Category: Dayo Sobowale

I once on this page hailed German Chancellor Angela Merkel for being a true Christian and democrat in prodding the nations of the EU to accept quotas of migrants fleeing wars in the Middle East and Afghanistan mainly as an act of mercy reflecting European Christian values.

This is because as a former Pope Benedict XVI once said on the admission of Turkey into the EU – Europe is Christian and it is difficult to make Turkey a Muslim nation at the heart of Europe, a member of the EU. Both my opinion and the admission of Turkey have since taken a turn for the worst, over time and it is in that context that I look at the concept and reality of global power today and the impact of migration on it.

A quick survey of contemporary and recent migration history will show clearly that Europe and Europeans generally do not share the accolades I showered on the German Chancellor as an Angel of Mercy on migration. In Germany Angela Merkel and her party, the Christian Democrats, have suffered electoral losses on account of this and her declared intention to run for office for a fourth term as German Chancellor is fraught with the danger of failure on account of her well known posture on migration.

Even though she has not recanted or changed her posture on migration she has since soft pedaled on the issue and pleaded for some more understanding and tolerance on the matter. The real truth however is that resentment of the German Chancellor’s kindness is just a tip of the ice bag of European and now American resentment of migration given the triumph of Donald Trump at the last US presidential elections.

Before that the success of the Brexit Campaign in the referendum on Britain’s membership of the EU, was essentially an anti immigration stand point, no matter the polemics on the free market and freedom of movement. The British people just told their government and the establishment that they have had enough of strangers in their midst. What happened in the US and Turkey subsequently showed that the politics of migration is going to influence or redistribute the constitution and composition of world power for sometime and in the immediate future.

In the US presidential elections Democratic Party candidate Hillary Clinton famously said that the supporters of her opponent Donald Trump were made up of a basket of deplorables namely racists, xenophobes, Islamophobics, and anti gays. In spite of that Donald Trump went on to win the election. This was an election in which Trump has vowed to deport Muslims and Mexican s and stop illegal immigration in a US that flourished and prided its huge wealth and prosperity on the sweat of immigrants since it fought for independence from British Colonialism in 1776.

Yet Donald Trump won the election and is now the President elect in the US awaiting his swearing in in January 2017. In Turkey a coup against the Erdogan government on July 15 allegedly planned and executed by supporters of a US based Islamic cleric led to the arrests of thousands of soldiers and military officers including police and security officers and a massive clamp down on press freedom. In addition President Erdogan is trying to ram through legislation for the return of the death penalty to deal with the failed coup plotters.

This is anathema to EU rules and values and the EU has told the Turkish president that Turkey’s almost 60 years application for EU membership will be affected if it adopts the law on the death penalty in any way or manner. Turkey has remained adamant and has threatened to open its borders with Syria to migrants fleeing war and running to Europe which is threat that the EU can ill afford to ignore.

The fact is that the Turkish president knows that he has the EU by the balls in getting some funds from the Union to stop and take care of refugees passing through Turkey in a torrent of migration heading to Europe with their families. Turkey is simply telling the Europeans that it has played the role of a geopolitical dam long enough and it is ready pull the dam down and unleash a new terror of migration on Europe from its porous borders with the war fronts of the middle East. That certainly gives Turkey a new power lever to cower the EU into speeding up its membership or turning a blind eye to its planned execution of the coup plotters of July 15.

It remains to be seen who will blink between the EU and the Turkish strongman on the matter which for now has a ring of history as it reminds one of the Cuban missile crisis in which President John F Kennedy had to stare down Soviet leader Nikolai Khruschev before the latter removed the missiles from Cuba. At present it is Europe and the EU that is starring at the barrel of Turkey’s new gun of terror on migration. This danger has been consolidated against Europe by two events involving Turkey, US and Russia.

President Erdogan has patched up relations with Russia after it apologized as demanded by Russia’s President Vladmir Putin over the shooting of a Russian jet over Turkey’s airspace sometime ago. This has helped to revive Turkey’s tourism industry which is a major contributor to it GDP. Erdogan’s party success in winning three back to back elections has been due to the way the ruling party has managed the economy and has maintained a huge middle class driving its prosperity in a geopolitical area wallowing in poverty, war and disruptive migration.

