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Trump’s Hold Unto Power After Defeat, a Case for Nigeria
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By Joel Popoola
Defeated and discredited, humiliated and humbled, Donald Trump continues to deny the clear result of last week’s US presidential election, which he lost by over five million votes, and refuses to concede to his challenger, Joe Biden.
Instead he’s been using the media he controls – his Twitter account – to broadcast allegations of vote-rigging, corruption and ballot stuffing for which he has produced no evidence.
His foreign minister has publicly implied Trump will remain in office regardless of the result.
His defence minister has been fired for apparently refusing to deploy the army on US streets.
If this was happening in Africa, Goodluck Jonathan would already be on a plane on the way to mediate!
But it is happening in America, a nation Nigeria is supposed to look to as a democratic role model.
As Nigerians, we must ask ourselves, could this happen here? Sadly, the answer is yes.
Even by Donald Trump’s standards, the idea that he will be able to remain in power remains far-fetched. He will leave the White House on January 20, 2021. But he will leave a legacy of chaos and mistrust behind.
Donald Trump’s ability to get away with this behaviour stems from an existing lack of public trust in political and public institutions, fuelled by his use of social media.
And historically, these institutions – in America as in Nigeria – have not helped themselves. People are right to be sceptical of their politicians and their government. They have done plenty for people to be sceptical of.
American broadcasters have cut away from President Trump’s baseless claims of electoral corruption. But these allegations continue to be spread far and wide by devout supporters on social media, discrediting the entire democratic process with every share.
It is entirely possible that a Nigerian Donald Trump could lose an election, but remain in office by using social media to exploit longstanding mistrust of our political protests.
Which is why it is critical that we take steps to build trust between electors and elected and in faith in the integrity of our democratic process.
Recent events in Nigeria have once again ignited calls for greater regulation of social media – which I believe are no more feasible than desirable and more likely to end in protests than end protests.
As we have seen in the recent #EndSARS protests, digitally savvy young Nigerians are perfectly adept at using VPN to circumvent internet shutdowns and digital currency to fundraise. They will find a way around any online obstacle you put in their way, at great cost to your credibility.
More important, a social media crackdown will do nothing to stop fake news is being spread by a Head of State themselves. If we cannot trust official channels, who can we trust?
Facebook, Twitter, Whatsapp and YouTube have proved themselves completely inadequate at preventing their platforms being used for the purposes of political propaganda. And with good reason – they were never designed for such purposes. Mark Zuckerberg set up Facebook to rate the appearances of pretty girls he went to university with!
At the digital democracy campaign I lead, we believe the answer is a new more appropriate social media platforms, based on trust and transparency.
A better lesson to learn from the #EndSARS protests is to consider how protesters themselves frequently flagged inaccurate online information, even when it supported their cause. They realised that the most important thing was that information associated with them was credible. Trust matters.
This is one of the reasons we created Rate Your Leader, a free app which puts voters in direct person to person contact with their local leaders and enables them to start the dialogue that leads to trust – as well as allowing them to signal to their own networks that they think the information they have received is honest and truthful. No spin, no distortion, no lies – just one on one dialogue, publically rated for accuracy and credibility.
Rate Your Leader also allows local representatives to get a real-time insight into the things that matter most to the people who elect them – and how to address them.
A social media crackdown will not prevent us from finding our own Donald Trump trespassing in Aso Villa.
The answer instead is taking advantage of social media to communicate and engage better, between different beliefs, different backgrounds and different generations and to build trust between people and politicians.
Joel Popoola is a Nigerian tech entrepreneur, digital democracy campaigner and is creator of the Rate You Leader app. You can reach Joel on Twitter @JOPopoola
Accomplished media entrepreneur and chieftain of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), Chief Dele Momodu, has said that nobody trusts President Bola Tinubu to conduct a free and fair election, including the President’s own supporters.
Momodu also noted that there is a belief that if the President does not win in 2027, he will not want to relinquish power.
He added that if Tinubu refuses to step down, he would be chased out of the Presidential Villa.
Momodu made the revelations while speaking on Arise News Prime Time belt.
“If you ask an average Nigerian today about Tinubu, ‘Do you trust Tinubu to conduct a free and fair election?’ I can tell you, 90 per cent of them will say no.
“Look, nobody trusts Tinubu to run a free and fair election, including his own supporters. They will tell you, ‘Oh, we are going to win. There is no way we won’t win.’ Ask them why, and they will say, ‘Oh, you know our oga now.’
“In fact, some people are even suggesting that if Tinubu loses the election, he will not agree to step down. I say, why won’t he agree? We will chase him away.
