Sometime in 2008, I found myself in Berlin, Germany on a scholarship programme. The programme fell within the period of the debate in America on whether or not it was appropriate for the Democratic Party candidate in that election year to visit Germany and address Europe from the Brandenburg Gate. The Democratic candidate had little or no foreign policy experience and his opponents were using that to taunt him. But addressing Berliners from that auspicious gate is an exclusive preserve of elected leaders. The argument was that the two times that American presidents – JFK and Ronald Reagan – had visited and spoken to Berliners from that Gate, they had visited as presidents and not as presidential candidates. But so as not to offend the sensibilities of the Democratic candidate, Barack Obama whom his Republican opponent John McCain often referred contemptuously as ‘The One’, the Angela Merkel admin devised the ingenious tactic of getting this candidate to speak to Europe at the Victory Column in Berlin.
And so for most of us from Africa in Europe at that time, this was an opportunity not to be missed. What the heck, this is somebody with the colour of my skin contesting to be president of the greatest power and economy. The whole of Europe, with all shades of white thronged the city of Berlin to see this great African brother. I was later to find out that back home, and indeed in the whole of Africa, the fire had caught on. I was to hear as well that certain auspicious persons had collected certain humongous sums to help shore up a brother African’s dream and ambition to occupy the White House.
And so on that day Obama spoke. Most of us were just a few feet away from this incredibly good looking chap. When he was done, I looked around to find out that I was one of the few black persons around. In that sea of white people, it must have been a little difficult not to have strutted around with swag. That swag attracted a certain Berliner. He approached and asked if indeed I was happy that one of my kind will be president of the U.S. Smiling, I nodded. ‘Well, you better not be. That guy with the colour of your skin is not your brother. He’s an American through and through. Everything he will do throughout his tenure will not be to your advantage. He lives in a place where one brother of his campaigned for people not to be judged by the colour of their skins but by the content of their character…!’
Back home after my studies, I tried to relate this experience to a lot of Nigerians. My argument, derived from what this Berliner told me was this: Republican or not, Black or white we should be circumspect with our relationship with the U.S. and try to promote our interests only with respect to whomsoever would help promote our interests. In my proposal as well, I recommended that if we must, we should look to supporting the Republicans whose mien somewhat tilts favourably to Africans.
But everyone shunned me, and continued with the Obama euphoria. It did not help us however. From the get-go, it was clear to us that Obama’s character and disposition towards Nigeria and indeed Africa had nothing to do with the colour of his skin. In his eight years as president, Obama held us with disdain and contempt. A charismatic representative of the democratic ethos, visiting us may not have changed our lot but I verily believe that his presence here would have helped in bringing light to the fact that you don’t throw the bathed baby out with the corrupt bath water.
I followed this election campaign which eventually produced Donald Trump as president. Something didn’t quite jell about his opponent Hilary Clinton. This was apart from two things: one, Clinton was no different from the Obama euphoria in that her greatest selling point was the fact that there was a glass ceiling seemingly against her gender that her likely presidency would shatter. As Secretary of State under Obama, she presided over the Arab Spring, a revolution which sought to build democratic institutions as against strong individuals.
It is to her credit as well that she helped with the keen pursuit of two key digital renegades – Julian Asange and Edward Snowden, a position which pitched her in favour with the dominance of the establishment and against the fundamental right and fight of the people to know. Two, even though Clinton’s opponent was portrayed as racist, hater of women and Moslems and therefore said to be unqualified for the high office of President of the United States, something in Donald Trump reminded me of the Ronald Reagan’s willingness to take head on certain issues on which Obama was pacifist and rather indecisive.
As president, Ronald Reagan gave notice of his philosophy of deterrence, captured in this his famous quip: ‘since the dawn of the atomic age, we sought to reduce the risk of war by maintaining a strong deterrent and by seeking genuine arms control. Deterrence means simply this: making sure that an adversary who thinks about the United States or our allies or our vital interests concludes that the risks to him outweigh any potential gains. Once he understands that, he won’t attack’. Everything in Donald Trump is captured here and I think we would need a man like this in the White House.
Etemiku is communications manager, ANEEJ, Benin City.
