US Presidential Election: Why Many Nigerians Support Donald Trump

• The reasons why many Nigerians like and support the former president of the United States, Donald Trump, have emerged
• Trump, the Republican candidate in the November 5 election, is contesting against incumbent vice president, Kamala Harris
• Many Nigerians feel Trump embodies what is missing in the political leaders governing the country

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Legit.ng journalist Adekunle Dada has over 5 years of experience covering metro, government policy, and international events

Lagos, Nigeria - Former president of the United States, Donald Trump, embodies what many Nigerians feel is missing in the country.

Despite widespread accusations of racism, Islamophobia, and referring to Africans as those living in “shithole countries”, the controversial billionaire has continued to attract positive attention from Nigerians.

According to The Guardian, Pew research suggests 58% of people in Nigeria say they have confidence in Trump. The figure is the fourth-highest total after the Philippines, Israel, and Kenya.

Trump’s larger-than-life image as a bombastic, straight-talking, self-made billionaire has made his books a hit in Nigeria. Many Nigerians consider Trump a useful avatar for what they desire in their country.

A political analyst in Lagos, Sa’eed Husaini, said:

“Trump’s popularity in Nigeria probably preceded his becoming president.”

A store procurement manager in Lagos, Felix Abiodun, said Trump’s Art of the Deal and Think Big, regularly stocked by the store, are sold out.

“They don’t stay on the shelves, they go too fast.”

Abiodun said Trump’s often abrasive, off-the-cuff style shows his authenticity as he says things as they are.

“Some people are careful with what they say, appear holy, and do things in secret that you don’t know. But he just says it as it is”

He highlighted Trump’s restoring Jerusalem as Israel’s capital and opposing gay marriage as a sign Trump’s presidency came at a moment “ordained by God”

According to Abiodun, Trump's slogans such as “America first”, and policies that disadvantage Nigerian migrants, simply reflect that leaders should put their own countries first.

“With Obama, he prioritised gay rights, an Islamising agenda. Such policies were not good for America”

Another reason Nigerians love and support Trump is his outspoken criticism of Christian persecution when former president Muhammadu Buhari visited the White House in 2018.

“We have had very serious problems with Christians who are being murdered in Nigeria. We are going to be working on that problem very, very hard because we cannot allow that to happen.”

Biafra secessionists in Nigeria’s southeast are another set of Nigerians who have massive love for Trump.

They believed that Trump’s statement that “self-determination is the sacred right of all free peoples” was a veiled support for a Biafran state.

The former US President tweeted that in response to Britain’s EU referendum result in 2016.

US election: List of billionaires supporting Trump

Meanwhile, Legit.ng reported that as the 2024 U.S. presidential election heats up, Trump is reigniting his campaign with the support of some of America’s wealthiest individuals.

These influential figures are now stepping up their financial support, helping Trump narrow the fundraising gap with President Joe Biden ahead of the 2024 US election.

Proofread by Kola Muhammed, journalist and copyeditor at Legit.ng