By Yusuf Mohamed
On Tuesday November 8, 2016, the American people are going to the polls to cast their vote for their next president. On the menu for their choice are two candidates who are promising the American people delivery of their wishes. Mrs. Hillary Clinton and Mr. Donald Trump are the two presidential contestants up for the public choosing.
Mrs. Hillary Clinton has promised to be faithful to Obama’s sermon of hope and change and intends to travel the path charted by President Obama during the last eight years. She says she intends to carry on America’s leadership of the world. She promises to keep check of badly behaving powers like China, Russia, Iran and North Korea, and if necessary come to the defense of America’s friends, be they angels or devils.
On his part, Mr. Trump, whose motto is “Make America Great Again” has promised to focus on America’s domestic needs. He has promised to create jobs by bringing back manufacturing to the US. He has promised to impose tariffs on imported goods to help spur reindustrialization. He has also promised to unburden America from its global commitment to what he calls “freeloading” friends. Trump is essentially planning to liberate America from the world or say liberate the world from America.
Unanticipated by most Americans is the impact of the outcome of their vote on Tuesday. Having been through 19 months long muddy wrestling match that began with Trump against almost 20 establishment candidates, they will be marching to the polls saturated by the sermons of the candidates.
On Tuesday as Americans vote the rest of the world will be watching with anticipation. Most of all friends or freeloaders per Trump, will anticipate the most. Since all America’s friends or freeloaders are not made from same fabric, each will be impacted differently by the outcome of Tuesdays’ US election. The result of the election will be most consequential for the African friends of America, the dictators. Tuesday, next week will be a day of salvation or doom for the freeloaders (Museveni, Desalegn, Kagame, Sissi, Bashir, Mugabe, Kabila, Yaya, Kenyatta, Magufuli, dos Santos, Keita, Nkurunziza, Bouteflika, Issoufou, Deby, Biya, Ondimba, Obiang, Gelle, Buhari, Kabore,.. all the way to Zuma). In Hillary, if she wins, these African dictators or rentboys are assured salvation. If Trump wins, their doom is possible.
Whatever the outcome of the election, one thing is certain. On Tuesday, millions of Africans who feel harmed by dictators/rentboys will find a comfort in half of the American voters who will be marching to the voting stations with a feeling they have been conned and shortchanged by political rentboys of their own. On that, millions of Africans can pin their hope and for that, they should say thanks to Trump.