

    The whole world suffered, but America outperformed other countries economically because of our incredible economy and the economy that we built. Without the foundations and footings, it wouldn’t have worked out this way. We wouldn’t have some of the best numbers we’ve ever had.

    We also unlocked our energy resources and became the world’s number-one producer of oil and natural gas by far. Powered by these policies, we built the greatest economy in the history of the world. We reignited America’s job creation and achieved record-low unemployment for African Americans, Hispanic Americans, Asian Americans, women—almost everyone.

    Incomes soared, wages boomed, the American Dream was restored, and millions were lifted from poverty in just a few short years. It was a miracle. The stock market set one record after another, with 148 stock market highs during this short period of time, and boosted the retirements and pensions of hardworking citizens all across our nation. 401(k)s are at a level they’ve never been at before. We’ve never seen numbers like we’ve seen, and that’s before the pandemic and after the pandemic.

    We rebuilt the American manufacturing base, opened up thousands of new factories, and brought back the beautiful phrase: “Made in the USA.”

    To make life better for working families, we doubled the child tax credit and signed the largest-ever expansion of funding for childcare and development. We joined with the private sector to secure commitments to train more than 16 million American workers for the jobs of tomorrow.

    When our nation was hit with the terrible pandemic, we produced not one, but two vaccines with record-breaking speed, and more will quickly follow. They said it couldn’t be done but we did it. They call it a “medical miracle,” and that’s what they’re calling it right now: a “medical miracle.”

    Another administration would have taken 3, 4, 5, maybe even up to 10 years to develop a vaccine. We did in nine months.

    We grieve for every life lost, and we pledge in their memory to wipe out this horrible pandemic once and for all.

    When the virus took its brutal toll on the world’s economy, we launched the fastest economic recovery our country has ever seen. We passed nearly $4 trillion in economic relief, saved or supported over 50 million jobs, and slashed the unemployment rate in half. These are numbers that our country has never seen before.

    We created choice and transparency in healthcare, stood up to big pharma in so many ways, but especially in our effort to get favored-nations clauses added, which will give us the lowest prescription drug prices anywhere in the world.

    We passed VA Choice, VA Accountability, Right to Try, and landmark criminal justice reform.

    We confirmed three new justices of the United States Supreme Court. We appointed nearly 300 federal judges to interpret our Constitution as written.

    For years, the American people pleaded with Washington to finally secure the nation’s borders. I am pleased to say we answered that plea and achieved the most secure border in U.S. history. We have given our brave border agents and heroic ICE officers the tools they need to do their jobs better than they have ever done before, and to enforce our laws and keep America safe.

    We proudly leave the next administration with the strongest and most robust border security measures ever put into place. This includes historic agreements with Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, and El Salvador, along with more than 450 miles of powerful new wall.

    We restored American strength at home and American leadership abroad. The world respects us again. Please don’t lose that respect.

    We reclaimed our sovereignty by standing up for America at the United Nations and withdrawing from the one-sided global deals that never served our interests. And NATO countries are now paying hundreds of billions of dollars more than when I arrived just a few years ago. It was very unfair. We were paying the cost for the world. Now the world is helping us.

    And perhaps most importantly of all, with nearly $3 trillion, we fully rebuilt the American military—all made in the USA. We launched the first new branch of the United States Armed Forces in 75 years: the Space Force. And last spring, I stood at Kennedy Space Center in Florida and watched as American astronauts returned to space on American rockets for the first time in many, many years.

    We revitalized our alliances and rallied the nations of the world to stand up to China like never before.

    We obliterated the ISIS caliphate and ended the wretched life of its founder and leader, al Baghdadi. We stood up to the oppressive Iranian regime and killed the world’s top terrorist, Iranian butcher Qasem Soleimani.

    We recognized Jerusalem as the capital of Israel and recognized Israeli sovereignty over the Golan Heights.

    As a result of our bold diplomacy and principled realism, we achieved a series of historic peace deals in the Middle East. Nobody believed it could happen. The Abraham Accords opened the doors to a future of peace and harmony, not violence and bloodshed. It is the dawn of a new Middle East, and we are bringing our soldiers home.

    I am especially proud to be the first President in decades who has started no new wars.

    Above all, we have reasserted the sacred idea that, in America, the government answers to the people. Our guiding light, our North Star, our unwavering conviction has been that we are here to serve the noble everyday citizens of America. Our allegiance is not to the special interests, corporations, or global entities; it’s to our children, our citizens, and to our nation itself.

    As President, my top priority, my constant concern, has always been the best interests of American workers and American families. I did not seek the easiest course; by far, it was actually the most difficult. I did not seek the path that would get the least criticism. I took on the tough battles, the hardest fights, the most difficult choices because that’s what you elected me to do. Your needs were my first and last unyielding focus.

    This, I hope, will be our greatest legacy: Together, we put the American people back in charge of our country. We restored self-government. We restored the idea that in America no one is forgotten, because everyone matters and everyone has a voice. We fought for the principle that every citizen is entitled to equal dignity, equal treatment, and equal rights because we are all made equal by God. Everyone is entitled to be treated with respect, to have their voice heard, and to have their government listen. You are loyal to your country, and my administration was always loyal to you.

    This, I hope, will be our greatest legacy: Together, we put the American people back in charge of our country.

    We worked to build a country in which every citizen could find a great job and support their wonderful families. We fought for the communities where every American could be safe and schools where every child could learn. We promoted a culture where our laws would be upheld, our heroes honored, our history preserved, and law-abiding citizens are never taken for granted. Americans should take tremendous satisfaction in all that we have achieved together. It’s incredible.

    Now, as I leave the White House, I have been reflecting on the dangers that threaten the priceless inheritance we all share. As the world’s most powerful nation, America faces constant threats and challenges from abroad. But the greatest danger we face is a loss of confidence in ourselves, a loss of confidence in our national greatness. A nation is only as strong as its spirit. We are only as dynamic as our pride. We are only as vibrant as the faith that beats in the hearts of our people.

    No nation can long thrive that loses faith in its own values, history, and heroes, for these are the very sources of our unity and our vitality.

    What has always allowed America to prevail and triumph over the great challenges of the past has been an unyielding and unashamed conviction in the nobility of our country and its unique purpose in history. We must never lose this conviction. We must never forsake our belief in America.

    The key to national greatness lies in sustaining and instilling our shared national identity. That means focusing on what we have in common: the heritage that we all share.

