Why TRUMP & TINUBU’s Election Are Similar

The US presidential election is over and a new president –elect has emerged. Donald Trump has been declared winner and he becomes the 24th President-elect of the United States of America. As one would expect, the Republican camp is basking in the euphoria of its hard fought electoral victory over the Democrats beautiful poster girl, Kamala Harris while Donald Trump’s fans all over the world are in jubilant mood. Some would say he deserves the victory having been through hell and back to earn it. But his legion of haters do not think he deserves it, yet they simply cannot explain how the man found his way back to the White House yet again, for a second time.  Back home in Nigeria, the support for Donald Trump is divided. While some rooted for him all through the campaign and celebrated his victory, many others didn’t wish him well in his quest to become president of the United States of America a second time.

But apart from Trump’s divided support in Nigeria, a lot of political pundits in the country are now comparing Trump’s victory to that of President Bola Tinubu. They say that, in many ways than one, they both share lots of similarities in the way and manner they emerged victorious.

First, both of these gentlemen were vilified, denigrated and thoroughly mocked in their journeys to clinching the seats of power. If truth be told, no other presidential candidates have been mocked, hated and ridiculed the way Donald Trump and Asiwaju were ridiculed in their quest for electoral victory. While Donald Trump was called all sorts of names including being called a racist, a lunatic and mentally unstable, Bola Tinubu was called a drug baron, a sick and dying man who could not last a month in office. Today, the man is counting down to his second year in office.

Another similarity is in the manner both men got their party tickets. Just like Asiwaju fought tooth and nail to win the APC presidential ticket, and even had to contend with a few trusted loyalists who betrayed him by vying for the same ticket, Donald Trump also had a lot of Republican heavyweights he had to contend with. Quite a handful of the Republican top shots didn’t think he could win and were uncomfortable with the negative publicity he kept amasing, especially with his numerous court cases. They wanted a situation where someone else got the nomination and not Trump. But just like Asiwaju Bola Tinubu did, Trump, having at his disposal a massive war chest to play with, silenced every possible voice of discontent opposing his emergence as the party’s presidential flag bearer.

One other similarity is how both experienced intense hostilities from the governments in place at the time of the election. In the United States, the Biden administration did everything possible to frustrate Donald Trump and stop him from contesting the presidential election. He was slammed with different criminal charges and taken to court in a bid to stop the Law from allowing him to contest election but he survived it all. Back home in Nigeria too, the government did everything it could possibly think of to stop President Tinubu from emerging victorious, despite being the ruling party’s presidential flag bearer.

First was the body language of the former President, Mohammadi. Buhari, who himself became president largely because of the support he got from Asiwaju. He didn’t want Bola Tinubu to succeed him. He wanted possibly a northerner to succeed him. But Tinubu’s loyalists within and outside the government rose up in his defence and ensured there was fair play. And Buhari surrendered when he realised he was up against solid resistance from the Tinubu camp.

But there was still one more problem for Tinubu to contend with. Former CBN governor, Emefiele, had come up with a new currency policy which made made the availability of cash very scarce in the country. The whole idea was to make it difficult for the Tinubu camp to have sufficient cash to prosecute their campaigns and election obligations. They wanted to stop Asiwaju Bola Tinubu from becoming President at all cost, no matter how many Nigerians suffered or died as a result of the scarcity of naira in circulation. And to a great extent, the plan almost worked, but somehow, the Tinubu camp overcame these challenges and triumphed at the end of the day.

Finally, there was revolt from the people demanding that both men should never become president. In the United States, thousands of Americans who despise Trump trooped to the streets to express their anger and hatred for him. They mocked him on social media and hurled all manner of threats at him. And soon, the threats became real as there were two assassination attempts on his life. Those who hated him just could not bear to see him become president.

Same thing in Nigeria. While there was no attempt on the life of Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, there were lots of protests and agitation against his candidacy. So many Igbos rose against him and there were groups from the east that took to the streets singing songs of mockery and rebellion against the man’s aspiration just to ensure the election did not go his way. But it did. Today, he is the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

– WALE LAWAL

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