If United States that is supposedly described as the mother of constitutional democracy is indefensibly shattered in such a huge judicial shenanigans, so what precedence should we call this, especially to those countries, including Nigeria which model the political system and democratic structure of the North American country?
By Adekunle Alaye
The US president elect, Donald Trump’s unconditional discharge, over his recent case of 34 felony counts of falsifying business records, related to hush-money payment during the 2016 elections to adult film actress, Stormy Daniels is indeed a “grave global precedence” to the judiciary and democracy.
Judge Juan Merchan, on Friday 10th of January, sentenced Donald Trump to an unconditional discharge, with the meaning that the US president elect does not face any fine, probation or jail time, despite the US president elect has been earlier found guilty of the same set of crimes.
According to the presiding judge, the case is truly extraordinary. He said never before has the court been presented with such a unique and remarkable set of circumstances.
Trump was first indicted in March 2023 by the Manhattan district attorney on state charges related to a $130.000 payout to Daniels in 2016.
The verdict made Trump the first former president in the history of the United States to be convicted of felony. Again, Trump will also be the first president to be convicted when he assumes office on the 20th of January, 2025.
Trump was charged with falsifying business records to conceal the payment in exchange for Daniel’s silence in sexual harassment she claimed the soon – to – be – sworn in president elect allegedly committed in 2016. Trump was also charged for undermining the integrity of the 2020 elections.
However, the Friday verdict was recommended that the office of the US presidency must be respected, amid Trump’s pending inauguration. According to the verdict, US presidents have absolute immunity from criminal prosecution.
…it is also indisputably fallacious and undermining, to consistently ascribe or reference post colonial African States, including Nigeria as the only reference points for a pseudo or quasi constitutional democracy. Other acclaimed Developed countries equally have their several political and democratic pitfalls
There are three critical and fundamental lessons to be drawn from this development:
1. If United States that is supposedly described as the mother of constitutional democracy is indefensibly shattered in such a huge judicial shenanigans, so what precedence should we call this, especially to those countries, including Nigeria which model the political system and democratic structure of the North American country?
2. That should this development has happened in any of the Global South, particularly Nigeria, what advise would have come from a country like United States, that is crystal representing such a controversial judicial bottleneck and legal technical ineptitude at the moment?
3. That the Global South should henceforth, stop bothering themselves of modeling any so called Global North or purported developed country. In the world of Walter Rodney: “African development is possible only with a radical break from the international capitalist System”.
Again Kwame Nkrumah, “equally argues that there was organized African Political System, prior to the invasion of the whites in Africa”.
It is no doubt that this constitutional controversy also serves as a credence to my piece before the last US elections in 2024, where I wrote on the UNIVERSALISATION OF POLITICAL VIOLENCE, in an online medium, Daily Crucible. No perfect system anywhere in the world including the United States. Development remains incessant and in progress all over the world.
Above all, it is also indisputably fallacious and undermining, to consistently ascribe or reference post colonial African States, including Nigeria as the only reference points for a pseudo or quasi constitutional democracy. Other acclaimed Developed countries equally have their several political and democratic pitfalls.
•Adekunle Alaye, PhD, writes from the Department of Political Science, Olabisi Onabanjo University, Ago-Iwoye Ogun State Nigeria.
•Opinions, positions or thoughts expressed here are personal and strictly of the writer/author and not The Daily Crucible.