    At the center of this heritage is also a robust belief in free expression, free speech, and open debate. Only if we forget who we are, and how we got here, could we ever allow political censorship and blacklisting to take place in America. It’s not even thinkable. Shutting down free and open debate violates our core values and most enduring traditions.

    In America, we don’t insist on absolute conformity or enforce rigid orthodoxies and punitive speech codes. We just don’t do that. America is not a timid nation of tame souls who need to be sheltered and protected from those with whom we disagree. That’s not who we are. It will never be who we are.

    For nearly 250 years, in the face of every challenge, Americans have always summoned our unmatched courage, confidence, and fierce independence. These are the miraculous traits that once led millions of everyday citizens to set out across a wild continent and carve out a new life in the great West. It was the same profound love of our God-given freedom that willed our soldiers into battle and our astronauts into space.

    As I think back on the past four years, one image rises in my mind above all others. Whenever I traveled all along the motorcade route, there were thousands and thousands of people. They came out with their families so that they could stand as we passed, and proudly wave our great American flag. It never failed to deeply move me. I knew that they did not just come out to show their support of me; they came out to show me their support and love for our country.

    This is a republic of proud citizens who are united by our common conviction that America is the greatest nation in all of history. We are, and must always be, a land of hope, of light, and of glory to all the world. This is the precious inheritance that we must safeguard at every single turn.

    We are, and must always be, a land of hope, of light, and of glory to all the world. This is the precious inheritance that we must safeguard at every single turn.

    For the past four years, I have worked to do just that. From a great hall of Muslim leaders in Riyadh to a great square of Polish people in Warsaw; from the floor of the Korean Assembly to the podium at the United Nations General Assembly; and from the Forbidden City in Beijing to the shadow of Mount Rushmore, I fought for you, I fought for your family, I fought for our country. Above all, I fought for America and all it stands for—and that is safe, strong, proud, and free.

    Now, as I prepare to hand power over to a new administration at noon on Wednesday, I want you to know that the movement we started is only just beginning. There’s never been anything like it. The belief that a nation must serve its citizens will not dwindle but instead only grow stronger by the day.

    As long as the American people hold in their hearts deep and devoted love of country, then there is nothing that this nation cannot achieve. Our communities will flourish. Our people will be prosperous. Our traditions will be cherished. Our faith will be strong. And our future will be brighter than ever before.

    I go from this majestic place with a loyal and joyful heart, an optimistic spirit, and a supreme confidence that for our country and for our children, the best is yet to come.

    Thank you, and farewell. God bless you. God bless the United States of America.

    The White House
    President Donald J. Trump

  • New dawn in America: Clinton, Bush, Obama, Pence for Biden’s inauguration; Trump to miss in action

    New dawn in America: Clinton, Bush, Obama, Pence for Biden’s inauguration; Trump to miss in action

    Vice President Mike Pence, former Presidents Bill Clinton, George W. Bush and Barack Obama are billed to attend Wednesday’s inauguration of Joe Biden as the 46th United States (U.S.) President.

    They will be accompanied by their first ladies Hillary, Laura and Michelle to the event billed for noon (EST).

    But, former President Jimmy Carter and former First Lady Rosalynn Carter will not, as they are unable to travel.

    Also, the event will not be attended by outgoing President Donald Trump.

    According to event line-up, Senator Roy Blunt, chair of the Joint Congressional Committee on Inaugural Ceremonies, will serve as the inauguration’s master of ceremonies.

    Also, Leo J. O’Donovan, a Catholic priest, member of the Jesuit order, and former president of Georgetown University, will deliver the invocation. Georgia firefighters’ union leader Andrea Hall will lead the Pledge of Allegiance.

    On the stars’ list, Lady Gaga will sing the American National Anthem, National Youth Poet Laureate Amanda Gorman will recite her poem “The Hill We Climb” and Jennifer Lopez and Garth Brooks will also perform. At 22, Gorman will become the youngest inaugural poet, the event programme indicated.

    Rev. Dr. Silvester Beaman, pastor of Bethel AME Church in Wilmington, Delaware, and a friend of Biden, will deliver the benediction.

    The inaugural ceremony will take place on the West Front of the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C. and will be the 59th presidential inauguration.

    Biden will take the oath of office as president, and Harris will take the oath of office as vice president.

    Trump, who will leave the White House before noon today, was reported by The Washington Post to be angry that a roll call of stars are signing up to Biden’s event.

    Four years ago, Trump secured country singers Toby Keith and Lee Greenwood, rock groups 3 Doors Down’ and The Piano Guys – DJ RaviDrum and The Frontmen of Country.

    Elton John, British singers Rebecca Ferguson and Charlotte Church plus Moby, publicly rejected invitations to perform.

    A member of the Mormon Tabernacle Choir resigned from the group rather than perform and MSG Entertainment, the organisation that owns the Rockettes, said it was each dancer’s choice to perform after a dancer expressed concern on social media.

    Obama, during his inauguration, had no trouble drawing the stars, with Beyonce, U2, Stevie Wonder and Bruce Springsteen all performing.

    Trump had made it clear he will not attend Biden’s inauguration, becoming the first president since 1869 to snub his successor.

    The National Guard is deploying 25,000 troops the event – at least two and a half times the number for previous inaugurals.

    The military routinely reviews service members for extremist connections, the FBI is carrying out additional screening, in addition to any previous monitoring.

    Multiple officials said the process began as the first Guard troops began deploying to D.C. more than a week ago. They said it is slated to be complete by today.

    The major security concern is an attack by armed groups of individuals as well as planted explosives and other devices.

    But, European Union’s (EU) top diplomat said yesterday that the world needs American leadership in the battle against COVID-19, urging Biden to step up after the Trump administration was widely criticised for its slow response to the pandemic.

    With rich countries contracting far more doses of various coronavirus vaccines than poorer ones, European Union foreign policy chief Josep Borrell said it was up to the United States to retake its place as “an engine of the world” and help.

    “The world will face this year one of the biggest challenges to vaccinating humankind. This will require a lot of solidarity, a lot of cooperation and quite a lot of resources,” Borrell told Reuters in an interview.

    In a pandemic that has killed almost 400,000 Americans and threatened the U.S. economy, Trump’s handling of the virus has been criticised at home, weakening any broad international response.

  • The Trump aftermath – Chidi Amuta

    The Trump aftermath – Chidi Amuta

    Chidi Amuta

    In exactly three days from now, Donald John Trump will fade into the grey silhouette of America’s presidential history. He may stage a delusionary grand exit and stride out through the front door of the White House.

