Elections: Congressman Connolly and the Rebirth of Racism

BY DANIEL FURNARD

The events leading to Nigeria’s 2019 General Elections, the elections themselves and the aftermath of the votes have established several facts. First, is the fact that Nigeria and Nigerians are capable of one day creating the country of their dream when free from meddling by the so called world powers. Second, is the fact that racism is alive and kicking; only such depraved racism could make white skinned foreigners adopt the condescending disposition of master and commanders who must validate whatever happens in Nigeria before it is considered acceptable. Thirdly, is the fact that the transactional attitude that comes with corruption and money oriented individuals is not limited to Africans or Nigerians but it is a weakness that even westerners regularly succumb to, only that they have perfected how to hide theirs behind the veneer of white supremacy.
The first fact, the capacity of Nigerians to sort out what ever difficulties they may be facing, is lost on an American – Gerry Connolly, Congressman for Virginia’s 11th District, who spoke about Nigeria with all the arrogance of a plantation owner reviewing events in an outpost that belongs to him. Connolly was however creative enough to hide behind an interactive session with his constituents during a visit on Capitol Hill, and it just so happened that they asked him questions about Nigeria and Venezuela in his capacity as a Democratic congressman that happens to be a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee. Connolly, who was of the view that elections are not credible in Nigeria went as far as quipping that “Elections are being stolen in Nigeria”.
As an irredeemable racist, it did not matter to Connolly that there were scores of international Election Observation Missions from the United Kingdom, his own country – the United States, countries of the European Union, African countries and citizens of the world across the globe. These observers, although initially concerned about the prospect of credible elections owing to the distortion from the political propaganda from the opposition, reported that the elections represented the will of Nigerians even though there were recorded pockets of incidents in certain areas.
Connolly believes his fellow westerners are liars because they did not deliver verdicts that present Nigeria as a Stone Age amalgam of tribal entities at each other’s throats. He created his own account of what transpired in Nigeria and his predictable conclusion was to say “There were a lot of observers who would agree with you that the recent presidential/National Assembly elections were a sham and were not honest and did not produce legitimate results. Are there enough people who care about that to speak out? …We have to do a better job of paying much more attention to Africa… Africa is going to be the continent of the future.”
Anyone that thinks the Congressman’s utterance is not racist only needs to appreciate the disdain implied in his assertion. Connolly followed in the tradition and practice of illiterates that are blissfully ignorant that Nigeria, although a leader, is one the fifty-four (54) countries in Africa, the US lawmaker’s transition from speaking about Nigeria to generalizing about Africa clearly confirm he does not know the difference between one country and an entire continent. This is most unfortunate considering that he is a member of the Foreign Affairs Committee. One can only wonder what quality of intellectual input he makes to his country’s parliament. Such shallow appreciation of international issues and the right of countries to self-correct will explain why the US Congress often rush the country from one war to the other in the flawed messianic obsession about saving the world. No imperialist nation has ever successfully saved “barbarian” nation from itself, basic history lesson should teach this to Connolly and any other American Congressman interested in aping him.
Assuming the racist bias of Connolly and others like him have been disposed of, there is the third fact of the growing problem of transactional interventionists that put on altruistic airs. The years ahead will at some point reveal if money or favors changed hands between Connolly and the lobbyists for Mr Atiku Abubakar of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP). Ballard Partners, hired by the PDP, and Holland & Knight, which was personally hired by Atiku in December 2019 to help him beat a US ban to secure a visa worked with Congress to make the visit happen and Connolly might have just exposed himself as one of the lawmakers that made the visit possible. It is no coincidence that the views expressed by Connolly tally smack with those held by Mr Abubakar and the PDP.
Prior to the elections, certain domestic groups in Nigeria had expressed concerns that there are plans by the PDP to precipitate the kind of instability crippling Venezuela in Nigeria. The strategy for achieving this was reported to include recruiting diplomats and foreigners to discredit the outcome of the elections, which was clearly not in favour of the PDP. The aspersions being cast on the outcome of the elections by Connolly, in spite of their acceptance by international Election Observation Missions, must therefore not just be condemned but must be acted upon in the most practical way possible. One step readily comes to mind is for the Federal Government of Nigeria to file a formal protest against Connolly and any other person that speaks of the elections in such light.
The reason for such firm response is that in Nigeria, Mr Abubakar and his PDP are using the kind of inflammatory comments from Connolly as prop to covertly incite their supporters to gear up for violence. It is instructive to note that pro-PDP news outlets will twist the story – it will not be recounted as ‘a US Congressman’ expressing his own jaundiced views but presented as the almighty United States describing Nigeria’s elections as “stolen”, which will certainly embolden some dimwit to go on violent rampage. The racism component never ends.
Any Nigerian who is deceived for a moment to think the likes of Connolly mean well should be afraid. Very afraid. It is not happenstance that Nigeria and Venezuela were mentioned in the same question by his constituents. It is a subtle threat to the government in Nigeria about the capacity of Mr Abubakar’s US backers to give Nigeria its own Venezuela and those with the mandate of Nigerians to run the country should not treat this threat with levity; it is not enough to elect a government, it is important to support that government against imperialists like Connolly that has been hired to do damage.
It will be out of place to end this piece without educating Congressman Gerry Connolly. The first lesson is for him to learn from disgraced Congressman, William Jefferson, who did prison time in connection with a transaction with Mr Abubakar; the blowback from combining business with this man whether in or out of government includes a shameful end to political careers. Secondly, Connolly would do better to focus on the divisiveness that is taking over his own country as well as to explore options for mitigating Russia’s interference in his country’s elections as his people go to poll next year. Finally, if he has received any favours or monetary compensations from Mr Abubakar he should promptly return same because overturning a presidential election is not in the same league as facilitating an emergency visa for the PDP candidate.