TRUMPISM: LESSONS FOR NIGERIA

The world's most consequential political transition is spewing hotness like an angry volcano. Winners and losers alike are dazed, to put it mildly, and the world watches in awe. That is because a certain Donald J. Trump, DT for short, the outgoing President of the United States of America, raised the pre-election political temperature to an unprecedented high and everyone is roasting in it, he mostly.

The new President-elect, Joseph Biden, no less confounded, has declared in bewilderment, "We might be opponents, but we are not enemies; politics is not about total unrelenting warfare." His words reminded me of Nigeria. Are Nigerian politicians listening? Infested by the coronavirus, and polluted by Trump's radicalism, the White House yearns for a breath of fresh air. The man impeached by Congress has now been shown the way out by the custodians of ultimate power, the people.

    The first lesson DT is going to learn quickly is how fickle people are. Many of his bootlickers and hangers on, including his acolytes in the US Congress, are going to carry on in denial of him, trust me. He will need to ask Jesus how that feels in the days to come. Already he's flailing his hands in protest of his apparent abandonment by 'close associates' and leaning towards his immediate family for some consolation. His recently bearded and no-less-radically sons are asking angrily, "Where is the GOP?" They are not too young to learn some political lessons themselves, given how vociferous and cunning they too have been. When people hang around you because you hold the loaf of bread, their attitude should be quite predictable when the bread leaves your hand.

    The lessons of Trumpism are germane to Nigerian politicians. Foul language, arrogance, power drunkenness, and freewheeling braggadocio become chilling boomerangs in the end. There is nothing like bowing out gracefully. It is the least anyone should do when their time is up, and it has a lot to do with their conduct during their heydays of glory. DT fouled and continues to foul the air. Bowing out in a blaze of controversies and scandals is an abomination to one's legacies.

And things couldn't be more devastating for DT. At a time he is hopelessly losing in the nail-biting count of votes, his chief-of-staff goes to test positive for the coronavirus, the very plague that knocked the wheels off his election cart, a clear riposte to the President's neglect of duty.

    Everyone who is drowning finds a strange burst of strength. To be sure, DT has found his and is latching desperately to it. Who wants to get drowned, after all, even if they threw themselves in the water as DT did? Talking about a blaze of controversies, DT is in court to prevent his drowning, in courts I should say, 'fighting to the end.' Let's be clear. Fighting to the end is a good virtue. That's what we should all do. But that is fighting good fights, not stirring up counterproductive Hail Marys. The bulk of his pre-election legal blitz paid him nothing. They only painted him as a desperado, a core attribute of Trumpism.

    So, what are the lessons of Trumpism for Nigeria?

    Firstly, that the days of riding roughshod on the mandates of the people are over. If anything, the recent #EndSars protests in Nigeria are a telltale of the emergence of a new populism in Nigeria, an organic outrage against oppression and repression by political leaders. The Nigerian populace, especially its youthful part, has suddenly become enlightened and emboldened. It has found its voice. That is what Trumpism does. It gives life to dead sympathies. Look, my take is that the next elections in Nigeria will not be business as usual. Traditional Nigerian politicians know this and are getting increasingly jittery.

    Secondly, Trumpism is teaching Nigeria that bad governance has its payday. It is remarkable that, before Election Day, a group of Pastors led by Paula White heaped prayers on DT and vociferously decreed a second term for him. In a bizarre turn of events, the unpredictable pastor made a strident invocation summoning angels from Africa to deliver DT's second term, prompting my daughter to ask, "Are Africa's problems not big enough? Why is she reassigning her angels?"

In the face of unfolding election results, these 'agents of God' remain in denial. This for a man who never as much as goes to church, or gives any indication of what he worships besides power. He sacked and replaced political appointees with relish to demonstrate his hold on absolute power. Wesley Baines, a freelance writer, describes him as a spiritual nomad--a man without spiritual roots.

    Trumpism is lending its voice to the sad reality that some misguided 'men and women of God' live amongst us. That is another chilling revelation of Trumpism. Jesus was careful about pitching His camp on political issues. "Give to Caesar that which is his, and to God that which is God's," He advised. When Christian leaders openly betray their political biases, they weaken their mandate to serve all of humanity. Now Paula White and her ilk must look for a hiding place. We must all reap what we sow, however hard prayer warriors may pray to the contrary. That is God's law, period.

    Thirdly, Trumpism is teaching us that gragra may make a short-term room for us, but truth will ultimately deliver its judgement. Truth, something DT has in short supply, is eternally stronger than the veil that seeks to cover it. Is it not disgraceful that Twitter regularly takes his twits off air for being lies? A whole President! DT is learning the truth the hard way. His gragra will not save him from going down. Cartoonists, lampooners, parodists, they all have gone to town already on DT's political corpse. They have been waiting with bated breath for a day like this and DT gave them the ammunition.

    Books about his presidency have recently crawled out of publishing houses but, I tell you, they are nothing compared to the volumes I see coming. Every vulture is going to feast heavily on this free carcass. DT's uncouthness and lack of compassion for four years simply put everyone on edge, including his ardent supporters. Nigerian politicians must take this to heart. They must reform their attitudes to avoid going the Donald Trump way in 2023. I see it coming.

    Fourthly, against the urgings of well-meaning counsellors, DT clung to the sweet-nothings of his inner caucus and hangers-on, a group of people who know he is gravely allergic to unfavorable reality and have fed his hope with false reports about his chances in the election. To calm his raging spirit, his White House press secretary went out of her way to predict a landslide victory for him. Oh boy! Some people's words can kill! DT was blinded to the fact that every hope should have substance. That is another lesson for Nigerian leaders, overfed with praise-singing and bogus reports of right standing by their cronies.

    Fifthly, watch the attitude of Mike Pence, DT's VP. Without openly going against his boss, he's been a subtle reality checker for DT. Understandably, he has kept a quiet presence in the background, allowing the truth to unveil at its own pace. When his boss says "Count the votes where I'm winning and stop counting where I'm losing," "Let all legitimate votes be counted," is Pence's unobtrusive and cryptic counsel.

    What is the lesson here for Nigerian political co-travelers? That you can sympathize with someone without getting caught in their nasty murkiness. Nigerian politicians follow too blindly, hail too hypocritically. They offer no stabilizing balance for a falling hero.

    Sixthly, Trumpism has taught us that the world already has its fair share of despots. DT's relentless project to join the likes of Russia's Vladimir Putin, Cameroon's Paul Biya, and North Korea's Kim Jong-un in the world's select group of absolute rulers has run into a thumbs-down from God. The lesson for Nigeria is, no politician here should even try. Ask Tinubu and Oshiomole whose fingers are still hurting from dabbling in the absolutism of power.

(For other articles visit https://www.chrisekpekurede.com/blog

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