    More appropriately, he could choose instead to sneak out through the back exit under cover of darkness. Either way, Mr. Trump is about to walk into the anonymity of powerlessness. Perhaps, the tattered ego of an amateur tyrant had no better exit rehearsal than the serial infamy of the last four years of American history. Trump’s retreat to his Florida estate or Trump Tower in New York may no longer interest front page editors of major US newspapers. Clearly, what is easily the most consequential and controversial tenure in the White House will come to an unflattering end in a matter of days or hours. This manner of exit would be in direct reversal of what the flamboyant ego of Donald Trump would have desired. But history is what it is.

    In many ways, the untidy end of the Trump presidency was foretold. He is leaving in a slightly nastier storm than he came, having raked up clouds of disaster and turbulence all along a four year trail. I take it that in opting for Trump in 2016, the adventurous exceptionalism of the American spirit wanted to try something outside the humdrum correctness of normal Washington politics. The adventure and experiment has turned out a rather costly error.

    Let us make no mistake about it. Trump never wanted to be like a normal American president. Instead, he aimed to be an American ‘strong man’ president in the mould of the dictators he publicly admired (Vladimir Putin, Kim Jung Un, Tayeb Erdogan etc.) But even in his preferred model of elected autocrats and tin-god despots, he scored poorly. He lacked the intellect to craft a coherent personality cult let alone develop a coherent populist agenda. In other places where autocracy and one -man misrule manage to be tolerated, Trump would not have made much news. His feeble attempts to encroach on the institutions of state would have been passed off as amateurish or covered up by conniving officialdom. But in America, with over 200 hundred years of democracy and institutional integrity, Mr. Trump was an embarrassing interloper kept perennially in check by resilient institutions no matter how desperately he tried to weaken them.

    Strictly speaking then, on the scale of proper autocrats and recognized despots, even elected ones, Trump may pass as a mere apprentice. He cold not degrade American democracy to the illiberal tradition that we see in Russia and Hungary nor did he have the guile to graduate to elective absolutism. But in the eyes of his followers, he became something of a crude religious icon, which made him ultimately dangerous.

    Invading the Capitol with hooded goons and ‘official’ mobs may not be so earth shakingly novel . We have seen that nearer home. Converting the army, FBI, the police, Federal Reserve, public account agencies into extensions of the presidential fiefdom are areas that Mr. Trump dared not venture into because of the integrity of those institutions. Elevating the first family into co-rulers and outlaws was much easier and fits into the familiar pattern of unchecked sovereigns. Converting the ruling party into a private populist movement of the president, his family and friends is a familiar trait of dictators. Similarly, a private craving for the outward trappings of absolute monarchy are natural temptations of leaders deluded into power obsession. Trump once openly expressed a desire to have military parades as massive as the annual displays in Pyongyang and Beijing or reminiscent of Tsarist Russia or imperial France.

    The superfluous negatives of the Trump presidency come from a more fundamental source. He woefully failed to recognize and ran counter to the uniqueness of America as a nation. America has a quality which it shares with no other nation: it is a nation founded purely on a creed, an idea. At the center of that creed is freedom and democracy, a decisive departure from the stifling monarchism of old Europe from which America’s founders were fleeing. The men and women who fled Europe to found and embrace the new free world of America were all attracted by the central creed of freedom and democracy which America came to symbolize. Successive American governments have incrementally grown that creed by preserving, strengthening, respecting and upholding its defining values.

    Donald Trump rode on the back of democracy and freedom to assume power only to subvert the American ideal. For four years, he privatized the institution of the presidency, sought to subvert the supreme court, to privatize the Republican party, blackmail the legislature especially senators and congress men and women who differed with his policies.

    Methodically, Trump divided the nation he vowed to ‘make great again’ by appealing to base sentiments of race and nativism by using sustained falsehood. Under the guise of immigration control, Trump instituted a regime of reckless discrimination against immigrants and persons who did not fit into his narrow definition of what an American should look like. A vicious immigration control policy saw children held in inhuman cages and adults incacerated in sub human border detention facilities. In a nation built mostly by the labour of immigrants, armed officials knocked on doors to arrest and deport ‘illegal’ immigrants sometimes for routine paperwork infractions.

    Gradually, he cultivated a tribe of white supremacists, red necks and violent racists who felt entitled to the ownership of classic America. Under the guise of partisanship, Trump presided over a nation divided along racial, class and religious lines. The Moslem ban, the sponsorship of rabid Zionism and the blatant abuse and harassment of blacks were all aspects of an unequalled divisive governance strategy.

    Donald Trump’s America has been a tragic devaluation of the relative security and social peace that had come to be associated with that country. Social unrest, riots and thinly disguised race riots became the order of Trumpian America. Rival gangs and armed fanatical groups emerged. Proud Boys, Q-A-Non, MAGA were activated to boldly disturb the peace only to be countered by Black Lives Matter in a contest for the soul of America. The police became the official enforcer of a divisive administration, sometimes executing young blacks in cold blood on the streets of American cities. By and large, a bigoted president that openly identified with white supremacist and extremist terror mobs became the greatest threat to national security.

    The high point of this ill -fated strategy was the promotion of the falsehood that the presidential elections of November 2020 were rigged against him. This culminated in last week’s storming of the Capitol by a motley assemblage of officially enabled violent mobs.

    In the aftermath of this brazen invasion of the citadel of democracy, the national security apparatus has snapped back into life in a bid to ensure that next week’s inauguration of a new president is not marred by another violent invasion of pubic spaces especially the Capitol, venue of the historic event.

    As of the time of this writing, well over 20,000 fully armed National Guard and other combat troops are swarming all over Washington DC. The Capitol and most of official Washington is now a virtual fortress, cordoned off by 7 foot perimeter fence work and wearing the look of a combat zone. The total number of troops mobilized to secure the city and ‘holy places’ of democracy far outnumber the total number of US troops on active deployment in Iraq, Afghanistan and Syria put together. The National Mall which is the usual meeting ground of all Americans who troop out every four years to celebrate the inauguration of a new president as a festival of democracy, has been closed to the public.

    The tragic symbolism of the massive troop deployment in Washington this week is a sad commentary on the sad state of American democracy that Donald Trump has created. These troops are marshaled not against a foreign force but instead against American citizens newly weaponized by the toxic theology of Trumpism. Even the optics of this warlike deployment – the Capitol as a war front- is in itself a humiliating derogation of the founding creed of America as a land of the free.

