Ministers react to Trump’s victory, says Nigeria may retool its foreign policy

Some members of the Nigerian cabinet on Wednesday reacted to the victory of Republican candidate in the United States Presidential election, Donald Trump hoping that he becomes a President for all residents of America. If he doesn’t, Nigeria may consider retooling its foreign policy and prepare to receive Nigerians who will return home they said speaking on implications of the Trump win for Nigeria.

Nigerians at home and in the diaspora have continued to pour out reactions following Trump’s victory at the just concluded polls which he beat the Democratic Party candidate Hilary Clinton to emerge as President-elect.

While President Muhammadu Buhari has congratulated Trump and promised Nigeria’s cooperation some of the ministers who were not comfortable with the President-elect’s campaign utterances said they hope he doesn’t keep to some of his words as the world waits to see how he
leads.

Minister of Agriculture, Audu Ogbe who spoke to newsmen at the Aso Rock, Presidential Villa after the Federal Executive Council meeting said “We hope he will become a president now for all including Nigerians and others resident in the US. But if he doesn’t it means we’ll have to retune and retool our foreign policy to begin to find a situation where we may have to be welcoming some of our people if they come under extreme pressure. We hope it doesn’t happen.

“The rest of the world will have to then carefully watch and see the impact first. He made comments about Nigerians when he was campaigning, that they had stolen money, they should go back to their country and live. He has a very low opinion of the blacks and Hispanics”.

Ogbe who said he was still in shock that Trump won the Presidential election noted that though the world was changing what happened in the American polls was an expression of the anger the people have felt for years. Anger emanating mostly from unfavourable world economic theories.

“The current economic theory ravaging the world is now reaching the poor and the ordinary people. It is causing a lot of stress. Brexit happened, America has done this now. Many other countries are going to have near extremism ruling the minds of people.

“Trump’s language before the elections definitely did not endear him to people. It scared a lot of people and yet he got this massive support. Which means there is something fundamentally wrong and some of us have been complaining even here for 30 years. The economic theories we are practicing are hurting too many people and so there is a lot of anger and people are looking for a way to express it.

“In this country for instance, interest rate has remained averagely at 25 to 35 percent for for 30 years. It’s impossible for young people to dream dreams and achieve them. The rural areas are emptying, hunger is increasing. Only a small number of people have access to wealth. The rest are complaining but nobody is listening. That’s what has happened”

He explained that though America was a powerful country, the wealth was in the hands of the people in the stock exchange and the big business people, the ordinary people have a rough time. “Even the black people didn’t turn out to vote, they’ve lost hope. So, that’s the result.

“If you can’t take a loan, you have no mortgage, you can’t feed your wife, your salary can’t pay school fees, you can’t even plan for tomorrow, what kind of life are you living in the country. That is what you are seeing now” he added .

Trump is one of those capitalists who have managed to exploit the system but have now turned around to bring down that system, Ogbe said adding that “ I do hope that he can manage the US without falling into the trap he thinks he has freed the others from. Because eventually when he gets to Washington and begins to feel the pressure of the White House he may not be as calm as he was this morning when he was accepting the victory, I can assure you. Those jobs exert a lot of
pressure”.

Minister of Defence, Mansur Dan-Ali said for security there will always be collaboration with external forces as insurgency was a global phenomenon.

“Like I always said, insurgency is a global phenomenon whether you like it or not he must also put his efforts because it is not Nigeria alone that is suffering. You can find insurgency today here in
Nigeria, next tomorrow it could in America or Europe or anywhere in the world. So, it’s a global problem which all the nation must come together and fight it together” he said .

He advised Nigerians to accept Trump’s victory and forge ahead for a better synergy.