10 lessons Nigeria can learn from the US elections
- Place CCTV cameras in every polling and counting unit
- No people who want democracy can be misled by an undemocratic president. See how Americans ignored Trump’s call to annul the elections. Were that in Nigeria, sycophants would be falling over to please the Oga at the top
- Electronic voting helps reduce counting time
- Maybe we should get all INEC Officials to wear bodycams
- We have no moral right to complain about bad governance if we collect politicians’ money and stomach infrastructure. Americans are able to stand up to Trump because no one collected Rice or Garri from him
- Divisions are inevitable. In the US they are ideological but in Nigeria they are ethnic. It is only intellectually lazy who believe a division should lead to a split. I do not see the US rednecks calling for secession where they can have their country with no firearms controls, an endless Bible Belt and the right to grow your beard four feet long. Anyone still preaching secession in Nigeria after this is just a lost cause
- Over the last 48 hours, Donald Trump has been asked to shut up. He has been locked away in a room in the White House. Subordinates can exert some control over the boss
- I am impressed with the integrity of the secretaries of states in all the 50 states. They are all politicians with affiliations but have been totally impartial with the count. How many Nigerian politicians are of that ilk?
- A lot of Republican leaders have condemned Trump over his call for an election annulment. Just ask yourselves how many APC leaders have condemned Buhari over the Lekki Toll Gate killings. This eating the crumbs from the master’s table is arguably our biggest bane as a people
- We are the people we have been waiting for. Nigeria can get better tomorrow if we want her to. It is the will of a people that uplifts a nation
Ayo Akinfe, born in Salford, Manchester, is a London-based journalist who has worked as a magazine and newspaper editor for the last 20 years. Ayo attended Federal Government College Kaduna and obtained his first degree in history from the University of Ibadan.