    Under the violent threat of Trump’s vicious populism, the usual dividing line between friend and foe that defines every war is now blurred. Trump’s mobsters have come to view fellow Americans as adversaries. Perhaps there are concessions that need to be granted here in favour of Trump’s villainous brand of misguided conservatism. The over 70 million Americans that voted for Trump in the 2020 presidential election represent a significant voice of endorsement for his viewpoint and policy slant. Perhaps these people love the unsightly wall of steel along the southern border. Perhaps they have benefited from the relaxation of corporate regulations that have made billionaires richer in America. Perhaps there are Americans who detest the fact that America is essentially a nation of immigrants and children and grand children of immigrants from Donald and Melania Trump to Kamala Harris, from Barack Obama to Collin Powell and from Henry Kissinger to Arnold Schwarzneger. Perhaps, there is a narrow definition of American nationalism that seeks to exclude Indian Americans, African Americans, Latino Americans and Asian Americans all of whom have joined forces to make the United States what it is. Trump’s supporters need to have their voices heard but not through violent intimidation and rowdy mob eruptions that limit the freedom of the majority.

    Yet the outcome of the 2020 presidential election represents a democratic rejection of this alternative viewpoint and its prime salesman. To ignore this democratic verdict and exploit the division of perspectives within a national dialogue and use it as an instrument for the weaponization of a mob is the greatest disservice of the Trump presidency to American democracy. Yet, this ravaging and rampaging populism has unfortunately become the hallmark of Mr. Trump’s legacy.

    We must, however, go beyond the narrow confines of the myopia of the Trump era to reflect on the general challenges which it has thrust on global democracy. The questions are many. For instance, does democracy have a way of punishing an errant leader when his policies threaten the very survival of democracy itself and even the very nation? Ordinarily, the electoral process and the fact of periodic elections is the opportunity which a democracy has to pass judgment on and punish an errant leader. While Donald Trump fiercely marketed his ultra conservative nationalism, the 2020 presidential election delivered a clear verdict on his performance on the job. All the institutions of democratic America- the people, the state electoral circuits, the state courts, the Supreme Court and the electoral college mechanism- all returned a verdict of ‘failed’ on Donald Trump. Even after his mob invasion of the Capitol, his overt incitement of mob violence on the Capitol and the legislative branch has earned Trump a second impeachment, a historic first in American history.

    Corporate America has followed suit with damning sanctions ranging from ostracism, social media blackout to business blacklists and withdrawal of credit lines, support services and patronage for the Trump organization. The lesson is clear: democracy as a system, the state that it supports and the capitalist economy that underwrites the costs of the system have a combined lever to punish those whose actions threaten the entire system. Trump is abuot to feel the weight of the consequences of his politics of bad manners.

    The weapon of congressional impeachment by the House, while deserved, is clearly insufficient to bury the threat of Trump to the stability and security of the American political system. He has grown a dangerous but substantial support base. That base habours beliefs and groups that threaten the future of America as a diverse society. Even out of office, the possibility that a publicity hungry and egotistic Trump will continue to fan the embers of his decadent nationalism and racism will remain alive. In that mode, he could become a veritable source of political headache for the incoming Biden administration and the Democrats.

    The ultimate remedy is to proceed with a Senate conviction of Trump which will disqualify him from future contests for political office as well as strip him of the benefits and immunities of a former president. That Senate conviction, followed by a series of criminal prosecutions for his numerous infractions, should settle the Trump factor in the future of America’s politics. Such a line of action would also be in the interest of a reformed Republican party by clearing the path for more decent aspirants to vie for the presidency in future election cycles.

    The response of corporate America to the Trump misadventure has demonstrated a significant aspect of the political economy of democracy. Capitalism thrives best in an atmosphere of credible democratic practice. When democracy goes toxic and unleashes the forces of instability and insecurity, it poisons the market and constricts opportunities for profit. The high priests of the free market must also be advocates of free and fair elections as well as supporters of responsible behavior by those who the political system throw up to run the affairs of state. The larger issues such as freedom of free speech, fair competititon and regulatory fairness are all contingent on a fair and stable democratic space. Donald Trump has tempted the captains of industry to spell these out in rather stark terms unlike before. If indeed he was a proper capitalist, he should have seen the present dire consequences coming.

    The impending obliteration of the Trump effect will perhaps be most pronounced in the international space. The emergence of Trump was the deadliest blow to the liberal international order instituted at the end of the Second World War. The bedrock of that order was the establishment of the United Nations, the Bretton Woods institutions of mutual economic assistance and a whole gamut of multilateral mutual assistance programmes and agencies. Trade (WTO), healthcare (WHO), cultural and scientific cooperation (UNESCO) and nuclear non- proliferation and NATO were all guaranteed by the post war world order.

    With time, the liberal international order attained a consensus around the contention that liberal democracy and its supporting base of free markets was the most beneficial system for the advancement of the welfare of our common humanity. The beacon and guarantor of that world order was the United States whose power, influence and global leadership in war and peace was axiomatic. Trump’s emergence saw a reversal of this logic and a shrinkage of the United States from some of its global leadership responsibilities. He withdrew the US from WHO, WTO and shredded most strategic multilateral and bilateral trade agreements between the United States and its allies(TPP, NAFTA etc). He reduced the presence in and contribution of the US to NATO. The gaps he created emboldened Russia and China and considerably weakened Europe.

    Joe Biden now has his work well cut out both domestically and internationally. He needs to heal the wounds of a divided America at home and restore confidence in US credibility and leadership abroad. He needs to rescue America from the death grip of an unrelenting virus and salvage most of its citizens from the imminence of poverty and destitution. The shining city upon a hill is now almost a squalid hamlet in a valley of death!

    Trump’s sunset is America’s opportunity to embrace a sunrise under the experienced hands of Joe Biden.

  • America’s breakdance on the world stage – Owei Lakemfa

    By Owei Lakemfa.

    THE United States has been the focus of world attention since its macabre political dance began with its November 3, 2020 elections. This degenerated to the invasion of its parliament by overfed and over-pampered child-adults and then, to Congress impeachment by 232-197 of President Donald Trump six days to the end of his term. He is also to go on trial in the Senate after the January 20, 2021 inauguration of President–Elect, Joe Biden.

    All these have put a lie to some of the myths about America being the champion of ‘The Free World’ and Democracy. These have also produced the irony of the mass media clamping down on a sitting President by withdrawing his Twitter handle and removing him from Facebook and YouTube for fear that he might accidentally press the trigger of conflagration. In denying President Trump use of these media channels, the media is reversing the age-old tradition of governments using state power to repress the press. Isn’t the pen truly mightier than the sword?

