For many Nigerians, though the United
States Presidential Election will hold several thousands of miles away,
they are still not giving anything to chance with regard to who emerges
as the US president.
It is against this backdrop that the Publisher of The Ovation
magazine, Dele Momodu, says he can influence the result for a former US
Secretary of States and one of the aspirants, Hilary Clinton.
Already, the social media enthusiast
has “donated” his Twitter profile photograph to Mrs. Clinton. The
American politician’s photograph now sits on the profile of the
socialite’s Twitter page.
Apart from identifying with the
aspirant through his profile photograph section, Momodu has declared his
support for her, saying he can influence Nigerian, and other Africans,
especially women to endorse her ambition.
Momodu’s interest in the US election,
like many of his previous social media engagements, has earned him
criticisms from many social media users, who do not understand the
difference his support would make in the November poll.
Responding, a tweeter, Chike Irobi,
wonders, the difference Momodu’s support for the former US first lady
will make when, as a non-American, he could not vote during the
election.
“Mr. Momodu, you said that you are with
Clinton? But what difference will it make if you can’t vote? Or are you
an American citizen?” she asks.
Also going after Momodu on Twitter, one
Dabe Akon, asks, “What is the interest of Nigerian politicians in the US
elections? Don’t we have enough problems to battle with at home? People
like Momodu should keep quiet if they don’t have anything to say.”
Another commentator urges Nigerian
leaders to focus on local issues rather than dabbling into the affairs
of other countries. “These people don’t even care about our existence,”
the tweeter said.
But Momodu, in his response, says he is a
citizen of the world who is knowledgeable in the interconnectivity of
human race. According to him, no individual can live peacefully in
isolation. “I am a citizen of the world who knows
no one can live peacefully in isolation. So many Nigerians and Africans
in general have so much at stake in America. I can help influence their
choice. She (Clinton) is certainly the most experienced politician in
the race right now. What is required is intelligence, not muscle,” he
tweets.
The media entrepreneur is not the first
Nigerian to campaign on social media for a candidate in the ongoing US
presidential campaign. A former aide to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan,
Dr. Doyin Okupe, had some weeks ago, declared his support for Donald
Trump, one of the frontrunners of the Republican Party.
Okupe’s tweet stirred an online row as
critics knocked him for endorsing an individual who had openly shown his
contempt for the blacks.
Interestingly, Okupe tweet on Trump came a few weeks after he attacked a tweeter who compared his character to that of Trump.
Momodu and Okupe may have been acting
the role a former Director-General of the Nigerian Stock Exchange, Prof.
Ndi Okereke-Onyiuke, played in 2008 during the campaign of President
Barack Obama. Okereke-Onyiuke allegedly used her position to reach out to Nigerian corporate community to support the Obama campaign. But unlike the ex-NSE boss, Momodu and Okupe’s involvement is in the realm of social media.
This is not the first time Momodu will
be taking up a controversial campaign. The most recent of such campaigns
was that of the Minister of Transport, Chibuike Amaechi, during his
fight to get the Senate’s clearance as a ministerial nominee.
Momodu had urged President Muhammadu
Buhari to forgive Ameachi any sin he might have committed and to use his
power to ensure his appointment got legislative endorsement. Listing
achievements of the former governor of Rivers State, he went on to
describe him as “the lion of Africa”.
For several days, Momodu, who cared a
little about the insults hauled at him on social media, was a subject of
ridicule on Nigeria digital space for several weeks.
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PLEASE BE POLITE