In addition Turkey holds an unexpected ace in this show down with the EU on the potential to unleash the terror of migration on Europe. The US presidential elections results which made Donald Trump the new president elect has created strange bedfellows at the highest level of global politics and diplomacy. This is because it is no secret that Russia and its President wanted Donald Trump to win and he did.

This was obviously because of the role that Hillary Clinton played in condemning past Russian elections that saw Vladmir Putin translate himself from PM to president after two terms which was the limit in the Russian constitution then. In addition there was no love lost between the Russian president on gay rights and human rights and there was a visible personality clash between the two throughout the Obama tenure of office.

That has now changed with the election of Donald Trump as America’s next president. It is apparent that the Russian president cannot wait enough to practice global democracy and power with America’s most colorful billionaire when Trump is sworn in in January 2017. Again, Europe must quaver at Turkey’s threat on migration in relation to its goal of bringing the death penalty on board to deal with coup plotters.

This is because a Russia that is cosy with the US is good for Turkey and bad for the EU. Anyway the EU nations are not in the good book of the next US president who condemned them for not fulfilling their financial obligations to NATO the military alliance with which with the US and the EU maintain the global military clout of Western civilization.

That however is now threatened by Turkey’s new brash threat to unleash an armada of migrants on Europe over both its membership application and the adoption of the death penalty in violation of the EU charter; a membership Turkey has been after in futility in the last five decades. It is indeed a great day for Turkey to flex muscle on the global diplomatic scene as Europe looks like a dog with its tail between its hind leg in the face of both Turkey’s new terror threat and the emergence of America’s new president elect.

In  a few  days  time Americans will go to the polls  to  elect  their  president in  an  election   from  which a clear  winner,  untainted by scandal is impossible to emerge, thus tainting the legitimacy  of  whoever  the winner is. In  a last  ditch  effort to  ensure  that  Hillary  Clinton  succeeds him,  lame duck  US President  Barak  Obama  told US black  leaders that if Donald  Trump  wins the US presidency  on  November 8, Trump  will  destroy  his legacy as US president  for 8 years.

In Nigeria  a speech  said  to have  been  delivered  at  Harvard  University by  our Vice President, Professor Yemi  Osinbajo  was in the media   this  week. The speech  was obviously  a rejoinder  to  the one delivered  by  former President  Goodluck  Jonathan  in   Oxford  University, UK last  week  in which  he defended the legacy  of  his  Administration especially  against  the current  war on corruption  and  the trial  of his Director of  State Security –DSA-  for the diversion of  2.1bn  dollars meant  for the prosecution  of  the   war   against   the  murderous  terror  group,  Boko  Haram  in  the North  East  of  the nation. And  in  Lagos   State,  the impossible  happened  when   the spokesman  of  the opposition  PDP in  the  state  gave kudos to the Governor  of the State, Mr Akinwunmi  Ambode for  performing  competently  and far  better  than his predecessor in  office  also  from the APC ,the  ruling  party in the state.

All  the  issues  I  have  brought  to the table  for analysis  today  are  controversial and highly  debatable but  interestingly and excitingly  so, and I can   not   wait  to proceed. First,  the US presidential  elections took  a different  and wild twist  when  the FBI reopened its  investigations on the issue of  Hillary  Clinton using her private server for state  matters thereby  compromising state security as  far  as classified documents were  concerned. The  reopening  of the investigation on whatever  excuse,  assails  the integrity of Hillary  Clinton’s  quest   for  the  presidency  of  the US. It  does not  matter that the Justice  Department later leaked information  that the FBI  boss ignored its  advice that the timing will influence  the elections.  That  definitely    would amount  to a cover up if the FBI  boss  had acquiesced  and  even  that  have  been suspect legally, roundly  political, and  equally debatable as in the public interest. Anyway what  was on the Justice Department’s mind  when it went  along with the earlier  decision of the same  FBI  not   to  proceed  on criminal prosecution of the former Secretary of  State after describing her use of her private  server  for official  mails as  ‘extremely   careless.‘? Really,  the  American  Justice Department  has exposed itself  to a charge of  inconsistency  in  accusing the FBI  boss of  being political  by reopening  the  case.  Anyway  the US president,  a  lawyer  too  has affirmed  that the FBI boss  is a man of  integrity  and  that  means his decision  to  reopen  the  investigation of  Hillary  on the e mails must  be respected. That  so  far  has been  the saving grace of  US democracy  in the build up to the November  8 presidential  elections.