    The claim that the on-going struggles in America are about democracy is not really correct. They are actually last ditch efforts by the White Anglo-Saxon Protestant, WASP, establishment to maintain a power superiority which is slipping through its fingers. Western Democracy in America despite the principle of one person, one vote, is subverted by an ancient tradition in which a man like Trump who loses an election by over 2.8 million votes, is declared the winner and goes to the White House.

    What skewed democracy subjects the electoral will of the people to some warped processes of attestation? What electoral system says that after a man like Biden wins an election by seven million votes, he still has to be subjected to some state ‘Electoral College’ and parliamentary certification? Why is the world fighting shy of telling the Americans to throw away their archaic and undemocratic electoral process and simply rely on the ballot?

    Apologists try to portray old chap Trump as an exception when American history is replete with cases of losers rejecting results and resorting to violence. The case of Abraham Lincoln in the November 6, 1860 elections which he won, but the losers decided that he will not be President mainly because they do not agree over the issue of slavery, is an interesting one.

    When Americans tell us that their present drama on the world stage is “Un-American” because they are the champions of democracy, I ask where? In the Democratic Republic of Congo where they conspired with Britain and Belgium to overthrow and murder a popularly elected Prime Minister Patrice Lumumba? In Ghana where its Central Intelligence Agency, CIA, overthrew democratically elected President Kwame Nkrumah? In Iran where they overthrew Prime Minister Mohammed Mosaddegh and imposed a monarchy under Reza Pavlavi? In Guatemala where they violently overthrew popularly elected President Jacobo Arbenz and installed military rule? In Chile where they carried out one of the most violent coups in human history which included using aircraft to bomb elected President Salvado Allende? Were these the acts of democrats or people who believe in human rights?

    The fact is that the US was built on violence, the blood of the indigenous Indian population who were almost wiped out, and that of African Americans who were enslaved for four centuries from 1619. Until today, 402 years after the enslavement of the Black people began in the US, there are still worldwide campaigns to impress it on the American White establishment that ‘Black Lives Matter’. In other words, the 1776 American Declaration of Independence which proclaimed that: “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal …” was a blatant lie told against itself. In fact, many of those who wrote that Declaration were slave owners. The simple truth is that the Black people were not recognised or accepted as human beings. So this declaration did not apply to them.

    Also, the Declaration screamed that American “Governments are instituted among men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed”. It was false as the Black people were not allowed to vote freely. In fact, until The Voting Rights Act of 1965, signed into law by President Lyndon B. Johnson, various laws, policies and legal barriers prevented African Americans from exercising their right to vote. In contrast, Nigerians as a people under British colonialism, began exercising the right to vote from the general elections of September 20, 1923. That is 42 years before African Americans got the voting right.

    Also, under colonialism, Nigerians were not subjected to lynching as African Americans were in ‘the land of freedom’. Even after the Statue of Liberty was installed on October 28, 1886, Black people were lynched by the White Supremacist ancestors of Trump for another century. So, is America truly the homeland of democracy and a beacon of freedom?

    It is the violent culture on which America is built that largely accounts for that country of 326,474,000 people, owning 393,347,000 private guns. That is 120.5 firearms per 100 persons. In contrast, Afghanistan that has been in violent conflicts for over four decades, has 34,169,000 private guns or 12.5 guns per 100 persons. Russia, America’s greatest military rival with a population of 143,375,000 persons, has 17,620,000 private guns or 12.3 guns per 100 persons. China with the largest world population of 1,388,233,000 persons has 49,737,000 private guns or 3.6 per 100 persons.

    How can America claim to be dedicated to world peace when it has been responsible for some of the most horrendous atrocities in world history? In August 1945, the Japanese were in retreat on all fronts and the end of the Second World War was in clear sight. That was when the Americans chose to test the efficacy and effects of their atomic bombs by dropping two on Hiroshima and Nagasaki resulting in 135,000 civilian casualties. Its bombings of Vietnam in a vain attempt to stop that country going socialist, resulted in the death of two million civilians with 5.3 million injured and harvesting 11 million refugees. Additionally, 675,000 Vietnamese soldiers and 47,434 American combatants were killed in that senseless war. These do not include the casualty figures in the American military interventions in Vietnam’s neigbours: Cambodia and Laos.

    Given the difficult circumstances of its birth in a strange land by refugee parents mainly fleeing persecution and poverty; its violent weaning from its foster British parents and having to grow up very quickly in a dog-eat-dog world, America grew up to be a street bully trusting in the gun. So, the world has no business ‘Making America Great Again’; rather, it should hold a mirror to help it see its true reflection and reform its ways.

  • Coup in The Capitol Hill and the Divided States of America – Magnus Onyibe

    Coup in The Capitol Hill and the Divided States of America – Magnus Onyibe

    By Magnus Onyibe

    The strange events that reached the crescendo on 6 January , in the country formerly known as the United States of America , USA , which with heavy heart l’m reluctantly rechristening , the Divided States of America, DSA, are indeed unprecedented and epochal , but fortunately not apocalyptic.

    That’s because at the end, the coup detat that was launched against the Capitol- House of Parliament, as vice president Mike Pence emphatically and defiantly noted , democracy won , not the coup plotters.
    The victory of democracy referred to by the out-going Vice President, mr Pence is encapsulated by the fact that the ceremonial certification of former Vice President, Joe Biden’s election as the next president of the country from 20 January this year , which the coup plotters wanted to stop from happening, was concluded as the very resolute American congressmen and women , quickly regrouped, after initially retreating into safety, at the onset of the insurrection .

    With their constitutional duty of facilitating the transition of presidential power fulfilled, a process which George Washington, the first US president introduced in December 1783, was accomplished, and Trump’s last proverbial trump card was demystified as his untoward plans were thwarted.

    The noble gesture of handing over power when there was overwhelming pressure for George Washington to serve a third term , according to recorded history had earned the first American president , the title “ The greatest man(president) in the world “ .

    It is an adulation which no less a personality than king George lll of England bestowed on George Washington as the king marveled at how a man who just won a war would yield power so voluntarily to John Adams.
    Donald Trump who by all indications thrives best in controversy, even if he failed to accept that he lost the presidential contest to Biden , could not as much as deign to be high minded enough to end his tempestuous four years term as president with dignity.

    One disconcerting fact that has been pricking my mind is that with eighty one (81) million votes cast for Joe Biden the winner and seventy four (74) million votes for the incumbent , Donald Trump, the loser in the presidential election of 3 November, America is clearly divided almost in the middle or by half.

