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A president, or any leader for that matter, is only as good as the quality of individuals he or she has assembled to assist in the execution of his or her mandate at any time. In almost all respects, the choice of the cabinet by incumbent leaders provides the clearest view of the direction their nations are expected to be steered for the duration of their tenures.
In exactly ten days from today, Donald Trump is expected to be sworn in as the 45th president of the United States of America and the conversation is not so much about his suitability or otherwise for the most powerful position of its type in the world, but the various characters he has meticulously assembled to help in the execution of his widely advertised mandate to make America great again, whatever that means!
The Hausa language is rich in proverbs and many parables. Among the most commonly used is the saying that is roughly translated to mean “There can never be a bad King, only bad courtiers”. Unfortunately, the saying also creates the impression that leaders are inherently weak to the extent that they are easily swayed by the opinion of their courtiers.
One thing we can all be sure about in Trump’s case, is that the Hausa proverb I referred is earlier is far less relevant in this particular instance. He is one of the most unpopular candidates ever to be elected in American history, and the same impression of the man is shared in many principalities of the broad universe.
Even before he is sworn into office, Americans, and indeed the rest of the conscientious world already fear the worst as a result of his antecedents. But now, it seems, they also have much to fear from the choice of the men and women in his cabinet. It is a double whammy. We must brace ourselves for the reign of not only a bad ‘king’ but also, sadly, the antics of a posse of extremely bad ‘courtiers’ Trump has carefully assembled to run his palace.
The status-quo is no doubt bad enough to trouble the Chinese, it is now abundantly evident from the sentiments freely aired by Trump’s choice of US Ambassador to Israel, that even the Palestinians must brace themselves for the worst under Trump. The two-state solution to the Palestine-Israeli conundrum coveted by the United Nations and the immediate past American administrations, is now in clearly in jeopardy no thanks to Trump’s choice of Ambassador to Israel who has vowed to move the US embassy from Tel-Aviv to Jerusalem! A peek at the other members of Trump’s appointees is equally troubling:
Rex Tillerson, who Trump has chosen as the next Secretary of State is close ties with Vladimir Putin. In 2013 the Kremlin gave the Texan one of its highest national hours - the Order of Friendship. Remarkably both Republicans and Democrats have questioned Mr. Tillerson’s links to the Russian president. Scott Pruitt, his choice for Attorney-General, has also raised eyebrows. His views, and indeed actions, mirror Trump’s own rhetoric on the campaign trail. Lt. General Michael Flynn, the next National Security Adviser, is another troubling choice. Not only was he one of Trump’s surrogates in the abusive presidential campaign, he often introduced the GOP candidate at rallies laced with racist chanting.
But it was his choice of Stephen Bannon as the White House Chief Strategist that drew the widest condemnation and fully exposed the thinking behind the Trump candidacy and may yet define his presidency. Bannon was the executive chairman of the far-right website Breitbart News. Before his appointment, Bannon was the CEO of Trump’s presidential campaign. His choice has deepened fears of liberal activists that the Trump administration would embolden and enable anti-Semites, racists in America.
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