New Telegraph-Admin 
The United States and Nigeria are supposed to be on the same page through similarities in choice of government. Donald Trump will assume office as America’s 47th president, the second to serve a nonconsecutive two terms. The first was Grover Cleveland who first worked between 1895 and 1899.
He was re-elected and was in office between 1893 and 1897. In Nigeria, this scenario has played out twice. Olusegun Obasanjo was in power from February 13, 1976 to October 1, 1979 and ruled again from 1999 to 2007.
Muhammadu Buhari achieved that much after his presidency from December 31, 1983 to August 27, 1985; he came back in 2015 and continued in office until 2023.
The difference would be that while the American presidents got their first shot through the ballot box, the Nigerian leaders wore khaki uniforms to power.
Nigeria adopted the American Presidential system of government in 1979 after tasting the British Parliamentary system during the First Republic.
It did not quite come as a surprise because the last Governor-General of Nigeria and first President, Nnamdi Azikiwe, was the first African president to obtain degrees from US universities.
It is sad that while the rules of democracy are followed to the letter in Washington DC, Abuja offers something far from the same book. Nigerian legislators earn so much from the commonwealth, with little consideration to the plight of the people. In America, legislation entails allowing the economy a breather.
Government business is serious business, not a oneman show, in the United States. There is clear separation of powers which does not give the President control over the Executive, Legislature and Judiciary. Sadly the same cannot be said of the world’s most populous black nation.
Trump will assume office in January 2025. Two months to his second inauguration, he has started picking his team. Susie Wills is White House Chief of Staff. Elise Stefanrik will serve as US Ambassador to the United Nations. Marco Rubio’s place is Secretary of State.
When Buhari wore agbada over his khaki in 2015, it took him months to make vital appointments. President Bola Tinubu did not do any better. More than one year after assumption of office, the country is left with no ambassadors to foreign nations. Trump’s second coming is the major item on programmes the world over.
Unfortunately, in Nigeria, we have had a president who looked towards Niger Republic – the people are still waiting for a true leader that will unite and reset the nation
When America sneezes, the globe quakes. Giants lead by example. The Middle East, Russia and China, these are areas that must read the handwriting on the wall. Buhari came, Africa did not quake. His administration diminished Nigeria before world powers. Tinubu has so far not fared any better.
Under his watch, the West African sub-region (ECOWAS) is divided leading to Mali, Burkina Faso and Niger Republic, exiting the bloc. Nigeria must stop pretending to copy the United States. America, like Nigeria, is not a homogeneous ethnic nation.
Quality leadership means that as The Great Seal shows, the country is One out of Many (‘e pluribus unum’). In Nigeria, tribe and tongue differ, unity suffers. The nation is only one in name. Buhari favoured the NorthWest and Niger Republic more than any other part of the country.
Tinubu has so far shown that the SouthWest is the centre piece of his administration. Americans fought a Civil War between 1861 and 1865. President Abraham Lincoln preached malice towards none. Nigeria saw war, from 1967 to 1970. Gen. Yakubu Gowon wanted Reconciliation, Reconstruction and Rehabilitation.
While America was healed, Nigeria is still bleeding. The present Nigerian constitution was not drafted by the people. It was imposed by Gen. Abdusalami Abubakar and is full of contentious issues. The United States constitution continues to accommodate the original Seven Articles.
When there was need for review, Ten Amendments were made as The Bill of Rights. Some amendments have also followed. Nigeria should go back to the First Republic Constitution; it is one sure way to peace. Americans have been able to accommodate their various backgrounds.
The indigenous settlers, Red Indians, the Pilgrims who left England for Holland, the Quakers who founded Pennsylvania, English Catholics who established Maryland, settlers from Ireland and Germany and even convicts, believe in their country.
When The Star Spangled Banner is rendered, it permeates the soul of an American. The Stars and Stripes, accommodates all 50 states of the Union.
Nigeria is not a country where the states are united. Tribalism, nepotism and maladministration are still very much rife. Trump knows so much about Nigeria.
He is a president, love him or hate him, who thinks America. Unfortunately, in Nigeria, we have had a president who looked towards Niger Republic – the people are still waiting for a true leader that will unite and reset the nation.