    So without a scintilla of doubt ,there is a huge gulf between blue and red America , (hence l chose to rechristen the country, Divided states of America, DSA) represented by the coup plotters who are part of president Trump’s supporters that stormed the capitol and the true democrats and devotees to the rule of law, that went ahead to certify Biden’s victory as the elected 46th president of the USA .

    Not attesting to the challenger , Joe Biden’s electoral college votes of 306 thats more than the 232 cast for the incumbent , Donald Trump, on 6 January, 2021, could have resulted in a constitutional crisis that would have been like the situation in Nigeria in 2010 whereby our constitution did not (at the time) make provisions for what would happen when a seating president suddenly dies which was the case when Umar Yar’Adua passed on in 2010.

    It took the doctrine of necessity to cure that lacuna. Now, would there have been a similar extra ordinary measure in the USA , if Trump had succeeded in perpetuating his zeitgeist ideology of having his way or the high way?
    Conscious of the fact that 6 January was sacrosanct , president Trump had set up the booby trap by driving his supporters into a frenzy with inciting words that charged them up with the intention of hanging the Vice President, Mike Pence and assassinating the Speaker of the House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi as evidenced by the battle cry of the enraged secessionists in their chants when they laid siege on the Capitol like charging bulls.

    Trump’s programmed insurrection as reflected by the storming of the Capitol Hill by the enraged supporters is akin or reminiscent of the sort that caused the American civil war fought from 1861-5 .

    As it may be recalled , American civil war was a battle between 11 states in the south that seceded and declared themselves as the confederates and then engaged in four years long war with the federalists in the north. The secessionist confederates were eventually defeated by the federalists army, much the same way that the 6 January coup detat was foiled thus retaining the unity of all the fifty United (divided) states of America.

    A status which the current schism is threatening to end after 250 years of sustaining it.

    According to information obtained from www.pbs.org with respect to the cause of the civil war “ a common explanation is that the Civil War was fought over the moral issue of slavery.

    In fact, it was the economics of slavery and political control of that system that was central to the conflict” the report concluded.

    Although the causative factors for the 6 January insurrection, now tagged the coup in Washington, are not exactly the same as the trigger for the civil war fought continuously for four years, about two and half centuries ago, but the current issues are a sort of hack back to the white supremacist days , fostered by the outgoing president Trump, via his promotion of extremist groups like the Ku Klux Klan, KKK during his abou-to-expire four years tenure in the White House.

    That said , let’s now dwell on the present and the future by referencing my earlier essay focused on the ruckus arising from the presidential elections in the USA. It is titled “From First To Third World: The USA That Trump Would Bequeath To Biden” written and published on 28 December 2020.

    In that piece, l made a prognosis of what might happen on 6 January. Given that president Trump is easy to second guess because he tends to act on impulse , l had predicted that there may be chaos during the certification of the electoral college result by a joint session of Congress presided over on 6 January, by Vice President, Mike Pence. When the anticipated attack eventually occurred , it was shocking to see that it was beyond mere chaos, as the capitol was engulfed by mayhem unleashed by the unhinged Trump supporters who exhibited zealous , if not lunatic ferocity in the onslaught on the Capitol Hill .

    Below is what l had predicted .

    “In a seminal book by two Harvard University dons, titled” How Democracies Die”, the duo of Steven Levitsky and Daniel Ziblatt detailed how elected leaders can gradually subvert the democratic processes and system to increase their power.

    According to the social scientists, when they embarked on the project of writing the book published in 2018, they had the notion that the culprit would only be in far way Africa , South America or Middle East. But they had no inkling that such a country that would typify a dying democracy due to the subversion of the system by its leader, would be the USA and a perfect example of such a leader would be the 45th president of the USA , Donald J Trump.

    Who knows if there are other arrows in president Trump’s quivers as the world waits with baited breath for his next actions on the 6th of January which is the day the outgoing Vice President, mr Pence would present the electoral college results to the joint session of the senate and the House of Representatives, as a ceremonial precursor to the swearing-in activities at midday of 20th of January 2021 , when Trump is expected to exit the White House after handing over to Joe Biden as the 46th president of the USA.

    Baring all the political acrobatics and theatrics that could be unfurled by Trumpists to delay the process, the procedure should normally be a mere political ritual in fulfillment of the spirit and letter of the rules of transition of political power from one president to the other introduced by George Washington hundreds of years ago.

    The only other snag is: would president Trump personally hand over the reins of government to President-elect Biden as has been the tradition, or given his current foul and sore disposition, would he outsource the task to Vice President, Mike Pence? If president Trump’s maverick nature is taken into consideration, anything can happen on 20 January, 2021. But regardless of Trump’s shenanigans, ultimately on that day or at a later date , Joe R Biden would mount the saddle and be given the nuclear bomb code as the Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces of the USA”

    Remarkably, l expressed the opinion above about a little over a week before the siege on the capitol. And Trump’s revelation that he won’t attend his successor’s inauguration is a development that l had predicted in the piece . But the bizarre situation of the secessionists storming the Capitol in an attempt to kidnap and hang Vice President Pence and kill Speaker , Pelosi were certainly not in my wildest imagination.

    Co-incidentally, there are lots of similarities in the behaviors of the American thugs that stormed the Capitol Hill and the Nigerian thugs that hijacked the #EndSARS protests. A cursory look at the television footages of Trump’s supporters who attempted the coup in the capitol on 6th January via his instigation while Biden’s win of the presidential contest was being certified, reminds me of how political thugs go on rampage in Nigeria damaging voting materials such as ballots and collating documents in areas where a ruling party is not likely to win and in the process engaging in the deliberate disenfranchisement of some citizens. Take for instance what happened in FESTAC town , Satelite town , Okota, Akowonjo , Egbeda and other such areas where thugs disrupted election procedures in lagos state in 2019.

    Such art of brigandage and voter disenfranchisement in Nigeria , mirror voter suppression in black and other minority dominated enclaves that’s perpetuated in the USA. Both perfidious acts are geared towards subverting the will of the masses, thus stealing the victory and which are patently undemocratic . Astonishingly, that is a mission that Trump wanted to accomplish after the 3 November presidential election of which he had pressurized via phone calls and invitation to the White House of election officials in states where he lost to steal the votes for him without success .

    Unlike in Africa where electoral officials , Police, State Security agencies, the military and the judiciary are more often than not useful tools for the subversion of the people’s will expressed via elections , the respective officials approached by Trump to help rig the election in his favor, put the USA and democracy above selfish interests by turning him down . I can’t help but long for the days that relevant Nigerian officials would be that high minded.

