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| Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton and former President Bill Clinton, Chelsea Clinton and President Obama on stage after speeches at Rally on Independence Mall with Hillary Clinton, President Obama, Michelle Obama, President Bill Clinton, Chelsea Clinton, Bruce Springsteen and Jon Bon Jovi. Independence Hall, Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA. Picture; Caroline Quinn |
The Nigerian community in the U.S. will vote en masse for Democratic party candidate Hillary Clinton ahead of her Republican rival Donald Trump in Tuesday’s presidential election, Mr Michael Adeniyi said.
Adeniyi, who is a former President of a Nigerian U.S.-based group, the Organisation for the Advancement of Nigerians Inc. (OAN Inc.), said this in an interview with a correspondent of the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Richmond, U.S.
“We have a lot of Nigerians who are Republicans and who support Trump but the majority of Nigerians support Clinton.
“Most Nigerians in the Northeast states like New York, New Jersey, California, among others, support Clinton and I see Clinton winning.
“I think she is qualified for the job, being an experienced wife of a former governor and wife of the president when her husband was president and she was actually involved.
“She was a senator and secretary of state. So, she has learnt the ropes and you can’t compare her against someone who is not experienced,” he said.
The ex-leader said Nigeria and Africa should expect to benefit a lot from a Clinton’s presidency, considering her involvement with issues that concern Africa.
“As secretary of state, Clinton visited many countries in Africa; she understands what goes on in the continent and in her capacity, dealt with those issues.
“You can’t compare her with somebody who does not have any affiliation with Africa. I don’t think Trump has ever been to Africa or even knows anything about Africa.”
According to him, the only link he thinks the Republican candidate had about Africa was when his sons went for shooting game on the continent.
“I will bet my money on someone (Clinton) who has got the experience,” Adeniyi declared.
Prof. Olusoji Akomolafe, a professor of Political Science at the Norfolk State University, also told NAN that Clinton would win, from political point and his personal views.
“If you have to go by the polls it can be deceptive but Clinton is going to win all the Blue states including Michigan, that President Barack Obama won, but excluding Ohio.
“As far as the margin is concerned, it is not going to be that too significant,” Akomolafe said.
The don explained that the American electorate was very unpredictable saying that it could have an opinion on Monday but by the time it is Friday, it has hd an entirely different one.
He also said that the reason an average American would give for not voting for Clinton would be as a result of the email scandal.
“But that cannot compare to the lies that the other candidate has made.
“I project with confidence that Clinton will win the election on Tuesday,” the professor of political science declared.
He added: “The Electoral College will be far apart but popular vote will be close.”
Prof. Yetunde Odugbesan-Omede, a professor of Global Affairs and Political Science, at Rutgers University and Farmingdale State College, said most Nigerians and Africans in Diaspora would elect Clinton.
“Nigerians in Diaspora and Africans will be voting for Clinton. We have some minority who will vote for Trump but over 90 per cent majority will vote for Clinton.
“We have over three million Africans in Diaspora who have pledged to vote for Clinton,” she said.
The don also said that Clinton had a better chance to win the election above Trump.
“I am heavily involved in the campaign as a Hillary supporter. Clinton has higher chance of winning this election.
“She is projected to win in a lot of states and right now, she still has four-point edge over Trump. We believe her 47 per cent to Trump’s 43 per cent will make her win.
“Clinton is projected to win 322 Electoral College votes. Right now, she has 239 Electoral College and Trump has 161,” she said.
Odugbesan-Omede explained that Nigerians and Africans in general had more to benefit from Clinton than from Trump.
“Trump’s stance on migration, how he feels about African, Latinos, Muslims and other minority is bad.
“Clinton is going to follow the legacy of Obama; we have so much to gain from Clinton than Trump who is going to change everything Obama has achieved.
“So Clinton’s presidency will have a lot of impacts on Nigerians, both the documented and the undocumented and also on African-Americans,” she said.
NAN reports that U.S. president is elected by Electoral College made up of 538 electors as against popular vote and to be elected president, a candidate must win 50 per cent plus one (51 per cent) electoral vote.
Each of the 50 states, as well as the District of Columbia, has a certain number of Electoral College votes to award a candidate, based on the number of members of Congress it has.
This is also in line with each area’s population and the votes are given on a winner-takes-all basis, except in Maine and Nebraska.
In 2008, President Barack Obama won 53 per cent of the vote but got 68 per cent of the Electoral College vote. (NAN)
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