The political spectrums of countries have different refractive indexes. The refractive index, no doubt, is a function of people. This is obvious and has led to the widely-accepted definition of democracy as the contrivance of governance of the people by the people and for the people.
In summary, the people are the central focus. One might as well ask: who are the people? A simple answer is to conclude that they are the citizens who make up the nation. Yes, they are, but how many of them process their existence within the nation to determine who exercises the power of governance over them. There is absolute truth that the quality of governance is corresponding to the quality of the electorate that diligently exercise their franchise.
To be sure, I am talking of an ideal system devoid of systemic corruption and rigging of electoral process. In this type of ideal situation, the power of money and fame plays a significant role. We saw it happen in the last American election that pitched Kamala Harris with President Trump.
Ordinarily, looking at what happened on January 6, 2021, about four years ago, no one would give Trump a chance. It was that confidence that made Democrats go to sleep. Yes, they went to sleep and didn’t see the implication of matching power with power, money with money, and fame with fame to challenge the Republicans.
The Republicans outwitted them by not looking far to select a candidate who had all three combinations in Trump. The moment the campaign started, the Republicans knew that they would win. The only odd on their path was power, and the former president had no definitive urge to wield the power as incumbent president to his advantage or to the party when he stepped down from contesting.
Power isn’t infectious or radiative as many falsely believe. Kamala Harris didn’t and couldn’t get the benefit of Presidential power when she eventually took over as the nominee for Democrats. That eventually cleared the way for Republicans in a most dramatic way, winning all the seven swingstates. That wasn’t all. The power and wealth of technology Entrepreneurs in the election, led by Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg ,Tim Cook, and a host of others who are
billionaires, in their outpouring of support, was unsurpassable. Here lies the relevance of fame, money, and power to decide the winner.
Americans have decided and settled for Donald Trump. He is now the captain for the next 4 years. May the dream of Americans and the expectation of the world come true.
● Akeju Olagbaju, a former director in the federal civil service, resides in Abuja.
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