    Another notable common trend between the thugs in both countries is that the thugs that broke into USA House Speaker , Nancy Pelosi’s office and the ones that gained access into Senate majority leader , Mitch McConnell’s space were clowning by seating at their desks in a manner that reminds me of the hoodlums during #Endsars protests in Nigeria who broke into law courts and wore judges gowns, vandalized police stations where they seized arms and ammunitions as well as uniforms and adorned themselves with the full police regalia, while even being hailed by fellow thugs as ‘IG’, meaning inspector general of police.

    In a sacrilegious manner, the thugs during #EndSars protests did not confine their desecration to only government offices, but also broke into the palace of the respected Oba of lagos, whose staff of office and royal foot wears were stolen and gleefully shown-off on social media platforms much the same way that the secessionists in the USA stole the lectern in House of Representatives, Speaker Pelosi’s office and showed it off on social media.
    It also mimics the manner Nigerian thugs snatched the mace from the senate chambers while it was in session and scampered with it when the impeachment of president, Muhammadu Buhari was being contemplated, while he was away receiving medical care in the Uk a couple of years ago.

    So there is an interesting pattern of behavior or correlation between the arsonists that attacked politicians in the capitol ,USA and the brigands that unleashed mayhem in police stations , court houses and prison yards in Nigeria during #EndSars riots.

    By relieving the experiences of those in leadership positions and clowning around in the paraphernalia of their targets , what is it in the high offices that are tripping vandals?

    It is a phenomenon which social scientists may have to devote time to unravel.

    Meanwhile, a principle or attitude in the USA Democratic system which is yet to be adopted or imbibed here in Nigeria, is the nobility of resigning if and when public opinion indicates that a public officer has failed woefully in the discharge of his /her duties.

    The above assertion is underscored by the fact the police officers in charge of the Capitol police who were flat footed when the mob attacked a joint session of senators and House of Representatives, are on track to resign on the 16th. These officers are Steven Sund, chief of capitol police and Paul Irving, Sergeant-At
    -Arms in the House of Representatives as well as the Senate Sergeant- At-Arms, Micheal Stenger . How come such honorable path does not appeal to the leaders of our security architecture whom Nigerians have shouted themselves hoarse in their call for president Buhari to sack them or they resign honorably?

    The West Virginia lawmaker , Derrick Evan who was amongst those involved in the siege and caught in the television footages in the rotunda of the capitol, has also honorably resigned .

    As expected , pressure is being mounted on president, Donald Trump to also resign or he will be impeached.
    Also being called upon to resign are senators, Josh Hawley who was the driving force behind the objection to the Arizona electoral college result and Ted Crux who encouraged Trump supporters to storm the Capitol through his incendiary speech to Trumpists in Georgia , the previous day .

    Another legislator involved in the seditious move is kelvin McCarthy , the Republican Party minority leader in the House of Representatives, who spear headed the dissent in the lower chamber .

    Whether the identified politicians would do the needful by resigning, remains to be seen.

    But from experience, those who fail to conduct themselves properly in the political arena in the USA,never go unpunished.

    However, given president Trump’s non conformist tendencies, he is unlikely to resign as being demanded. Whatever be the case, whether he would be impeached or removed from office before his tenure lapses on the 20th by invoking the 25th amendment is another kettle of fish.

    While many stakeholders are holding their breathe as to how 20 January , 2021 presidential inauguration might turn out , it is abundantly clear that the USA would reclaim its place of glory after Joe R Biden is sworn in as the 46th president of the USA.

    As the saying goes, you can tell the character of a man by the company that he keeps. The cabinet members that president-in-waiting Biden has nominated reflects the different shades of America. That’s a policy of political inclusiveness with all stakeholders from all the ethnic groups fairly represented in government, begging to be adopted in Nigeria for peace to reign and for the much sought progress and prosperity for the masses to set in.

    From the first Native American nominated into the US cabinet post , to the first African American to serve as secretary of defense, as well as the first openly gay man , reflecting the many shades of America, the incoming administration of president elect,Joe Biden appears to be carrying all stakeholders in the union along and therefore it is full of promise and hope,not only for Americans, but the entire world.

    My enthusiasm is buoyed by Biden’s campaign message that he would be the president of all Americans , including those who voted for him and the ones that did not. Ultimately,the new administration would be the antithesis of Trump’s fire and fury regime . At least that is the expectation of most Americans and the world in general.
    Based on Biden’s verbalized vision and mission as well as his body language , his reign is not only envisioned to be a healing balm on Americans that are currently badly bruised and divided, but it also seems poised to lead the world with clear plans on how to eradicate Covid-19 pandemic that is currently ravaging the world, restore peace in the current war theaters , tackle climate change, boost trade and enhance its stabilization in the current highly disoriented and disunited world.

    Until all of the above plans come into fruition or appear to be happening, l’m not willing to reverse my current tagging of the country formerly known as the United States of America to Divided States of America.
    ONYIBE, an entrepreneur, public policy analyst ,author, development strategist, alumnus of Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts university, Massachusetts, USA and a former commissioner in Delta state government, sent this piece from lagos.

    To continue with this conversation, pls visit www.magnum.ng

  • The Incoming Biden Presidency: Some Lessons for Nigeria – Chris Anyokwu

    The Incoming Biden Presidency: Some Lessons for Nigeria – Chris Anyokwu

    By Chris Anyokwu

    The United States of America has always prided herself as “The City on a Hill”; “God’s Own Country”, the Land of the Brave and Free. The Haven of opportunity. All of this, truth be told, is the very basis of the immensely popular slogan of the “American Dream” or, the less-popular term: American Exceptionalism. Experience has, however, shown that it has not always been so. The long walk to civilisation and civility was marked by an endless series of constitutional amendments given the fact that the basis of human co-existence, the legal organogram of the social contract, is eternally work-in-progress.

    These Constitutional Amendments, numerous as they are, were necessitated by a rash of societal impedimenta which usually make peaceful co-existence in a patently ethnically and racially diverse polity a bit of a herculean nightmare. Given, thus, that the rule of law is the basis of civilised society, the Supreme Court of the Unity States (SCOTUS), the nation’s apex court has had to play a pivotal role defining and directing the manifest destiny of the Republic.

