Only recently, America and the rest of the world watched in horror as a former President was convicted on all 34 charges against him. One of the great beauties of the American judicial system is the Jury system. While it is novel and unique, it was widely used to perpetrate and perpetuate injustice in the post-Civil War era after the Emancipation Declaration set the slaves free but ushered in Jim Crow, which was an attempt to disenfranchise Blacks all over again and send them back to a new form of servitude through the prison system. This came to a head after Emmet Till, a charming 14-year-old boy from Chicago was brutally murdered in Money, Mississippi while a wholly White Jury acquitted his murderers. In recent years, it was made famous by the O.J Simpson case when the jury infamously acquitted O.J. That case was a pointer to racial dichotomy in America as the defendant was Black while his victims were White.

Interestingly, in the recent Trump trial, the racial composition of the Jury was barely mentioned. Of further interest was the fact that it was Trump who invented the “Lock her up” chant in the email matters of Hillary Clinton in the 2016 election. On the day of his conviction, Hilary was at an event at the Kennedy Center. She could not help but gloat, saying, “There’s no place I would rather be than here.”

If there’s any lesson for the most important new felon in the world to learn, one doubts that he is capable of learning it for the well-known reason that he does not read. His vocabulary is limited. He was reported to have had trouble as Commander-in-Chief reading 10 pages of summarized daily National Security briefings. All he was reportedly interested in was watching television. Hence, he did not learn and could never understand that “those who live in glass houses should not throw stones.” He’ll probably just say— “that’s tremendous” if he heard those words. But what do voters care? He may well be President again by telling us “tremendous” things. Anyone who wants to know what a second Trump term would represent only needs to do a little dive into the history of the Rise and Fall of Nazi Germany to get a perspective on how fragile democracy can be. A former President of the United States put it more bluntly—“Democracy,” he said, “will survive if we fight for it.”
More work for Karma.

In Nigeria, Karma found some work to do as Labor Unions shut down the country for two harrowing days. The electricity grid was shut down, and even though we had never really felt their presence in our lives, we did feel their absence those two days that Labour was on strike. It goes to show that a little light is better than zero.
The question is: Do we really need this level of suffering that a protracted strike will unleash upon the populace added to our already high level of pain at this time? People are weighed down by scarcity of food, and high prices, fueled by a dollar-driven economy, high prices of petroleum products, and the preponderance of herdsmen in our daily lives which has driven small farmers away from their farms.

Nigeria, by its unique issues, presents a conundrum to foreign investors in a way they cannot see with any other country.

And so, as companies from the core West are making decisions to pull out of Nigeria, investors from other countries are trooping in. They understand us. We are very much like they used to be. They smell the money—human rights and the environment be damned. Essentially, countries from the West are being switched out by countries from the East and Asia. They know that Nigeria has few regulations and plenty of unofficial channels through which they can get things done.

The shutdown was reminiscent of the great country shutdown in 2011/2012 against the Jonathan Administration with its epicenter at Ojota Park, championed by the Opposition at the time which today is the government in power. It would seem that they have run out of ideas as the problem with many people in power is that they do not read. There’s no problem any country is having today that another country has not experienced in the past. We just need to read and find out what they did to come out of the hole. Whatever we do, we should never forget rule number one: Stop digging.

Election 2024 in my home state
This is a great appeal to all the peoples of Edo State, especially our older brothers, the Benin people. Let me tell a story here. I am Esan, from the heritage of Ogbediabomhen, in the serene valley of Ozenyen, Ohordua with a mighty hill overlooking, giving shade and providing the wondrous beauty that nature has to offer. Over 30 years ago, one of my younger sisters was getting married. When it was time to break the kolanut, as it is our tradition, we asked if there was a Benin man present, his age not withstanding. He broke the kola. Why was it so? Because we are one big family in Edo, and the Benins are our older brothers.

In the race for governorship in Edo State, no one doubts the competence of Asue Ighodalo to be an effective Governor of our State. This is not to undermine the competence of the others. So, the issue now is about fairness, equity and inclusivity. The younger brothers, the Esans, feel deprived and marginalized. It is expected in a good family as we are in Edo State that we should take into consideration those who feel neglected. This is why we plead that having established that Asue is competent and is also from our marginalized Esan family, we should all rally round Asue to solidify the family unit.

I beg make una look the matter well, well (SIC). Which one of the three would you want to hire to run your business? If you can answer this question by interrogating your heart and soul, you may come to the same conclusion as I have arrived at.

Heads and shoulders, the gentleman Asue Ighodalo towers.

I shall remain on my knees until we all unite to deliver the gentleman on September 21, 2024. Oba gha to kpere—Iseeeeeé. Long live the great people of Igodomigodo, and may God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

*Ovienmhada, author, poet, playwright,
and public affairs commentator, can be reached via [email protected].