THE U.S 2016 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS: WHAT AMERICAN VOTERS CAN LEARN FROM NIGERIA’S 2015 ELECTIONS

Well, it is nearly here. After nearly a year of campaigns, scandals and mud slinging via social media, the race for the First Citizen of the United States of America and Leader of The Free World is nearly over. The first of several presidential nominee debates took place on Monday and it was a nail biting event. Trump and Clinton attacked each other over the course of the evening, with Clinton remaining calm and composed throughout the entire debate while Trump seemed frazzled and desperate to land numerous punches.

Now, some might wonder how much an election taking place on the other side of the world affects us in Nigeria; the answer is immensely! Both candidates have differing stands on several issues, the most pressing of which is immigration. Trump is very anti- immigrants and his possible emergence as president could mean tightening immigration laws and perhaps even a crack down and deportation of illegal immigrants. Many intending migrants (including Nigerian citizens) might have to kiss their dreams of a better future goodbye and resolve to finding ways to get more comfortable in their homelands.

In any case, this article is not about us or the rest of the world. It is about the American people and the fallout of the tough decision they have to make. One can’t help but draw parallels between this election and the one we had last year that saw the exit of former President Jonathan and the emergence of President Buhari. Nigerians lamented about the choice of both candidates as being similar to a position between a rock and a hard place. Neither Buhari nor Jonathan seemed like good options but we had to choose. The premise of CHANGE being bandied by the APC seemed appealing enough for Nigerians and we voted in Buhari. A year and seven months down the line, Nigerians are starting to feel like they were bamboozled with the concept of CHANGE and basically swapped one wolf for another.

With Hillary caught up in the scandalous email fiasco and deemed untrustworthy by the American people and Trump labelled as racist and misogynistic, it seems like the people have a tough decision to make. We made the mistake of voting based on who we thought was the lesser evil and not who could actually lead the country well. Now, I’m not saying Nigeria is better or worse off than before, but I’m saying we made a decision that we have to stick to for four years based largely on bias.

Americans need to closely examine the leadership and decision-making skills of both candidates and choose based on that lest they want to be saddled with the guilt and frustration plaguing many Nigerians today as our economy takes a free fall. We and the rest of the world wait with bated breath for the outcome of the November 8th , 2016 election.

http://sobolation.com/author/mojisola-abudu/

After listening to the first debate i can finally say that trump would be worse than bush if voted in as president. Trump has nothing to offer americans as president. He should concentrate on his real estate empire just as buhari should've concentrated on his cows.

Absolutely nothing.
Start by creating parties of ideologies and maybe, just maybe, Nigeria would move an inch closer to the level of US politicism.