The USA’s system of governance is arguably one of the best in the world. This is not because it is perfect. In fact, it is far from being perfect. To the African-American, Latino, Hispanic and other minority communities, the system may be classified as racist to an extent. To some others, it was a system that allowed you to get to the pinnacle of your career regardless of your parents’ status in society. This is because you are only allowed to hold electoral offices by solely the will of the people. This is what is now known or classified as democracy.

The USA’s democracy is one of the greatest civilization in human politics. Not because it is the best. In fact, it may not be applicable to every people or group of people as you cannot have apples grown in Lagos, Nigeria or snow fall in Lagos, Nigeria, so is the case with democracy. It is the very reason that many have argued that it was wrong to attempt to impose democracy on every nation. But, to have a civilization like democracy toppled after over 200 years of its’ entrenchment by anybody or group of person for whatever reason is a crime against humanity at large. It is repugnant to natural justice equity and good conscience.

In 2016, Secretary Clinton won the popular votes but President Donald J. Trump won at the Electoral College. The USA was not near this state of political unrest or upheaval. In fact President Barack Obama made the transition as seamless as it could. It was necessary to maintain the stability in the ‘land of the free and the home of the brave’. That was what the founding fathers of the country had intended and that was what happened.

Fast forward to 2020, the USA processed an election with the highest votes turnout in its’ history. Some reports claim it was about 67% voter turnout. COVID-19 must have had an effect on the numbers and the manner the votes were cast. In fact, it created an unanticipated shockwave, not only in the number of death in the USA, but also in producing the first president in USA’s history to lose a re-election bid in the 21st century.

Prior to the election, many had criticized President Trump’s attitude as unpresidential. Others have refused to let-go of the acclaimed Russian involvement in the 2016 elections. But no one has contested the president’s right to run in the 2020 election regardless of the magnitude of the allegations. In fact, the Special Counsel Mueller Investigation’s Report was not enough to stop the president.

On the campaign trail, the president showed his weariness for mail-in ballots. Apparently, it was new to him and to many of his supporters. As a president with a base ‘one of a kind in the USA politics’, anything to rally his base was almost done. This included unending issuance of polarizing tweets and statements. Although, President Trump’s attitude post-election has not come as a surprise to many African political pundits as this attitude was common place at a time on the African plains. However, they are still surprised that a democracy of over 200 years can come to this near shock experience. This is not because Africans and Nigerians in particular expect President Trump to act in any particular manner. But, because we have a saying that: ‘This can never happen in America’.

One of the events that may have startled most African commentators is the former National Security Adviser Michael Flynn’s retweet of a call for martial law and the military to oversee a revote of the 2020 election. This petition or call for martial law may not hold so much meaning to many Americans, particularly President Trump’s supporters. In fact it may appear to be a solution to obtain what they believe they desire. To those that were born under martial law, to those that live under martial law and those whose lives were destroyed by martial law. This call is likened to an attempt ‘to cut your nose to spite your face’. Clearly, an unthinkable call upon one of the greatest political civilization mankind has witnessed.

In Yoruba we say: ‘ti sigidi ba ma te, a ni, mo fe re odo, mo fe la we’ meaning ‘when a figurine wants to self-destruct or disgrace itself, it insists on having a bath or getting wet’. A figurine is a small molded (from clay) figure believed to hold strong mystical powers in many African communities. It was very popular in Yoruba land. Over the centuries, its behavior was studied and the studies were what led to the foregoing statement about it. It is never to get wet as water would make it lose its powers or potency and even destroy it. The behavior of an arrogant figurine is also commonplace in human society and when a person is full of himself, chooses a self-destructive part in life, the Yorubas would compare him or her to an arrogant figurine and say ‘when a man or woman wants to self-destruct or disgrace himself or herself, he or she must necessarily choose the path of disgrace’. Today, younger Nigerians would say ‘Egungun be careful, na Express you dey go’. This is to illustrate a person that has apparently chosen the most destructive part in life.

The foregoing illustrates the call for martial law in the USA by Mike Flynn and other President Trump’s supporters. It is evident that they are bent on choosing a destructive part regardless of superior wisdom and clear facts before them. The only way an African, I mean a Nigerian render advice, is to say to President Trump considering his recent stance on the just concluded 2020 elections: Egungun be careful, na Express you dey go!

Olagbade Benson

Writes from Lagos, Nigeria