Two  issues  become obvious  from  the FBI  u turn  and Donald  Trump’s  earlier  utterances  on the integrity  of the elections. Trump    has said  he  would  not accept the   results  of  the elections unless  he wins. Which  is ridiculous  and self  defeating  and  would   really  make  him  a laughing stock of a president if  he goes  on to win. As  for Hillary, a victory in spite of the reopening of her e mail case becomes a huge  pyrrhic  victory with  a question  mark  on    integrity  and sense  of  judgement  hanging  around her neck  like  the famed and legendary  Sword  of  Damocle.

In  addition  the American Justice  Department  can  learn a thing or two  from the ruling of the court in the UK on Brexit which  was won by  referendum and which  mandate the  British PM wanted  to implement  by  all  means as the expressed  will  of  the British people outside  the purview of  Parliament.  The  case went to court and the UK court of three  judges has ruled that Parliament must  have a say in the implementation of the Brexit verdict in the last EU referendum .Interestingly the  judges ruled  that what the British people  voted for did not interest it as that is political. It  held  however that it was a matter of law on its implementation and   Parliament is to make laws  and  the Brexit  verdict   cannot  be  an exception.

However  the  British judicial    system  has   always  remained  consistent on the role of  Parliament in making laws. It  ruled  similarly in an earlier case  when a terrorist  successfully  challenged,  on British  soil,  that he was being tried under the UN Charter  on  terrorism and not a law  made by the British  Parliament. The Gordon Brown  government then  had to convene Parliament  urgently  to make  the law as required by the British  constitution to  prevent a terrorist from walking away   as   a free  man  by making an ass  of the law on a   charge  of  terrorism.

On  the issue  of the defence of  legacies involving the US President, our  former President and present  Vice President, one  can  say that all  the three are really  involved in defending  their  legacies  for  various  reasons and their locations  for  doing so as well as the audience  are deliberate. Obama spoke  to  his primary political and racial  caucus and warned that Trump  would  destroy his legacy as the first  black  president. He  has assumed that his audience is  proud of his legacy.  Which  could be a great  mistake as  I  have  seen  blacks being interviewed  who said  they  have not  gained anything from his tenure and would like to  give a stranger   a chance,  for at  least one term,  to  see if their  lot  will improve.  Just  in tandem  with Donald Trump’s wicked mockery  that it  cannot  be worse  for them with him as  blacks have never had it so bad as in the  Obama era.

 With  regard  to the  defence of the  legacy   of  the  Jonathan  regime,  it  would  seem  the former president  took  his legacy  salesmanship  to  the ivory  tower so  that posterity  and the global  intelligentsia would   be less harsh with him than his  fellow Nigerians  especially   under his successor’s regime.  He  sounded professorial in Oxford in the  way  he intellectually tried, in vain  of course, to side step  the culpable negligence of his government in promoting and conniving  at corruption and in the manner he portrayed the Buhari regime  as repressive  and  dictatorial. The  former  president  indeed   flew a kite  of achievement  and competence  in   Oxford, which  the Vice President and the government in power  felt  obligated to shoot down at an equally intimidating  ivory tower in  Havard  in the US. The  thrust of the shoot  down was that the Jonathan Administration  was never committed to putting down the Boko  Haram  insurgency  and that was enough to bring down any lofty legacy or false   claims  of  performance  by a government that  Nigerians massively  threw out  of office    with their  votes in the 2015   presidential  elections.

