Political economy expert and former presidential candidate, Pat Utomi, has said that President-elect Joe Biden will be supportive of Buhari’s administration because he has “failed to bring Nigeria together or move it forward”.
Utomi who spoke with PUNCH said that former US President Barack Obama sought a change in regime because of the corruption in the country but found out “that the corruption did not change”.
He stated that Nigeria is “more corrupt today than it was in the past”.
Utomi said, “Obama was an extreme activist in seeking regime change in Nigeria because of the vast corruption and many of us supported the move but we later found out that the corruption did not change; Nigeria is more corrupt today than it was in the past.
“So, Biden will go back to a more liberal engagement with Nigeria but he is not going to be supportive of the incumbent (Buhari) the way Obama was because they can see that the incumbent fails to bring Nigeria together or move it forward, because they have now realised that Nigeria has become a more dangerous place to live.”
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Biden who will be inaugurated on January 20, 2021, spoke against the actions of the government during the #EndSARS protests, stating that the government should seek “an end to corruption in their democracy.”
Many have wondered what the US’s relationship with Nigeria would look like under the Biden administration, with the world power having a touchy relationship with the Buhari administration under Trump.
Speaking on Trump’s presidency, Utomi said, “The Donald Trump presidency was a war without end from the very beginning because the traditional establishments never expected him to win.
“Trump boasts of being a deal-maker but he proved to be a failure because of the ultimate deal he couldn’t make – with the traditional establishments. He was too reliant, too arrogant with his hold on his base and he continues with the base to the point that he never succeeded in building an acceptable base that would give him a sustainable presidency.”
