Amid the nerve jangling wait for the U.S election results, it seems President Donald Trump has found a relishing moment from a video showing a street rally held to support his re-election in Nigeria.
Republican candidate, Trump and his Democratic challenger, Joe Biden are in a blockbuster contest for the soul of America as Americans trooped out en masse to cast ballots in-person, Tuesday, adding to the already logged-in 98.8 million ballots before election day
In the video posted by Trump on his official Twitter handle, hundreds of Nigerians were seen with placards singing and rooting for him.
Clad in T-shirts supporting the U.S. President, Trump’s Nigerian supporters waved American flags, and Republican presidential campaign signs.
The city where the rally held was not stated in the video, but a solidarity rally was recently held in Onitsha, Anambra state on October 25, to drum support for Trump.
Trump said: “A parade for me in Nigeria, a great honor!”
A parade for me in Nigeria, a great honor! pic.twitter.com/EHiSQMFvSZ
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) November 3, 2020
Trump who trailed Biden in opinion polls throughout the build-up to the poll, up to election morning, has been a popular global figure among Nigerians to the chagrin of African-Americans in the US.
Many find it difficult to explain away why Nigerians will shove aside his reported racist posture to embrace some of his administration’s conservative views.
From sampled opinions, The New Diplomat gathered despite the deficit in Trump’s demeanour, most Nigerians are on the same page with the embattled President on his opposition to gay, lesbianism and abortion practices in the US, something which the Barack Obama’s administration welcomed with open hands and pushed around the world.
But how about his racist comments on Nigeria, Africa and the black community.
Trump has labelled African nations, including Nigeria, as “shithole countries” in the past.
This year, he slammed visa restriction on Nigeria and five other countries.
Citizens from Nigeria, Eritrea, Sudan, Tanzania, Kyrgyzstan and Myanmar were blocked from obtaining certain types of visas, though people from the countries listed were still allowed to visit the US as tourists. In September, the United States government said it is reevaluating its immigrant visa restriction imposed on Nigerians after Nigerians met certain conditions.
However, the US immigration policy was among the first policies his administration tightened noose on, weeks after assuming office in 2016 in a race to deliver his campaign promises.
In spite of Trump’s actions, a Pew Research Center poll in January found that 58% of Nigerians had confidence in Trump, behind only Israel, the Philippines and Kenya.
Also, a 2020 Gallup poll showed 56% of Nigerians approved of U.S. leadership, versus 24% for the Europeans.