Let  me round  up  today with   a situation  which  should  be a source of pride  to  the APC government of  Governor Akinwunmi  Ambode,  but which some overzealous  local  government  officials at the Odi Olowo/Ojuwoye Local Council  Development  Area in Ilupeju, are about to  sabotage. These  local   government    officials in mufti,   around     the LSDPC   office  in  Ilupeju,   stop motorists for  violating a u turn after  the   motorists    have indeed observed it,   and   had      gone   down  the road  to  make the u turn. These unruly  officials stop  motorists,  cajole the motorists  into  taking  them  to the local  government  office in Ilupeju  and fine them either 15000 or 30000 naira on  the spot while threatening  to deflate  their tyres if they  don’t  pay  up. This  embarrassing  and  humiliating mock  trial   and  traffic  jungle  justice  is supervised by  one Kunle  Agoro  in the open  car  park  of the local government  office. It   was as if the local  government  officials  have become  military men in  mufti dealing  summarily  with motorists  in  the  Ilupeju    area.  Very    much  like an army of  occupation under  an elected government   which  is quite undemocratic and   certainly  unacceptable  in any  civilized  society  especially  in    a cosmopolitan  state  like  Lagos  state. This  is  a  hostile,  anti – social    and   anti – people      strategy   of   raising    local   government  revenue   that    the  Governor  must  try  to stop  to  maintain his  legacy  of  responsiveness  and performance.  This  is a legacy that  even  his astute  opponents in the fiercely critical  opposition  party,   the PDP,  have  so  recently   admitted openly,   and  without  mincing   words. Once  again  long  live  the Federal  Republic  of  Nigeria.

There  is no  doubt  that the DSS raid  of  judges  residences  and the reaction of the National Judicial Commission  that the buck stops on its table in terms of  the disciplining  of  judges have  thrown  some  spanners  in the works of the war on corruption by the Buhari  Administration. It  is my  considered  view  that both  the government  and  the NJC have the  best  interest  of  Nigerians  at  heart  on   this   matter. Except  that  in  this case Nigerians  think that the  government is moving in the right direction  in  fighting corruption  tooth  and nail  while the NJC  paints the sorry  picture of an  institution closing  the stable  doors after  the horses  have bolted.

Let  me  state clearly  that  I think  that Nigeria’s  war  on corruption  and terrorism  will  not end  very  soon  and indeed  may  be expensive  and almost  unbearable in terms of  distractions  and the resistance  of  the corrupt brigade which is rich  and mighty, but  both  wars  have reached  a point  of  no return and  can  not  now,  or   ever   be  abandoned. I say  this in spite  of  the rebuttal of the former President  Goodluck Jonathan in  far away Oxford  that  it  is unreasonable  to say  and probe his  former DSA for stealing 2.1bn  dollars  when  they  purchased military hardware  during  his tenure and  he asked  for  all  Nigerians to  wait  for the court  cases of  those  who took the arms  money  to  know the truth  of  the  matter. In this  instance  however,  and although  on  a different matter,   the views of  the ex President  seem  to  tally with the  logic  and rationale of  the NJC  with  regard  to the  raid  and  arrest  of  judges  and the tackling of  corruption  amongst  members  of the Nigerian  judiciary.

All the same  on  the global  scene there are wars on  terrorism  and  corruption    and   reactions   going on  with  such  fury  and  passion that make them  a threat to  global  peace  and  stability.  Definitely  I see the withdrawal of S. Africa  and Gambia   from  the  International  Criminal  Court  – _ ICC  –  as  part  of the  challenges  facing the war  on  corruption. The excuse  of  both  nations was  that  the ICC  has  focused on  African  nations but  that  is a lie as Serb  leaders  who  killed Bosnia Hercegovina  Muslims during  the war  that   followed  the break up of  Yugoslavia  were tried  successfully  for  their  crimes  and jailed as a  deterrence  to  world  leaders  who  use their power illegally  and with  impunity  while in  office.  For  now  President  Jacob  Zuma  is facing corruption  charges over the use of  public  funds to renovate  his country  house  and he may  have railroaded  S Africa’s withdrawal  to  save his neck  from prosecution by  the court when  he leaves office  eventually. The  President of Gambia  has ruled his nation with an iron hand  for  decades and is a well  known dictator  who has  used the withdrawal  to  preempt  his  bei ng brought  to  book  for  his well  known  illicit  methods of silencing  the opposition  while in  office. To  me  the issue of   withdrawal of S Africa  and Gambia  stemmed  from  the guilty conscience  of  nation’s  leaders and  the   de facto power they  wield  as  the  government  of  the day.

