Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie
Nigerian author, Chimamanda in open letter asks U.S President Biden, not to recognise Tinubu
Nigerian multi-award winning author, Ngozi Chimamanda Adichie has asked the United States President, Joe Biden, not to accord President-elect, Bola Tinubu any form of recognition by way of any congratulatory message over the latter’s emergence as winner of the February 25 polls.
It would be recalled that the United States’ State Department which acts as the country’s foreign affairs office, has since dispatched a congratulatory message to the Nigerian president-elect, but with a caution to President Muhammadu Buhari government to allow for a peaceful undisrupted court resolution of the litigation arising from the dispute election.
In an open letter to the US leader published, Thursday in The Atlantic, Chimamanda said it was shocking that the US State Department congratulated Tinubu and further described the election as a “competitive election” that “represents a new period for Nigerian politics and democracy”.
“American intelligence surely cannot be so inept. A little homework and they would know what is manifestly obvious to me and so many others: The process was imperiled not by technical shortcomings but by deliberate manipulation.
“I hope, President Biden, that you do not personally share this cordial condescension. You have spoken of the importance of a ‘global community for democracy,’ and the need to stand up for ‘justice and the rule of law.’ A global community for democracy cannot thrive in the face of apathy from its most powerful member.
“Why would the United States, which prioritizes the rule of law, endorse a president-elect who has emerged from an unlawful process?
“This Nigerian election was supposed to be different, and the U.S. response cannot—must not—be business as usual.
“Congratulating its outcome, President Biden tarnishes America’s self-proclaimed commitment to democracy. Please do not give the sheen of legitimacy to an illegitimate process. The United States should be what it says it is,” Chimamanda wrote in the letter.
According to her, ‘the process of the presidential election was not marred by technical faults but deliberately manipulated,’ adding further that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) Chairman, Prof Mahmood Yakubu ‘failed to keep his word on the uploading of election results from polling results and left the door open to manipulation.’
