A Repudiation of Extremism

The midterm elections have come and gone. As the dust settled, it became clear that history was going keep walking straight, neither to the left, nor to the right as was expected in a red wave.

Despite high gas prices, skyrocketing rents, food that we could not find nor afford, the people thought differently. They were not ready to sacrifice their future to a Party that was increasingly unrecognizable to a large swathe of the country. The Republican Party as we used to know it has ceased to exist. It is a Party in crisis, and will get worse for as long as Trump is Trump.

When he unilaterally endorsed certain kinds of candidates against all good advice, one would presume, Trump chose to serve the American people old wine in unknown bottles. The people refused to drink. They chose instead, to repudiate extremism.

He has declared to run for the office of President one more time despite several investigations at his tail. This is now further complicated by the appointment of an Independent Prosecutor. It would be nice to see how many more lives he has left.

We will have a divided government, come January, 2023, when the new Congress is sworn in. Democrats will control the Senate while Republicans control the House with a slim majority. Unsurprisingly, at their first press conference following the CNN projection that they had won the House, the extreme wing of the party walked up to the microphone to spew venom, when they could have seized the moment to outline a Republican agenda for the future. Managing these disparate factions of the Republican Party would require great skills by Speaker Kevin McCarthy. As the saying goes: he has his work cut out for him. One thing was clear, several Republicans who ran on the platform of election denialism lost. According to David Gergen, a political adviser who had served with Presidents Nixon, Ford, Reagan and Bill Clinton, “Republicans may be crazy sometimes, but they are not stupid.”

Following the House victory recorded by the Republican Party, add to that, the recent attack on Mr. Pelosi by a deranged man who had been listening to the hateful rhetoric from the Trump wing of the Republican Party, the Democratic leadership led by Nancy Pelosi has made the decision to step aside for a new generation of leaders. Hakeem Sekou Jeffries who represents the 8th district of New York has the experience, the background, and the education to be the new face of the Democratic Party. Nancy had led for the better part of 20 years, and in a parting jab, she said she had “enjoyed working with three presidents, George Bush Junior, Barack Obama, and Joe Biden,” even though she served with four. Nancy was not going to let an opportunity slip by for a final left hook at a man she had come to loathe. Thank you, Nancy. Goodbye, lady with the swag on heels.

The American people have spoken unequivocally: Extremism of any kind—to the left or to the right is bad for the country.

In late 19th century, interestingly, the Democratic Party represented fanaticism so much so that they were called “Yellow dog Democrats.” What this meant was that Democrats would vote for a dog before they vote for a Republican candidate. Time changes things. The Civil Rights Act of 1964, and the Voting Rights Act of 1965, both signed by President Lyndon Johnson, a Democratic president helped to make the Democrats look like the more inclusive, and more reasonable Party. The Republicans whose forebear, Abraham Lincoln, set the captives free can reclaim the initiative by pivoting to the center.

The question is: Who will lead the Republican Party to the center?

Can Mike Pence lead? Once again, Pence managed to speak about the Republican Party, about Trump, and about his political future through many befuddling, and fence sitting equivocations in interviews last week as he released his book. A man who seeks to lead must have some metal.

Can Governor Desantis of Florida lead the Party? He appears to be trying hard to be more like Trump, 2.0.

If the Republicans can look to 55-year old, Harvard educated, successful businessman, Centrist, and now Governor of Virginia, Glenn Youngkin to lead the Republicans into the future, then, they would have learned the lessons that the midterms spoke to, very clearly.

President Joe Biden has just turned 80 on November 20th. Happy birthday, Mr. President. He needs to send a clear message that running again in 2024 is out of the question.

He should not run.

The anticipated news of the week was the meeting Joe Biden had with President Xi Jinping of China. The hottest item on the table was the future of Taiwan. Going into the meeting, Biden made clear that they would both need to figure out the red lines. China now has the world’s largest Navy, the world’s largest Army, and trillions of dollars in reserve. On a visit to China in 1972, Chairman Mao Zedong said quietly to President Richard Nixon, and a young Henry Kissinger—“We will reclaim Taiwan even if it takes 100 years.”

Mao’s declaration is not helped by the American approach of “strategic ambiguity.” Typically, this is how questions about Taiwan are answered by American officials:

Press: Do you support Taiwan?
American officials: Yes.
Press: Do you support China?
American officials: Yes.
Press: Do you support Independence for Taiwan?
American officials: No
Press: Will America defend Taiwan if China invades?
America: We are irrevocably committed to the rights of the people of Taiwan to defend themselves.
Press: What are you really saying?
American Officials: Actually, nothing.

Following Nixon’s handshake with China in 1972, Taiwan’s Chiang Ching-Kuo was so frustrated by the American approach to Taiwan that he wrote:

“Imperialist America” would easily sell out its friends “in exchange for its own despicable goals”.

Taiwan will fall. The question is—when?

I have been a businessman for 44 years. In all those years, I have only invested in brick and mortar businesses. I consider as noise, promises of great profits from things I am unable to wrap my head around.

For example, what is crypto currency?

As many times as individuals have offered explanations, they have left me more confused than when they began. Little surprise therefore when news broke that the crypto market was unraveling.

It is official. The Kherson region which had been in Russian hands since the invasion began in February, has fallen. The Ukrainian flag now flutters proudly over Kherson. The legend of once mighty Russia has been shattered. Russia will rebuild. The question is, should they continue to hire Putin who has set his country back 40 years to do the job?

Only time will tell.

Last week, the Nigerian National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) said 133 million Nigerians are multidimensionally poor. In simple English, this is what they were struggling to explain:

(a). Some people are poor because of circumstances of their birth, lack of education, and lack of skills.
(b). Poverty induced by unemployment. This category of people have an education and skills but have no jobs.
(c). Inflation induced poverty. In this category, the people have jobs but their salaries can no longer pay their bills nor put sufficient food on the table.
(d). Means and Assets depreciated poverty. In this category, you have people who have assets that are becoming worthless in their hands. A friend put up a newly built house in Lekki for sale last December for N40m. At the time, the Naira was trading at N450 to $1. Today, he is unable to even get an offer for N30m with the dollar at $1 to N700. He is stuck with the asset—to sell or not to sell.
(e). Retirement induced poverty. In this category, you have people who were once middle class people, now retired, but their pensions, which are not pegged to cost of living index, have become worthless to them. They can no longer afford to replace their old cars or even purchase a new tyre. They are now old, and basically grounded.

Given all the above scenarios, and the experience of the last 8 years with a Party that promised to deliver the country from poverty, but has failed dismally, it leaves one to wonder how much more poverty Nigerians are willing to endure before they resolve to choose the right kind of leaders to pilot the affairs of the country in 2023.

As you begin a new week, may the light of Adonai, King of the universe, shine on you to make a way for you.

Michael (O’meekey) Ovienmhada. Author, Poet, Playwright, and Public Affairs Commentator.
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