It  is in that  light  again  that  I look  at  the US  Presidetial  elections and  the tag  of ‘Crooked Hillary’ and ‘nasty woman’ that  Donald  Trump  the Republican  Presidential  candidate has inflicted on Hillary  Clinton, the Democratic  Party’s  candidate. To  Trump’s  supporters Trump is running  against  a very  corrupt Washington establishment that panders  to  Wall  Street  and dances  to the whims and caprices of bankers and  hedge  funds  managers  and does not  have the interest  of the  common  people at heart. Even  though  the polls  in  the main  media show Hillary  in the lead even  such  media agree that large crowds  have  been  turning  out at  Trump’s  rallies  in  spite of his sexual  harassment  charges and  rough  utterances  in the past  on  women.

Aside  from  this   large  turnout  which  has prompted  even  Hillary  to call on her   supporters  to  come out  and vote on  November 8, the  issue  of Hillary’s use  of  her phone for  both  official  and private duties when  she was Secretary  of  State  has  generated serious  concern  and has become a major  campaign outcry against  her  by  Donald  Trump. The  fact  that the FBI  which  investigated  her on  the matter described  her  action  ‘as extremely  careless  ‘while  not  asking that she be prosecuted  has  also made the situation  a major  selling point of the Trump campaign  that she has a flawed  sense  of  judgement. As   well   as a signal  that   she is a liar as  she  denied  not knowing the mark for classified  documents  but  still  went on to delete  30000  of  the e-mails. My  contention here  is that if  Hillary  had  not  been  the candidate of the ruling party in the US backed by  the incumbent  president  who  has boasted that  Trump is unfit and will  not  be president, Hillary  will  be facing prosecution for deep  security  breaches over her e -mails instead  of  campaigning  as she is doing now to  be the next  US  president.  That  however has  simply  showed  the power of  incumbency  as the Democratic  Party  is the de facto party in  government. Whether  it is using that authority correctly or  lawfully  is a matter  of debate  to  be settled in a  court of law on  another  day. For  now,  both the Democratic  Party and the lame duck president of  the US have  had  their way  and  Hillary  is contesting  to be the next President of  the US.

Similarly,  as  a  Russian armada rustles  through  EU  waters  headed  for  the Mediterranean  purportedly to  give naval  support  to  Russian  forces  propping  up  the  Assad  regime in  Syria,  one  can    easily  see  the bloody  emblem of  terrorism   and the guile  and  deceit  of  corruption  on  display.  The  Russian  fleet  going to  Syria gives  a potent  sign of  the failure  of  diplomacy as well  as the collapse  of  the Obama foreign  policy  on which  Hillary  Clinton is campaigning.  Quite  defiantly  the  Russians have said Assad  who the US  wanted out  of the  way  before  any  peace  talks  will only  go  over their  dead bodies and this fleet  has given   military  muscle to  that. The timing is crucial  especially  as the US  is  holding  its presidential elections  in which  the Obama Administration literally wants  to succeed itself through Hillary on November 8 . Surely  if the Russians precipitate  a foreign  crisis or war in the  Middle  East then  the third  world  war  may come before Hillary  takes  office  and not  after,  like Donald  Trump  had  alarmingly said this  week. Anyway  the timing of the war against  ISIS by  the Russians and the movement  of  ships to the Mediterranea_n  should  not be viewed  like an  isolated event  by  the US  government  and people if they  love their democracy  as I think  they  do.

