HAPPY NEW YEAR!

This just concluded year was one that so many people couldn’t wait to see the end of. The recession bit so hard and the price of food stuff catapulted. We are all hopeful that the new year will bring new tidings. Good health, security and cash in our pockets. Last year was an eventful year, the year we all sat on the verge of witnessing the election of the first female president of the most powerful nation and just when all the polls, media and presidential debates assured us that Hilary Clinton was definitely taking over the baton form President Barak Obama; the billionaire reality TV star comes and snatches the victory. And now he has been sworn in as the president of the USA.

We all seem to be stunned and somehow still hoped that something would happen to stop him from being sworn in. We are shocked that despite pulling out all the strings for the woman who was going to safeguard the legacy of one of our own, in the end it was not enough. Some say it is racism, they hate black people, they echo; how can he beat her? With her impressive resume, experience and all that, these oyibo people are racist, they chant. They conveniently forget that these same oyibo people voted in Barak Obama instead of their fellow oyibo on two occasions, giving him the maximum eight years tenure of an American president. No, they were not racist then.

None of us has stopped to ask ourselves what exactly is the legacy of President Barak Obama? What did he achieve for us on this continent? How did he treat us? Despite our initial euphoria of having a black president who was going to work towards a more equitable world order for us, a new American policy towards Africa. Instead we saw a black president who did not even deem it fit to visit Nigeria, the most populous black country on earth and to genuinely engage its people. I am sorry, that is an unforgivable sin. He instead advanced the cause of further destabilizing Africa with the reckless invasion of Libya. He also championed the cause of gay marriage, the so called right of a man to marry a man and a woman to marry a woman. Please don’t get me wrong, I have nothing against people who are gay, whether by choice or by biology, love is love after all. I just believe that the idea of same sex marriage is against  natural order, however way you look at it. So for society to equate this kind of union to that of a man and woman is preposterous and an abhorrence to our human existence. The most fundamental natural aspect, of marriage between a man and a woman is pro-creation. Same sex marriage cannot fulfill this aspect and thus has no reason for being. Poor African nations struggling under the pressure of unfair world trade policies were blackmailed into accepting gay marriage. Nigeria proudly resisted. Barak Obama, the first black president of the United States of America did not do much for Africa. I hope he did much better for our relatives in America. Yes, he had swagger, and yes he had the gift of the garb but that ain’t enough. We expected so much more from him. Still it was a great pleasure to have him and his ‘jewel of inestimable worth’ of a wife hold fort as the leader of the most powerful nation. We remain proud of their achievements non the less. We will miss them no doubt.

Now the world welcomes the dawn of four years of uncharted waters. Women across the world have marched against his legitimacy and world leaders are scrambling for re-alignment, shocked at the loose cannon with the nuclear codes. His erratic rants becoming the subject of media amusement which would have been very laughable if they weren’t so damn terrifying! The world order could so easily be turned on its head at the whims and caprices of the Donald. The new president is firing on all cylinders and his exhaust is spewing hatred, of all things Obama. He has spent his first few days in office dismantling all edifices of the immediate past administration. Obamacare is being undone, pro-choice halted and gay marriage uncoupling.  He has churned unguarded statements of what he would do and undo to allies and foes of America, long standing agreements are being ripped off, a wall is coming between the US and Mexico which the latter will pay for, the president is adamant. Israel has been given the nod to obliterate the Palestinians. The United Nations is in Wonder. Europe is bemused and flabbergasted. Putin rubs his hands together in glee.  Some Christians in Africa are deluded and they hail him as the prophet sent to deliver them, because of his Christian rhetoric, they think they matter in the scheme of Trumps America first policy. Africans as usual are looking all over the place for saviours to save them. Well, Trump is not the saviour, he has said in one of his previous rants that Africans are lazy and their leaders are greedy and corrupt. He has threatened to stop AID to Africa because, ‘it gets stolen by their leaders!’ Ouch! The scramble for Africa may just be on hold for now while the civilized world tries to compose a soothing lullaby for the president. I doubt it will be an easy task. Yet this president is not a fool, think of him as such at your own peril. Look at his many achievements, no mean feat I dare say. While the world laughed at a bumbling presidential candidate, he kept his eye on the ball and never wavered. In victory he stuck his finger up at the world. The next four years will be one hell of a global roller coaster, welcome to the new world order, happy new year!