The US presidential election is as tight as tight can be, and though there’s no ruling out the hope that a miracle could occur that would give President Trump the win, it is clear that Joe Biden, the Democrat candidate, will win the elections and become the new president of the US.
I know that whatever happens in the United States will one way or another, affect every country in the world, so I couldn’t help wonder how a Biden presidency would affect Nigeria.
Although Joe Biden has never been president before, he has held the Vice Presidential office during the tenure of former President Barack Obama. Maybe the policies of his former boss would give us a clue to what he would have in store for Africa in general, and Nigeria in particular.
1) Nigerian Immigrants to the United States
When Donald Trump was in office, he was famous for his love for anti-immigration. His major campaign promise in 2016 was to build a wall along the border between the United States and Mexico. He was even quoted once as using racist words against African countries (something President Buhari should have addressed when he visited Donald Trump in the White House), calling them sh*thole. With Joe Biden, I guess we will see a more relaxed policy on immigration. Maybe Nigerians would get visa on arrival to the US! (Lol!).
2) I really don’t know how Joe Biden plans to aid Africa like China is doing right now. China has contributed billions to the development of Africa (and Nigeria) with loans and grants, and it pales in comparison to what America has been giving. Joe has not been clear on his stance there.
3) Joe Biden’s policies on the economy might be described as a little bit socialistic in nature. In fact, an analysis (and I think they got it wrong) shows that his policies will increase the US national debt by at least $5.6 trillion, when it stands at $20 trillion at the moment. Joe will increase taxes in the US in order to generate income, but he also advocates massive federal spending because of the coronavirus pandemic, to aid SMEs. How would this affect Nigeria? Simple! I foresee a dollar collapse due to his policies and it would affect the Nigerian economy in a negative way.
4) Joe plans to expand on his former boss, Barack Obama’s policies like Obamacare. Maybe that means he would also expand on Obama’s Africa policies too, like Power For Africa. Maybe he can rescue Power For Africa from the failure that it became.
What do you think?