On  the Nigerian  home front   the lesson to  learn   from  all  these  is simple. Government  matters  in  dealing with  corruption  and terrorism. It  is the government  of  the  day  that  deals decisively  with  the issues at stake and the rule  of law  flows  from  that direction.  After  all,  as the basic definition of politics says – Politics is   who  gets what, when  and how. That  should  be the answer of  this Administration  to both the NJC  and the former  President. Just  like  Hillary  is  contesting and S Africa is telling the  ICC to  go to  hell, the  Nigerian  government  holds  the  ace  and    should  call    the shots, in the way  the rule of law  can proceed from  the prosecution of  judges  as well as the trial  of anybody in any arms of  government. That  really  is  the  essence of the oversight function  of  the  government  of  the day, de  facto  and of course  de jure. Once  again  long live the Federal  Republic  of Nigeria.

It  is appropriate to say happy  birthday to Nigeria, my  beloved   country,  especially, as this  column coincidentally  comes up on this 56th anniversary of  Nigeria’s  Independence from  Great  Britain on  October 1 1960. Let  me boldly  and  proudly    say  that  I am  proud to  be  a  Nigerian  and no  matter  what  I write in  criticism of my  country’s  leadership, its  state  of affairs or  what  it  has made of its Independence in  terms  of  leadership, as  I intend to do  presently,  I   remain  a proud,  hopeful   and  dutiful   Nigerian. I  mean   a Nigerian   unshaken  in my  staunch  belief  that in spite  of its  vicissitudes and  ups  and downs, God is  not  finished   with  Nigeria  yet.  Just    like  Jesse  Jackson    once  said  on  losing the   presidential  nomination  of  the Democratic Party in  the  US  that  God  was  not  finished  with him yet,  I say boldly  that  God will not  finish with Nigeria or  abandon  Nigeria. And  I ask you to join  me in  saying a loud Amen  to that as I thank you as you do.

Surely,   at  56,  it  is not  too  late  or too short to  laugh  or  cry  at  Nigeria’s  woes  and achievements  or  its status  in  the comity  of  nations. The  reality  of  our situation  is that we are trying even now  to battle corruption  which  has been the scourge  of  our  democracy  for  56 years   of  our existence. Corruption  has  become  our  way  of life and   political  culture. It  is  our  monster  and cancer and  it is  the Achilles  heel  of all  the  efforts  of  our successive  governments at  real  economic  development and progress. Corruption  in our context  of  democracy and  development seem  to  have assumed the shape  of Attila  the Hun on  his approach  to   Rome  in ancient  times to conquer  the Ancient  Roman  Empire. Attila historically roared his scourged  earth  policy in the words – Where  I have passed, the grass will  not grow  again. That  really   is what the scourge  of  corruption has wreaked  on the Nigerian  polity  from  1960   till  first  in 1985,  and  then in 2015, a  Nigerian  leader  took  the  corruption bull  by the horn and  decided like a chosen  and  anointed matador to slay  the destructive  bull once  and  for  all.  The  matador was eliminated  by the corruption bull  in  1985  even  though the  matador  was in military garb  of  boots  and braided  hat. But the matador came back in a flowing  agbada gown on a democratic crest  and electoral  victory that  promised  change with  the  war  against  corruption as his war cry. That matador is our President Muhammadu  Buhari who is unrelenting in the war  against  corruption  and  has  given  Nigerians  hope  that God  is not finished with  Nigeria yet. Indeed  to  me, the most pleasant 56th  anniversary present  for  all  Nigerians was  the list  published by  the Code  of  Conduct  Bureau of  members  of  the Buhari Cabinet to  be asked  to explain  their  declared  assets   for verification or to face prosecution in case of failure to  do  so.  It showed  the even handedness  of  the  Buhari  administration  in the prosecution of  the war against  corruption. It  also  showed that there is no sacred cow   and  that   the  Buhari administration  unlike  any  previous  Nigerian  governments  in 56 years of  existence respects  the dictum  of  the law  that  says –  he  who  comes  to equity must  come  with  clean  hands  – and  that has  given  great impetus  that  the war  against the bull  of  corruption is still on and  that  too, has  given  Nigerians great  hope  for a better  Nigeria.

