US election: ‘America is no longer a shining light on the hill’ — Bolaji Akinyemi

FORMER minister of foreign affairs, Professor Bolaji Akinyemi, has said the fallout of the just concluded presidential election in the United States of America has exposed the underbelly of the country’s vaunted democracy.
Akinyemi said this during an interview he granted Sunday Punch.

The scholar noted that Trump’s claim of electoral fraud and his refusal to concede defeat has hugely dented the reputation of America as a bastion of democracy.

Akinyemi added that nothing else proved his stance more than the “tactful” admission by Joe Biden, the president-elect, that Trump’s action was embarrassing.

He said, “It has, of course, and you don’t need to take my word for it. Take the word of the president-elect, Joe Biden. When he was asked this same question, he was being tactful and diplomatic. He said it was embarrassing.

“Americans don’t like criticising their country or looking for faults in the system. So, he (Biden) was being tactful when he said it was embarrassing. It is more than that. It dented America’s reputation in the world.”

The former minister, who said there is an ugly side to American reality often concealed from the prying eyes, said America does not like criticising their country.

He noted that the country would rather use its arts, entertainment and media to project its bright side and not the ugly one which according to him is not the true picture of the country.

“America is no longer regarded as a shining light on the hill, as ex-US president, Ronald Regan put it. In a way, a lot of people knew there was an ugly side to the American reality that had been hidden. That is one of the characteristics of America. Like I said, they don’t like to criticise their country, so they buried this ugly side of them. And the CNN, NBC and Hollywood always show the bright side of the United States, and that is not the total picture.” Akinyemi stated.

The professor of political science stressed that the number of votes garnered by Trump despite his characteristic racist slur further exposed the ugly side of the US.

Akinyemi. however, said what is playing out in the US will not be susprising to literary enthusiasts and voracious readers as Nigeria’s literary giant who passed on recently had painted the hypocrisy of America in his book, ‘America, Their America’

He said, ” The fact that about 72 million Americans voted for Trump showed this ugly side of the US. John Pepper Clark, our late iconic, literary man, saw through it as far back as the 1960s when he wrote the book, ‘America, Their America’. He drew attention to the fact that the American image which was being painted all around the world was a mirage.”

Akinyemi, who faulted the American constitution, noted that that it is not yet over for Trump as the incumbent president might exploit some loopholes in the American constitution.

“Let us wait until next January and see whether the system will work. What people don’t realise, which Trump realised, is that by not conceding, he could force the declaration of who won and who didn’t win to the House of Representatives where, under the American constitution, it is not one vote, one elected representative.

“There are 50 states in the US, so 50 votes will now determine who will be the president of the US. It will be like the election never took place. It will be like Biden never had 77 million votes. Right now, out of 50 states, Republicans control 33 states. So, Trump will get 33 votes and Biden will get 17 votes. The Supreme Court could say it doesn’t want to get involved because the constitution is clear and could tell the parties involved to go to the House of Representatives. That is in the American constitution and that is the constitution that is often shown around the world as the epitome of democracy, a constitution that will allow 33 votes instead of over 77 million votes. That is what will happen.”