The presidential election in America is supposedly in troubled waters as Donald Trump queries the integrity of the polls. This act shakes the the democratic foundation on which the most powerful nation is built and puts a dent on her all-powerful democratic process.
If not for the strong institutions in America, there would have been a different scenario playing out in Nigeria under similar circumstances.
Here are ten things which would have taken place if Donald Trump was an incumbent in Nigeria as written by Ayo Akinfe, a Nigerian veteran journalist who resides in London.
(1) First of all, many Inec officials would have obeyed his instructions to stop counting the votes immediately the president called for it.
(2) Leaders from his ethnic group would have held meetings and declared their unalloyed support for him.
(3) Troops would have been dispatched to seize all those ballot papers at the counting centres.
(4) Troops, policemen and DSS operatives would have been dispatched to seal off any media networks that defied the order and continued reporting results.
(5) The youth from the president’s ethnic group would have held solidarity marches in his support.
(6) Counter-marches would of course have been organised but troops would have been sent to open fire on them as we saw at the 'Lekki Toll Gate' incident.
(7) Inec officials who refused to be intimidated, insisting on showing integrity, would have been picked up by the DSS.
(8) The EFCC and Code of Conduct Tribunal would have been used to arrest and bring charges against the owners of media houses who keep announcing results, as happened to Walter Onnoghen.
(9) There would have been no shortage of sycophants and praise singers taking to the media to back the president. His own party in particular would be solidly behind him.
(10) By now, the uncounted ballot papers would have been destroyed prompting calls for a fresh election. Court orders would have been obtained making this legal.
We complain about Nigeria a lot but refuse to accept that the only problem with Nigeria is Nigerians themselves. When I see how leaders of the #EndsSars movement are currently being persecuted and how a shameful meeting in Kaduna recently backed the government, I just shudder.
Nigerians are their own worst enemies. What is most scary is the number of sycophants wanting to eat crumbs from the 'oga-at-the-top’s' table who will mortgage their consciences for a mess of porridge.
One other thing that makes my blood boil is the way Nigerians take sides based on ethnicity and religion. I just hope this latest US saga helps debunk the myth that the problem with Nigeria is bad leadership.
Our biggest problem is poor followership. Bad leaders like Trump exist everywhere but how far the people are prepared to go to resist them is what makes the difference between good and bad governance.
Comments