On the international  scene  however, there  was  an  encounter between another matador and a bull, this time in  the USA Presidential election  debate  between the two  contestants- Donald  Trump  of  the Republican  Party and  Hillary  Clinton  of  the Democratic Party. Clearly  Hillary  Clinton was the   matador  who  caged the roaring Donald  Trump  bull which  gasped  for breath severally  and  needed  to drink  a lot of water to stay  afloat  on  the debate. Trump  came  out on  the day frowning unusually  at  the start and losing steam faster than expected because he came  to   the debate  confident   but  lacking innovation in facing an  opponent well – schooled in the art of diplomacy and governance that Trump holds  unashamedly  and unrepentantly  in immense and  outspoken  contempt.

This  debate  was very  much  like the 2012  US Presidential  debate in which  Mitt  Romney trashed an overconfident  and  unprepared President Barak  Obama in the first debate. Obama  went  back  to the drawing board and  took good advice to come back  to defeat Romney in the next  two  debates and go on  to  be re elected. It is difficult  to  see Trump  replicating  that as  he is reputed   not  to be taking the opinions  of  his handlers but  that  is left  to  him as  Hillary  seem  well placed and prepared in terms of raw  facts and debating skills  and  legal  acumen. Enough  to reduce him to a  court room  mess in subsequent debates  if he does not change his present posture of bluff and  fury  at the American  political  establishment and the  Obama legacy  in particular.

On   fighting   that  legacy  however, Trump  may  have an unexpected aid  and  booster and  that was reflected in this week’s  overturn  of Obama’s  presidential  veto of a bill that  enabled    families  of   victims of the   2001,  9/11  terror  carnage  in  the  US,  to be  able  to  sue  Saudi  Arabia  as a sovereign  nation  for   damages  on behalf  of  their dead  relatives. The  presidential veto was overturned  by   the required two  thirds  majority in both  houses and it was a bipartisan  achievement that cut  across  party  lines. To  me the timing was  crucial  in inflicting this first veto overturn on the Obama presidency and  one  cannot  rule out the anti establishment  fury  and  tempo  that Donlad  Trump  had so  far marketed and sold with impunity and flourish to the US electorate. Until  it met  its  Waterloo in the Hillary  Clinton’s  vintage  matador  performance  at  this first  debate which  was a classic boxing match  between a political artist  and a pugilistic opponent punching  at  shadows  and  missing  all  the way. Which  really  was  Donald  Trump’s  lot  at  this  first  debate. Yet  his  followers  are quick  to point out that his poor  performance at this or  more  debates will  not   affect  his prospect at the polls  on November 16  in  being elected the successor  to President  Obama instead  of  Hillary  Clinton. To  such  people, the 9/11  veto  overturn is part of the   general  hatred  or resentment  of  the Obama  legacy  especially on  migration and  terrorism and this is the legacy  the Hillary Clinton Campaign  is  leaning on to  get her elected as  Obama’s  successor.  To  such  people therefore, Obama’s  foreign  policy,  terrorism  and  internal  security in  the US,  are   an albatross for Hillary Clinton, which  victories  at  Presidential debates  will  not  wash away  from   the  minds  of American  voters when they enter the polling  booths to vote in November.

However, Hillary’s  electoral  prospects  as the next US president  are  similar  to that of Germany’s  Chancellor Angela  Merkel who   faces reelection  in  a year’s  time in  Germany.  Her  party  the CDU   has  lost seats in bye elections in recent times  due to her encouragement  of migration of people mostly  Muslims  from  the Middle  East. As  a German observer  noted rather  wryly –  Germans  used  to  be concerned with money,  health  and the  environment but  nowadays they are  concerned  with migration, their  safety and extremism. Such  sentiments are  rampant in the US too  nowadays.  That  may  explain why  the  irrepressible  Donald  Trump, the man  I have  christened the Nemesis  of   US  politics  may  not  lose  much sleep  over  the  debate  he has lost  or the ones  he is about to  lose in this US  presidential  election. Once  again Happy  birthday  Nigeria, and  long live the Federal  Republic of  Nigeria.