    Just to be certain, indeed, the powers of life and death literally reside with the Justices of the SCOTUS. These grizzled gurus of the law regulate the collective health of the nation, seeing to it that every sector of the economy, be it health, homeland security, foreign affairs, domestic politics, religion, etc. runs as smoothly as possible. The battle over the soul of the nation which is normally joined between the Republicans and the Democrats is refereed, in a manner of speaking, by the nation’s legal system superintended by the Supreme Court. Regardless, however, of the best efforts of this age-old, tried-and-tested institution of the law, the USA has always been riven by what may be termed the demographics of hate leaving deep fissures in the body politic. Usually you realise that fault-lines, ancient primordialities, bone-deep racial resentments exist among the warring and fiercely-antagonistic ethnic/racial groups comprising the white majority, and the black and Latino minorities, not forgetting the Native Americans, descendants of the aboriginal Red Indians, themselves victims of genocide and ethnic cleansing – one of the blots on America’s escutcheon.

    At all events, America has been dogged by associated social ills of tribalism, racism, social inequality/inequity, and oppression. The good news, however, is that the United States of America has been able to overcome all of these challenges to varying degrees depending on the social pathology in question. She had experienced the American Civil War fought from 12th April 1861 to 9th May, 1965 under President Abraham Lincoln; experienced Slavery, Reconstruction, racial segregation, Civil Rights Struggles in the 1950s and 1960s; fought in the World Wars I and II; experienced the infamous Great Depression from 1929 to the 1930s, a 43-month-long socio-economic nightmare which left in its wake many deaths arising from the untold psychological and physical pain(s) it had unleashed. Despite these distressing problems Americans had had to contend with, the nation was able to emerge from the ashes of adversity to become the world’s greatest nation.

    Welcome to the American Empire! But like all the previous empires before her, empires that rose to world dominance for a period of time and later eventually declined, the USA is steadily – some would go as far to say precipitously – careering along the slippery slope of decline and probable demise. The reasons for this unfortunate turn of events are many, some of which include narcissism, anti-black racism, institutionalised inequality, the epochal advents of demagogues like President Donald J. Trump, among others. The Trump phenomenon or Trumpism is coterminous with the Reign of Narcissus, the portrait of the president as God-man! And, unsurprisingly, his stint at the White House has been nothing short of cataclysmic actively stoking the embers of racial division and encouraging prejudice. Under his watch, the world has witnessed the resurgence of the so-called alt-right movement composed of extreme right-wing nationalist elements such as the White Knights, the neo-Nazis, the Ku Klux Klan and other white supremacists.

    Thus, against the backcloth of the foregoing anomalous situation compounded by the Covid-19 pandemic which Trump, at best, has been handling cavalierly and fecklessly, the American electorate had headed to the voting centres to cast their ballots during the Presidential Elections in November, 2020. The choices before the voters were stark; the blue and red candidate couldn’t be more dissimilar – whilst Trump with his “America First”, ultra-right, separatist agenda, harangued and hectored America to keep him for another four years in the saddle, promising them Eldorado with his hollow and empty rhetoric, Joe Biden oozed bonhomie, an avuncular presence casting an aureole of hope and optimism over a paranoid, near-panicky nation.

    He told the nation he was a purveyor of alter/native vision. He was ready to give his compatriots a new lease of life. It’s refreshing and heart-warming to hear Joe Biden preach and promise unity in the immediate aftermath of the elections, that is, as soon as he was declared winner of the race, beating Trump with 306 Electoral College Votes to Trump’s 232! And rather than be gallant in defeat and concede the election to his democratic opponent, President Donald J. Trump mounted a legal blitzkrieg against Biden, instituting over fifty lawsuits across America challenging the integrity of the democratic process. At almost every turn, Trump told those who cared to listen that the election was rigged and that the process was marred by a slew of irregularities. Like the Queen Bee ensconced in the belly of an anthill and surrounded by an army of hardworking bees, Trump enjoyed the fierce support and solidarity of his fellow Republican lotharios and hierarchs, House and Senate Republicans and all. They all chorused with one voice: “America must remain RED”! “BLUE is Anathema”! Even in the Conradian Heart of Africa, Nigeria to be exact, some deluded themselves, seeing in Donald J. Trump, Christ-incarnate! It couldn’t get more bizarre and ridiculous than that. Mercifully, the election results have now been certified and approved by the Electors of the Electoral College and President-Elect Joseph Biden, Jnr. can now rest easy and get down to the onerous business of fixing the four-year mess created by Trump and his Republican co-travellers.

    To be sure, in his first speech as President-Elect, Biden has sought to spread balm over the welts and woes of ALL Americans, calling for unity, togetherness, forgiveness, compassion and tolerance. Hear him: “Let this grim era of demonization in America begin to end-here and now.” Oh, what a proud moment to be American, considering the triumphs, trials and troughs of the past! What a stirring rallying-cry to the 244-year-old Republic, which on the 4th of July, 1776 made the Declaration of Independence, marking the historic transition of the 13 colonies into a new nation, i.e., the United States of America! While their erstwhile colonial conquistador, Great Britain looked on admiringly and wistful of the defunct Pax Britannia (with the USA as their crown jewel), America in this epoch-making moment is forging a better and greater destiny in the smithy of her vexed conscience. Long gone are the re-echoing reports of the gunboats of the Revolutionary War of the 19th century fought between Colony and Metropole; long gone the Founding Fathers of the Union.

    But what a proud time for their worthy scions! Joe Biden has been, in the meantime, assembling his cabinet, attentive to the multiple sensitivities and subjectivities – White, Black, brown, yellow, Latino and Native. So far, there have been many “firsts” in the history of the nation as Biden taps and picks the best and brightest across the board. It is absolutely gratifying to see that he has also picked our own compatriot, Adewale “Wally” Adeyemo as his nominee for Deputy Secretary of the Treasury. Born in 1981 in Nigeria but raised in the USA, Adeyemo’s resumé was all Biden needed to pick him ahead of millions of Americans. No questions asked about surname, tribe and tongue, religion, sexual orientation, age or other pedestrian considerations. He has been nominated on MERIT, a word which is taboo in these parts. For us, it’s all about North-South dichotomy, Christian versus Muslim, political dinosaurs versus too-young-to-run, blind loyalty versus proven competence. Yes, the Not-Too-Young-To-Run Law has been enacted, we are aware, but, for intents and purposes, it’s merely another anodyne sop from our sit-tight gerontocratic and geriatric rulers concocted to hoodwink the credulous leaders of tomorrow. But we all know tomorrow never comes. Never! Can we borrow a leaf from the incoming Biden Administration and allow MERIT be our guiding principle and the fulcrum of state policy! It’s never too late to turn over a new leaf. Let’s make Nigeria great again!

    Chris Anyokwu, PhD.
    Associate Professor of English
    University of Lagos