By Donu Kogbara
So Hillary Clinton, the Democrat, has lost to Donald Trump, the Republican; and my dream of seeing a highly accomplished female installed as President of the most powerful nation on earth is lying in tatters.

The American election result has sent shockwaves across the world because most onlookers and pundits assumed that Clinton – who is coolly self-controlled and possesses a wealth of serious relevant experience – would beat a volatile loudmouth businessman who has no political track record, is worryingly ill-informed about governance issues and has insulted women, the disabled, Muslims and Mexicans.

Hillary is not a saint and has made mistakes. But she’s an icon of mature restraint and intellectual credibility compared to Trump; and yet, Trump trounced her.

Republician presidential nominee Donald Trump waves as he arrives at a polling station in New York where Trump was to cast his ballot, November 8, 2016. / AFP PHOTO

Many commentators are saying that his victory is a sign of the times…and that there is a desperate global push for Change on ANY terms…as in voters in various countries being so sick and tired of the status quo that even when they are not sure that the alternative to the established order is viable, they are still grimly determined to take a gamble on something new and experiment with The Unknown.

And, looking back at the Brexit bombshell – when the majority of Britons voted to ignore their Prime Minister David Cameron’s advice and exit from the European Union last June (an equally unexpected decision that also sent shockwaves across the world) – I have concluded that this Change At Any Price theory makes sense.

The emergence of radical leftist Jeremy Corbin as leader of the UK’s normally moderate Socialist Labour Party – and the unprecedented unseating, via the ballot box, of an incumbent Head-of State in Nigeria last year – are also evidence of the widespread desire for Change.

More unconventional political developments may be imminent in France, Germany and other locations as electorates express dissatisfaction with complacent elites.

But, as we’ve seen in Nigeria, Change isn’t always as positive as hoped! And only time will tell whether Trump will fulfil the dreams of those who rooted for him.

Trump is not my type of person by a long shot. Almost everything about him has irritated or angered me – the fact that he has been married three times, his abusive remarks about individuals and groups who don’t deserve abuse, the fact that he has attracted the allegiance of toxic racists like Ku Klux Klan members; and so on.

But what’s done is done; and he has won; and his acceptance speech was uncharacteristically conciliatory; and one can only pray that he winds up pleasantly surprising me by ditching the nasty rhetoric and his penchant for pandering to bigots – and by displaying a willingness to learn and doing a reasonable job.

In the meantime, quite a few Nigerians who are home-based or living in the US wanted Trump to triumph. The Niger Delta Avengers and Governor Fayose of Ekiti State, for example, have issued statements, heartily congratulating him.

High Command of Niger Delta Avengers

The High Command of the Niger Delta Avengers, the organization at the forefront of the agitation for the economic emancipation and fiscal federalism for the people of the Niger Delta congratulates Donald J Trump, the president elect of the United States of America.

Your hard fought victory against world establishments is hope for we the over thirty million oppressed minorities of the Niger Delta, that have being continuously raped and economically colonized because of our God-given resources over last six decades, by the Nigerian state and Islamic fundamentalists in power.

Mr. President elect of the United States of America sir, we are hoping for a new perfect economic order and relations as it concerns the United States critical assets and interest in the Niger Delta. Lead the world to a real change not the president Barack Obama change that manipulated a clueless puppet in General Muhammadu Buhari on the people of Nigeria.

Brig.Gen Mudoch Agbinibo Spokesperson

Like many Jonathanists, they feel (wrongly, in my opinion) that Obama and Hillary greviously betrayed their candidate last year; and they gleefully regard Hillary’s defeat as payback…and hope that Trump will ally with them.

I have to say that I very much doubt that Trump cares about Africa and that I will be amazed if he delivers the “justice” his Naija devotees crave. Time will tell.

By the way, Hillary would probably have won if more of her fellow women had voted for her. And some of the facebook friends with whom I’ve been communicating online in the past couple of days have expressed the view that most women dislike each other and rarely support each other because of petty jealousy.

Nothing could be further from the truth! OF COURSE, there are mean-spirited and insecure women who regard every other woman as a rival. But I for one generally support women whenever I can. And so do many of my girlfriends.

Also please note that Theresa May and Angela Merkel (and the late Margaret Thatcher) would not have made it to the political peaks if they hadn’t secured substantial female votes.

Another point worth making is that I have come across SEVERAL men of all nationalities who routinely sabotage each other out of pure jealousy and competitiveness…and SEVERAL men who stab each other in the back because they want to be the only superstars in their social or professional circles. So enough of this silly myth that small-minded envy is restricted to one gender!