“Look, you do not know the determination of Nigerians. And now, I’m not resting my confidence on just my party. I’m talking about the ordinary man on the street who cannot imagine Tinubu coming back again. They just can’t.
“I can’t tell you our strategy in public. What we know is that, once upon a time, Tinubu fought for himself to secure a second term as governor of Lagos State.
“So, others are also working very hard behind the scenes. We are not going to come out in public and say this, but we know what to do to make sure that he does not get that second term. We also know that some of the people pretending to support him today—and I’m not trying to trivialise this thing.
“I know some of them. They are praying fervently that they will not have to go through this situation where governors become like houseboys. Governors are scared. Judges are scared. Legislators are scared.
“So, Tinubu has become a god whom nobody is ready to confront and say, ‘Oga, you’ve done your best. Please, go home.’”
The Social Democratic Party (SDP) presidential candidate, Prince Adewole Adebayo, has urged President Bola Tinubu to go home and let Nigeria breathe.
Adebayo said this in a statement in Abuja on Wednesday.
He was responding to the President’s plan to excuse himself from the rigors of physical campaigns in some states ahead of the presidential polls.
Tinubu spoke at the inauguration of the APC Presidential Campaign Council in Abuja, urging members to take the party’s message to Nigerians across the states and local government areas while he continues to attend to matters of governance.
In response, Adebayo argued that, if Tinubu is too tired to campaign, he is too weak to govern.
In a statement signed by his Presidential Campaign’s Chief Communications Adviser, Comrade Mark Adebayo, the SDP standard bearer described Tinubu as a “president in absentia” at a time Nigeria needs hands-on leadership.
Adebayo said: “Nigeria is too complex, too dynamic, and currently too distressed to be governed by remote control.”
He cited what he called repeated instances of the President governing from a distance, including prolonged medical vacations disguised as working visits, absence during national emergencies and reliance on proxies to announce State policies.
Adebayo further said: “We have seen repeated instances when the President was visibly missing when the country needed reassurance.
“From unannounced foreign trips during critical economic decisions to his complete silence during widespread regional protests, he has consistently acted like a president in absentia. If you are too tired to campaign, you are too weak to govern.”
Adebayo alleged that the decision to stay off the campaign trail was not about strategy but fear.
“The excuse of bowing out of the 2027 campaign is a cowardly smokescreen. The truth is that the President is terrified of the Nigerian people,” he argued.
According to him, the administration’s economic policies – fuel subsidy removal fallout, skyrocketing inflation and currency instability -have made the President unpopular.
“He knows the pain his bad policies have inflicted on families. He is hiding because he cannot face public anger, and he knows any appearance on a campaign trail will be met with collective booing of a betrayed populace.”
Adebayo also said: “It is time to face reality: step aside, go home, and let this country breathe.”
He called on the administration to prioritise national interest over political survival and be transparent about the President’s capacity to lead for the remainder of his term.
Arsenal Fans Club Nigeria is set to be officially unveiled in Abuja this weekend, as the organisation prepares to strengthen the club’s fan base and promote community development through football.
Amongst the high profile personalities lined up for the unveiling ceremony include, business leaders, celebrities and notable Arsenal supporters like former Gunner, Kanu Nwankwo, former Senate President Bukola Saraki, Emir Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, Senator Dino Melaye amongst others.
The unveiling will form part of a two-day programme beginning on Friday, October 16, with delegates from state and city chapters expected to converge on the nation’s capital for the club’s second Annual General Meeting (AGM).
According to a press release issued on Monday by the organisation, the celebrations will feature sporting activities, a community sanitation initiative and a formal launch event attended by prominent personalities and Arsenal supporters.
National President of Arsenal Fans Club Nigeria, Charles Ojugbana, said the organisation draws inspiration from the achievements of Nigerian-descent footballers, including former Super Eagles striker Kanu Nwankwo and current stars Bukayo Saka, Noni Madueke and Eberechi Eze.
The former General Secretary of the Nigeria Football Association (NFA) said the club aims to improve the football fan experience while expanding support for Arsenal across Nigeria.
Activities scheduled for Saturday include aerobic sessions and a novelty football match before members proceed to Wuse Market for a clean-up campaign.
As part of the outreach, the club plans to donate refuse bins and other sanitation materials to the market’s leadership, in line with its commitment to philanthropy and community development.
Arsenal Fans Club Nigeria operates through a governance structure comprising a Board of Trustees, a National Executive Committee and a General Assembly, which serves as the organisation’s highest decision-making body.
The club also disclosed plans to promote awareness of Down syndrome among children in March 2027, as part of activities to commemorate World Down Syndrome Day.
The programme expresses the organisation’s ambition to extend its activities beyond football fandom to charitable causes and support for vulnerable members of the society.
