By Bola Olajuwon, Assistant Editor
CHANCES of nine Nigerian-Americans, who are on the ballot in today’s United States (U.S.) general elections, are as good as the popularity of their parties and strength of their presidential candidates, experts told The Nation yesterday.
An analyst, Prudence Arobani, who is also a journalist based in New York, asserted that in predominantly Democratic areas like California, New York, Maryland and New Jersey, those contesting on the platform of the party are most likely to win.
Another expert, who craved anonymity, said election analytics website Five ThirtyEight in 2020 identified Arizona, Georgia, Florida, Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota, Nevada, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, and Wisconsin as “perennial” swing states that have regularly seen close contests over the last few presidential campaigns. Therefore, any candidate can win depending on voters’ final disposition.
“Any of Nigerian contesting in those states can win depending also on the strength of the presidential candidates, which also have a rob-off effect on other offices in the state or federal bicameral legislature – Senate or House of Representatives,” Arobani concurred.
The positions of the Republican Party have evolved over time. Contemporarily, the party’s economic conservatism involves support for lower taxes, free market capitalism, deregulation of corporations and restrictions on labour unions.
According to reports, the platform of the Democratic Party is generally based on American liberalism, contrasting with the conservatism of the Republican Party. The party has large centrist and progressive wings, as well as smaller conservative and socialist elements.
Past Democratic platforms have sought to promote social programmes, labour unions, consumer protection, workplace safety regulation, equal opportunity, disability rights, racial equality, regulations against environmental pollution, and criminal justice reform. Democrats tend to support abortion rights and the LGBT community, as well as a pathway to citizenship for undocumented immigrants. Democrats typically agree with the scientific consensus on climate change and favour a multilateral approach in foreign policy. Most of these issues also appeal to Black and Latino communities and it is believe that Nigerian candidates flying their parties’ tickets will perform in accordance with the strength of the population of the races and colours.
“Yes, race, population, stopping black brutality, welfarism, uplifting black communities, dealing with joblessness and the poor are issues on Democratic Party’s agenda. These issues also appeal to Blacks and Latinos. Therefore, the Nigerian candidates are likely to win depending on other factors,” Arobani said.
Running mostly on the platform of the Democratic Party, the Nigerian candidates are bidding for different offices at the federal, state and local levels.
Besides the presidential election, governorship polls are holding in 11 states and two territories, in addition to other state and local elections.
Congressional elections are also holding today with all the 435 seats in the U.S. House of Representatives, and 35 of the 100 seats in the Senate up for grabs, according to reports.
At the federal level, Mr. Oye Owolewa, whose father is from Kwara and mother from Oyo, is aiming for a ‘shadow’ (non-voting) seat in the House of Representatives.
Owolewa, a Ph.D. holder in Pharmacy from the Northeastern University, Boston, is seeking to represent the District of Columbia (DC) under the Democratic Party.
If elected, the 30-year-old, whose agenda include fighting income inequality in the U.S., would be the first Nigerian congressman in the country’s history.
Also at the federal level, Mr. Yomi Faparusi, an Ibadan-born native of Ode-Ekiti in Ekiti State, is vying as an independent candidate to represent the state of Tennessee in the U.S. Senate.
Faparusi holds a doctorate in Medicine from the University of Ibadan, a Ph.D. in Health from Johns Hopkins University, and Juris Doctorate from the Widener University School of Law, Delaware.
This is not his first shot at the U.S. Congress. In 2014 and 2016, he vied for the Republican Party’s ticket to the House of Representatives, but lost in both occasions
Faparusi’s priorities include being a positive voice for all Nigerians in the U.S. Senate, and inspiring Americans of African or Nigerian descent to seek public office in the country.
In Missouri, a Republican-controlled state, Mr. Yinka Faleti from Lagos is the Democratic Party flagbearer in the election for the office of Secretary of State.
Faleti was in the U.S. Army as an active-duty officer from 1998 to 2004. He served in Kuwait, first under Operation Desert Spring and later as part Operation Enduring Freedom.
The 44-year-old father of four holds a Bachelor’s degree from the United States Military Academy, West Point and a Juris Doctorate from the Washington University School of Law.
His goals as a Secretary of State include protection of the “right to vote for Missouri families”, and ensuring elected officials hear the people’s voice.
Also at the state level, Mr. Paul Akinjo from Ondo, is running for the California State Assembly under the Democratic Party to represent District 12.
Akinjo once served as Vice Mayor of Lathrop, California, and in the U.S. Army Reserve from 1982 to 1989. His priorities include housing, immigration and transportation.
In Delaware, a small Mid-Atlantic U.S. state, Adewunmi Kuforiji is aspiring to represent District 34 in the state House of Representatives.
Kuforiji, originally from Ibadan, Oyo, secured the Democratic Party’s ticket on Sept. 15 after defeating his challenger, Robert Haynes, at the primary. He holds a Bachelor in Accounting and a Master’s in Business Administration from the Delaware State University.
In the 2018 mid-term elections, he vied for the same position but lost to the incumbent, Lyndon Yearick, of the Republican Party, his opponent in tomorrow’s election.
Also at the state level, Ms. Esther Agbaje, is seeking to represent District 59B in the Minnesota House of Representatives on the platform of the Minnesota Democratic–Farmer–Labor Party (DFLP), an affiliate of the U.S. Democratic Party.
The 35-year-old daughter of an Episcopal priest and a librarian, both Nigerian immigrants, defeated longtime state Representative Raymond Dehn in the party’s primary in August.
She is one of one of four progressive greenhorns who defeated established Democratic legislators in the primary.
Agbaje has a law degree from Harvard University, a Master’s from the University of Pennsylvania, and has served in the U.S. Department of State, among others.
As a millennial, a “generation that has suffered numerous setbacks”, she seeks to bring a fresh perspective and new ideas to government.
On the ballot at the local government level are April Ademiluyi, Ngozi Akubuike and Benjamin Osemenam.
Ademiluyi, 39, is running on the Democratic Party’s ticket for Judge of the Seventh Circuit Court in Prince George’s County, Maryland.
Akubuike, a legal practitioner, is an independent candidate for judge of the Minnesota 2nd District Court Position 8.
Akubuike studied law in Nigeria, then worked in the banking sector before moving to the U.S. where she graduated from the Mitchell Hamline School of Law.
She has served in several capacities, including legal manager for the state of Minnesota.
Osemenam, who moved to the U.S. in 1982, is contesting for a seat in the Brooklyn Park City Council of Minnesota to represent East District.
An engineer with the Minnesota Department of Transportation, he is vying on the platform of National Party.
He is a former president of the Association of Nigerian Engineers in Minnesota.
