In this piece, Nigeria Info News Manager, Ufuoma Egbamuno takes a critical look at the race to the White House from a Nigerian perspective
The call that woke me up came in at about 3am. As I struggled to open my eyes, I could still hear the voice of CNN’s Jake Tapper from the TV even if I wasn’t sure what exactly he was saying.
Then it dawned on me.
I had slept off watching Night Two of the Democratic National Convention (DNC).
I must be honest; I had no plans to stay up till the major keynote speakers, Second Gentleman, Dough Emhoff, 44th President, Barack Obama and his adorable wife and former First Lady, Michelle.
Not even the Copa America in recent years makes me miss my night sleep.
But for once, I was grateful that my wife called at that time as it afforded me the chance to watch in real time what the DNC 2024 Night Two key speakers had to say.
As a Nigerian broadcaster, 2012 marked my first foray into professionally covering the US elections but I must go all the way to the build-up of the 1992 elections as the first time it caught my fancy.
I remember reading up every newspaper article I could lay my hands as a young President Bill Clinton took on the late President George H Bush.
30-plus years later, my enthusiasm has not waned. But I cannot say the same for the average Nigerian.
Obama’s win in 2008; Donald Trump’s unexpected (not for me though) win in 2016; and President Joe Biden’s stunning defeat of Trump in 2020, I would argue, had more enthusiasm for Nigerians.
I can’t afford to be pretending to hold an opinion about American politics when I never find fuel put for Gen.
— Super_Cc (@kingchyk) August 20, 2024
My diaspora relatives can do that, make I see food chop fess for Naija
But the average Nigerian today has a lot to deal with: petrol scarcity and all its effects including high cost of transportation; skyrocketing inflation; attendant food price increases and a seemingly unbothered political class more concerned with buying new multi-million cars and multi-billion presidential jets.
Still, we should.
On Tuesday, just hours before the start of the DNC Night Two, the US Mission in Nigeria announced a donation of $27 million aid package. This according to the US is its “commitment to providing life-saving assistance and protection to vulnerable people and generous host communities throughout the continent.”
This is one of many reasons we should care about who becomes America’s next president as it also directly shapes its foreign policy with Nigeria.
But there is a deep-seated resentment for the Democratic Party by many here in Nigeria.
There are some who still accuse the Obama-led government of tacitly supporting the then opposition party, the All-Progressives Congress (APC), ahead of the 2015 elections.
Many rejoiced when Trump against expectations, beat Hillary Clinton to the White House in 2016. These sets of Nigerians saw it as payback for the DNC’s alleged tacit support for President Muhammadu Buhari’s electoral victory.
Nine years after, that feeling has not waned. I still see some of these chatter on my X (formerly Twitter) timeline never mind that a Trump win might mean the chances of these same Nigerians emigrating to the US become slimmer.
Which brings me to one of the topic issues that must dealt with ahead of November 5th.
Trump and the Republicans have sort to use the border crisis as a weapon to showcase how weak the Biden administration and by association, Kamala Harris is.
Unfortunately, while the Democrats have a great counterargument – the fact that Trump himself allegedly ensured a bi-partisan bill to resolve the crisis was killed in Congress to further his own re-election bid – they have not used it to much effect.
Also, just like Nigerians, Americans are having to deal with the high prices of goods. For all of Biden’s success – and yes, there are many – going into the grocery store and having to pay more can be a downer.
On Wednesday, I watched a report on Fox News where the reporter went to a barbershop in Chicago. Almost all the respondents echoed this sentiment.
They also pointed out the border issue with some worried that jobs coming their way might be affected as a result.
The polls don’t lie.
Biden, before he pulled out, and currently Kamala, had/still have issues with Black males under 40. It is an area the DNC must address before November 5th.
Still, it’s not all gloom and doom for the Democrats.
As a matter of fact, it is the opposite judging by the enthusiasm we’ve witnessed this week in Chicago.
Where she is struggling with black males, black women are all out for her, not just in terms of possibly voting but doing the groundwork to mobilise others.
The reinvigoration that has characterized the Democrats since the Vice President ascended the top of the ticket now means she’s got a real shot at becoming the first woman to be president.
Watching her husband, Emma Dough, describe how they met and how he struggled to be coherent during his first call to her, was emotional. Hearing how Kamala saved that voicemail and played its every anniversary (today Thursday, August 22nd is their 10th anniversary) was touching and showcases her in a different light to how Trump and Republicans have tried to portray her.
But she’s more than a “joyful warrior.”
Kamala is a big champion of Reproductive Rights – a big issue that will shape this year’s election just like it did the Mid-terms in 2022. Watching a Texan woman, Kate Cox describe how she had to flee her state to undergo an abortion which was needed to save her life brought to light the agony of many American women since the upturning of women’s constitutional right to abortion.
Her theme of Freedom, a direct opposite of Project 2025 is still a bottleneck that Trump cannot run away from.
Gov. @jaredpolis: On page 562, Project 2025 says that Donald Trump could use an obscure law from the 1800s to single-handedly ban abortion in all 50 states, even putting doctors in jail. Page 486 puts limits on contraception. Page 450 threatens access to IVF and page 455 says… pic.twitter.com/q6LlEzjSqd
— Kamala HQ (@KamalaHQ) August 21, 2024
Despite disavowing the policy "wish list" for the next Republican president that would impose an ultra-conservative outlook for the US, the fact that many of its authors worked for Trump’s previous administration is a weapon the DNC has used to great effect to showcase the difference in the two political parties.
Kamala is hell-bent on not repeating the mistakes Hillary made in 2016. On Tuesday, she was in Wisconsin campaigning while the DNC was ongoing in nearby Chicago.
Not a big deal you might think.
But that’s a battleground state Hillary never bothered to visit or campaign at.
Kamala’s visit to Milwaukee on Tuesday is the third time she is visiting the state – a clear departure from Clinton’s 2016 tactical failure.
But the road ahead is still far.
Will Kamala make inroads with White working-class and rural voters like Obama did in 2008?
Can Trump make inroads with more black men?
Will the next debate billed for September 10th prove as decisive as the last one which saw Biden drop out and altered the dynamics of the presidential race?
And as Barack Obama said on Tuesday, “the rest of the world is watching...” because indeed when America sneezes, we all catch a cold.
