How the Biden administration will affect Nigeria

The tense US 2020 election, which was held on November 3, ended with Joe Biden winning the presidency. Even though Donald Trump did not admit losing the presidency, it is clear that Biden is a unanimous president and will take the president’s seat.

Donald Trump’s four years of the presidency was full of unexpected events and decisions. Some experts thought that Trump should not have had a problem with winning the second term.

But the coronavirus pandemic and difficult political environment inside the country finally had its toll.

Another very important question is how the new administration will deal with the African countries? In this article, we will talk about this issue.

 Buhari congratulates Biden

Nigerian President Muhammadu Buhari was one of the first ones to congratulate U.S. President-elect Joe Biden on his victory.

Buhari emphasised the need for democracy for fair elections and an opportunity to change leaders peacefully. Buhari also looked forward to increased cooperation between Nigeria and the United States, especially at the economic, diplomatic and political levels, including the war on terror.

Garba Shehu, the President’s Senior Special Assistant on Media and Publicity, also said Nigeria hopes for closer relations with the United States under Biden’s presidency.

What exactly can we expect?

The first thing that we can expect is without a doubt strengthening bilateral ties between these countries. Trump ignored this for four years and we can predict that economic relations between Nigerian and the United States will become much stronger.

Nigeria is a leading economy in Africa. The country has seen a surge in trading — people are now able to easily register to trade Forex in Nigeria and a strong connection with the United States will be beneficial for the country’s national currency as well.

At the same time, the Biden administration could use a more targeted approach to international trade instead of Trump’s more “blanket” approach, which is also very good for Nigeria.

Biden is a person who has always supported alliances and strong bilateral ties with other countries, especially if we take into account Africa and Nigeria.

The latter, as has been mentioned above, is the leading economy in Africa. Of course, the United States wants to expand its reach in Africa and have a strong partner, like Nigeria. This will give us cooperation that is beneficial for both countries.

Biden to introduce restriction

While we have talked about positive events, Joe Biden can also put more pressure on the Nigerian government, because of the human rights violations that is taking place in Nigeria.

We can recall that Nigerian citizens, who were protesting against corruption and police reforms in the country were subjected to a violent crackdown from the police forces.

Biden will encourage the Nigerian government to have a more peaceful approach towards its citizens. Otherwise, it is also possible that the US president will impose some sanctions.

Biden’s presidency seems to be very beneficial for Nigeria and the following years will unfold everything for the African country.

Details about the 2020 US election

U.S. President Donald Trump still does not want to recognise Joe Biden’s victory in the presidential election.

Some Republicans are urging Trump and his supporters to accept that the Democratic nominee has won enough states to win. Other Trump supporters say there was serious wrongdoing but did not provide serious evidence that such problems could have distorted the election results.

On Saturday and Sunday of the election, Trump did not appear in public and chose to spend the weekend at his golf club.

However, he did not forget about his Twitter account, through which he continued to complain of abuse.

On Monday night, Trump posted a message on Twitter that journalists saw as a promise to appear on the airwaves to discuss “cheating on the postal vote,” but there was no response.

How Biden will start

While Trump still doesn’t recognise Biden’s victory, U.S. media are already reporting on the democratic nominee’s first possible moves after the inauguration.

Journalists predict that on the first day (or days) of his presidency he will sign a series of decrees that will repeal many of the key decisions of the Republican predecessor.

According to forecasts, this list looks like this:

*Biden is preparing emergency measures to combat the spread of coronavirus, including he could expand testing and introduce mandatory wearing of masks in federal agencies.

*The new president intends to rejoin the Paris Agreement on climate change. Officially, the U.S. stopped participating in it only on November 4, although Trump promised to abandon the treaty during the 2016 presidential campaign.

*Cancel the decision to withdraw the United States from the World Health Organisation. Trump has promised to do so because of the controversy over the coronavirus pandemic and the disease control policy.

*End Trump’s ban on citizens of some Muslim-majority countries from entering the U.S.

*Restore the DACA programme, under which authorities should not immediately deport people who entered the U.S. without the right documents as minors. (Vanguard)