PRESIDENT TRUMP AND THE REST OF THE WORLD

It is no longer news that President Donald Trump has been inaugurated as the 45^th president of the United States. This news however, has generated mixed feelings amongs Nigerians and the rest of the world. First there are those who think Donald Trump is the best thing that could ever happen to Americans, then there are those who think that he may not be the right person for the job for obvious reasons, then there are people like me who really think it is non of my business. However, It is quite clear that president Trump may have a strong dislike for Africans and even African Americans, but who wouldn’t considering the recent empasse in the Gambia, Jammeh’s obstinate refusal to transfer power to Barrow as constitutionally required thereby heightening tensions and the fear that violence may ensue in the tussle for power, not forgetting the terrorist assaults in Nigeria by the Boko-Haram and the gruesome killings in southern kaduna, or the war in Darfur and other parts of Africa, or the mindless looting by African leaders, or human right violations, the list is endless.

The Nigerian government has over the years learnt strong diplomatic support to the United-States counter terrorism efforts especially in the aftermath of the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks, having both condemned attacks and supported military action against the Taliban and Al Qaida. An estimated one million Nigerians and Nigerian Americans live, study and work in the United States, while over 25,000 Americans live and work in Nigeria. The U.S. government has also supported Nigeria in the area of health, education and security.

But the Freudian and reckless utterances of the president elect during his campaign have left much to be desired. indeed Africans and other nationalities residing in the US (who are non white) should be ready to be harassed and embarrassed by trump followers who are mostly white Americans, few non whites and those who may eventually fall within the few documented immigrants who reside in the US , just to  mention but a few. Equador, Venezuela, Bolivia, mexico are latin American countries which president Trump made so many negative statements and hostile remarks against. Though some pundits believe that Donald trump does not have any definite plan against latin America or have excused most of what he said as mere campaign rhetorics. This may not be the case for others, inview of the current restrictions on refugees and the outright ban on visas to some countries like Syria, Iraq,Iran, Sudan, Somalia, Libya, Yemen.

In our volatile world of today diplomacy requires a great deal of tact, poise intelligence, experience and maturity. As a business mogul president Trump has done well for himself and his family but as a leader and politician who has never been in the corridors of politics let alone power and as Albert Einstein puts it “anyone who has never made a mistake has never tried anything new. A good leader must among many other things have a good grasp of issues. President Trump can be said to be at best unpredictable and this however, may be his selling point as politicians are believed to be generally deceptive and have mastered the art of enchantment and cajolement. American intervention in other peoples sovereignty seems unlikely under the Trump Administration because unlike his predecessors he wants to concentrate on the U.S. and not to undermine the security and welfare of the U.S. citizens on the altar of ego and selfish aggrandizement and quest for global relevance, no doubt his political stance of "U.S. first" will find the U.S. standing on the border lines of global politics and may eventually see countries like China, North Korea, Russia, france, isreal, Britain, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia e.t.c taken over the global stage. But on a more serious note if this development will bring an end to the  U.S. / Russia feud  I think a Nobel peace prize may be awaiting Donald Trump considering the arsenal of nuclear weapons stock piled by  the U.S. and Russia, enough to destroy half the world.

In relation to world peace Donald Trump has openly showed his support for Israel and has even promised to reverse the UN vote against Israel Inspight of UN Security Council vote in favour of Palestine, the big question then is will/can Donald Trump defy the UN? Even as the Iranian missile crisis continues to threaten Israel and an isreali strike imminent, if Israel strikes Iran the US may protect Israel and this could lead to war. The question is what will the other allies do? Donald trump has also questioned the importance of some treaties and why the U.S. should defend any alliance partner, he criticized Nato as being obsolete suggesting that it needs to be reformed. One begins to wonder if US breaks all ties what would be the fate of its citizens when tragedy strikes. Will the U.S. stop sale of arms, or discontinue with the war in Libya. What will become of international treaties then, against the backdrop of Brexit? 

The partisanship in the U.S. is worrisome because being a democrat or a republican has suddenly become more important than world peace, however, the beauty of the U.S. democracy is that it is built around institutions like the congress, the CIA, the FBI, the courts, the people and not individuals. The congress will ensure any major shift in politics represents the aspirations of the U.S. citizens. The issue of Obama care will certainly be one of the major decisions of the Trump administration as the tension between pro Trump and Anti Trump continues to grow, it has not been seen before this division along party lines . Trumps impeachment may at best be in the offing because the administration of Obama has worked so hard to discredit and delegitimize the Trump administration, but it may be too early to make any predictions, as hurricane Trump continues to blow only time will tell what happens next.