A former Director General of the Nigerian Institute of International Affairs (NIIA), Prof Bola Akinterinwa, says the decision of the Nobel Laureate, Prof. Wole Soyinka, to throw away his green card on January 20, 2017, when Donald Trump will be inaugurated the next US President, implies his (Soyinka) disavowal of racism, disorderliness, non-civilisation and the people who voted for Trump in the November 8 election. Excerpts of interview: Like the rest of the world, you were optimistic that Democrat Party candidate Hillary Clinton would emerge the next and first woman President of the U.S. What happened? Yes. Just like the rest of the world and even most metropolitan Americans, everyone was as optimist that Hillary Clinton would emerge the President of the United States.
But you will observe that after Trump was declared winner, popular vote was still counting in favour of Hilary Clinton and there were protests in many American states and internationally. However, as the President-elect of the United States, Donald Trump is not in a position to carry out those threats he made during the campaign.
Trump as President would actually be different from Donald Trump the Republican candidate. What do you think actually transpired at the polls? Professor Ralph Akinterinwa There are many factors that led to Mr. Trump’s emergence.
First of all, the election itself is not a vote for Donald Trump but against anything not American. You and I know that Trump is in support of Brexit that is craving for a new leadership order. And many core Americans are against anything not American.
In this regard, we are talking about American peculiarities, culture and lifestyle. So when he said he would make America great again, how does he explain the greatness of America before? Americans should know that they are what they are because of what the world currently is.
They are leaders because the rest of the world are followers. The moment the world that is following changes direction, especially in the light of the new Cold War, then America would realize that it is because some countries are supportive that they can lay any claim to security or whatever.
Terrorists have vowed to give Trump a tough time in office. Presently, America needs the support of countries like Nigeria to be on their side to face terrorism. Because if other countries decide to aid and abet terrorism, all of the whole businesses of Trump will collapse in macro seconds, that he would begin to see more clearly. Soyinka What is the implication of the Trump presidency for Africa, the Middle East and, indeed, the rest of the world? The implication is that Trump is indirectly preaching isolationism, which rural Americans are actually clamoring for.
Brexit simply means Britain opting out of international integration, while Nigeria is strongly in support of regional integration across West Africa in term of ECOWAS. If Donald Trump is in support of disintegration, sooner he would be encouraging disintegration in West Africa states. Americans think that allowing people to come together is a threat against the American power and they don’t want that.
Could that pose a threat to one Nigeria as some people are already clamoring for a Republic of Biafra? It could pose a threat as members of the IPOB intend to meet with Donald Trump because he is in support of disintegration.
If it is in the interest of Donald Trump not to have a strong Nigeria, why would Trump not want to support IPOB, MASSOB or even Niger-Delta militants? Like other supporters of Hillary Clinton, were you dumbfounded at Trump’s victory? I am not shocked at Donald Trump emerging as next American President.
Right from the election of Barac Obama, core Americans like Trump had been against black people ruling America and they foresee Hillary Clinton continuing the anti-American policies of Obama.
The metropolitan Americans are more exposed to the world, and they don’t have problem electing anyone because they believe America’s survival is based on diversity; under normal circumstance, metropolitan Americans expected Hillary to win.
But core Americans are saying they no longer want to be with the world. So, in this case, the interpretation of the election of Donald John Trump as America’s next President is that, Americans are calling the bluff of the whole world and that is unfortunate because America cannot live in isolation.
How would you describe Trump’s visit to the states he won? It is referred to as thank you visit. It also implies that he went to reassure them on the basis of his electoral manifesto; it could also be to clarify reasons he cannot implement some of the things he promised during his campaigns because of the world situation presently. For instance, his promise to build a wall against Mexico, and Mexicans funding it may not be realistic. The totality of his campaign can be summed up into what he tagged as ‘make America great again’.
He is indirectly saying he wants to make America great for American people, as if America can be an island and be self-reliant without relating with other countries.
The last time America attempted such selfish move was in 1823. With Prof. Wole Soyinka’s vow to discard his green card, does it really reflect Trump’s determined isolationalism? What he is saying is that if Donald Trump, after emerging President-elect, goes ahead to implement his pledges at the campaign by exhibiting his racist and discriminatory tendencies, he can then discard his green card. which simply implies that he does not belong to the class of racists and does not want to associate with people that hate humanity.
His green card means he is a visiting professor, lecturing in institutions in the United States. So, it implies that his status cannot be lowered to the level of a racist who does not appreciate human dignity.
Wole Soyinka’s vow to discard his green card implies that he is a black-man and he is proud to be one. He is created the way any other person was created, and cannot associate with people who do not understand interdependence and people who think they are superior to other people across the world.
Prof. Wole Soyinka and US President Elect Donald Trump So, Soyinka’s vow to discard his green card as a Nobel Laureate in global politics is a protest against racism, disorderliness, non-civilization and people who voted for Donald Trump.
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