My Thoughts on Trump vs. Zelenskyy
By: Deji Yesufu
In the past few days, our world which is already inundated with too many viral videos, was forced to watch as President Donald Trump of the United States of America lampoons another President of a sovereign country – Volodymr Zelenskyy. As the gory scene played out, the American Vice President also joined in the chastisement: Zelenskyy is reputed to be an ungrateful person, who is ever demanding more and more resources from the USA, in a war that has very little economic benefit to the US. With a new administration in Washington, American foreign policy has shifted almost one hundred and eighty degrees. If Americans will continue to support Ukraine in this costly war, Trump and Vance are saying, Ukraine would also have to give something back. America wants a deal that will give the US greater access to Ukrainian minerals. Trump is a businessman and has long vowed to end Former President Biden’s father-Christmas posture toward Ukraine. When there is a diplomatic spat like this, captured on camera, a lot more is left unsaid than what we hear. My concern in this essay is not Russia Ukraine or America; my concern is Africa. And I’ll explain.
The Napoleonic wars that tore through Europe ended around 1820. Between that time and 1945, when the nuclear bomb was dropped on Japan by the United States to end the Second World War, there was a space of 120 years and there had been an astronomic rise in the development of weapons of war. The most lethal weapon Napoleon used was the canon gun. In a little over a century, we had the nuclear bomb. What made this clear-cut difference in technological advancement was education. Europeans found themselves in a rat race to gain knowledge, develop scientific ideas, and utilise these ideas to both better their nations and protect themselves. While the scientists were working at the labs, the social scientists were also working on ideas for better communal relationships among peoples and nations. Europe was tired of wars, and ideas were being proffered that would reduce conflicts. One of such ideas was the concept of a nation’s sovereignty. In those days, a powerful country could just invade a weaker nation, and colonise it. But by the turn of the 20th century, colonialism was increasingly regarded as barbaric. We should note however that this concept was not that developed in Eastern Europe. Ideas around capitalism, freedom, democracy, and national sovereignty were merely tolerated by Russia – they are not inherently their values. When the opportunity came for Putin to invade Ukraine, he did it with little concern for conscience or world opinion. What is the lesson for Africa and Nigeria? I’ll explain this with some anecdotes.
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The church I pastor rents a space in the University of Ibadan. Before we commence service, I take a moment to observe the students around me, those we are preparing for a very competitive world. Many of them appear to be in the university to become prayer warriors. Young men who should be developing scientific ideas that will enhance our national security, and those who should be positing social theories that will safeguard our children from foreign attacks, are spending the better part of their time in school leading fellowships and becoming pastors. One day these children will wake in the future and find that their country has been colonised again by nations that paid attention to educating their young people. Why do I say this?
The things that hold our world together and help to maintain steady cohesion among nations are Western ideas – particularly those of the United States of America. This followed America’s victory in the Second World War and her becoming the sole superpower after the splinting of the USSR in 1991. There is however no guarantee that America’s hegemonic hold on both World ideas and economy will continue. China is fast catching up with the USA, and Trump’s effort at preserving American resources is aimed more at maintaining her leadership among the nations – Ukraine is therefore secondary. What is however certain is that America will not be the sole superpower forever. Sooner or later, she will have to share the stage with China, who for diplomatic reasons, are more in sync with Russia and North Korea than the West as far as ideas and values are concerned. I fear that by the day America can no longer direct nations and influence foreign policy like they do today, weak countries like Nigeria will become pawns in the hands of Russia and North Korea. The latter is an atheistic country that gives no hoot for human rights or democracy. If our children do not pay attention to their books and become leading thinkers in the sciences and social arts, we will become like President Zelenskyy who will forever be running around looking for help to ward off foreign invaders. The only thing preserving our national borders is a commitment among nations that all countries should respect each other’s sovereignty. No one guarantees that in the future this commitment will continue.
The Trump-Zelenskyy debacle is a parable to Nigeria. No one owes you anything. Nations make long-lasting efforts towards building their national security. Somebody told me that America coerced Ukraine to ditch their nuclear weapon program in 1994. If Ukraine still had its nuclear powers, Putin would never have dared to invade that country. Today, America is committing herself to support Ukraine because of the 1994 deal. Now that America’s support to the Ukrainians has become a drain on their purse, they have a right to rethink that support. Nigerians should realize that no one owes us anything. No one cares about our national sovereignty. While our nation sinks in corrupt practices and our national assembly spend all their time debating who is sleeping with whose wives, countries are developing ideas that will make them superpowers tomorrow. My greater concern is not even our political class; my concern is our young people. I do hope that this overly preoccupation with prayers and vigils will stop. Our young people must develop their minds, and proffer workable solutions for national issues. There is no reason why by this time something akin to the Nigerian Youth Movement of the 1930s, which was the precursor to the Action Group and the NCNC, had not been born in Nigeria. Nigeria youths can come together, and form a political movement that will wrest power from these people in government. And while the youths fix the social problems, they can also find ideas along science that will strengthen our military and protect our borders.
Deji Yesufu is the Pastor of Providence Reformed Baptist Church Ibadan. He is the author of HUMANITY and VICTOR BANJO.
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