The following open letter was written by UK-based lawyer Martins Agbonlahor on last week’s election of America’s first Muslim U.S. Senator Abdul El-Sayed.
Dear Abdul,
First, let me congratulate you on your historic victory as the first Muslim male – and the first Muslim ever to be elected to the US Senate – and also use the opportunity to address you as “Senator,” – an intentional slap in the face of those who, for selfish, Islamophobic reasons, hesitate to go with the flow of the current political tide, or frown when trying to pronounce what they call your “tongue-twisting”, “unfamiliar,” “strange-sounding” name.
I watched the elections with keen interest – and was hugely dismayed nay I say flabbergasted at the tsunami of innuendoes, insults, and barefaced racism heaped against your person – not by the common people in the streets but by stakeholders, shapers of public opinion, and Republican party stalwarts, including even the country’s president, Donald J Trump. You were maligned, defamed, and pilloried by the Press, which threw journalistic fairness and objectivity to the dogs simply because you had a different skin tone and the fact that you prayed differently. Even your primary opponent, US Representative Haley Stevens did the unthinkable by endorsing a Republican nominee and thereby soiling her pledge of party unity.
But one thing that I admired in you was your calmness. You remained poised even as their idiotic ranting bounced off your chest like water off a duck’s back.
As the people headed to the polls, my heart beat a wild tattoo at the degeneracy that the once great America had sunk – a place where the president, his henchmen, and his gang of obscenely rich billionaires openly made a mockery of what America stood for and grossly undermined her Declaration of Independence, part of which states explicitly that … “all men are created equal, and endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights among which are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”
To the current American president, the creed as stated above is complete hogwash. His administration has fostered a climate of fear for ordinary communities, utilising Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in ways critics describe as a personal tool for overreach, harassment, and severe harm to ordinary citizens. In Trump’s America, it has become anathema to pursue life, liberty, and happiness.
So sad, bro, so sad.
But it gladdens my heart that you guys were able to weather the storm and steamroller over his toxic politics by dealing the Republican Party a crushing, disastrous defeat, making the self-glorious Donald Trump a lame-duck president – a toothless bulldog.
I now see what it means when people in western democracies talk of “a day of reckoning,” when one has to account for his conduct – or to the politician – his action or inaction while in office. I wish some members of the Republican party had known this day would come, as they lick their wounds, heads currently bowed in defeat.
While you guys in the US can hold your politicians accountable for their misdeeds, the ones we have in Nigeria act with impunity. Elections often feel less like a genuine civic choice and more like a pre-arranged selection. From persistent questions raised by opponents regarding President Bola Tinubu’s background, age, and academic records – to his famous “Emi lokan” (“It is my turn”) philosophy toward the presidency – the message to the voter has often felt like an afterthought: a victory before election kind of arrangement. In Western countries where the rule of law prevails, these lingering shadows would nullify his candidacy or spark national outrage, but in Nigeria – a land of anything goes – a weary public too often shrugs, numbed by a cycle where impunity reigns and accountability is postponed indefinitely.
Pardon me, Senator Abdul for digressing – but as your party rolls out the drums, maracas, saxophone, and other musical percussion instruments in celebration of your victory – and deservedly so, please remember your campaign promise. The electorate that voted massively for you wants you to represent their interest, substantially speaking. Now that you’ve silenced the doubting Thomases who saw you as a polarizing wannabe, you must rise to the challenge. Go to the Senate and dazzle rather than fizzle out.
Michiganders are in dire need of affordable healthcare, and most of them suffering as a result of the high cost of living. As you know, the current maladministration of Donald Trump has tightened the noose on common citizens. The poor cry in anguish while his family and core of sycophantic friends smile to the banks to dump their millions of cornered tax-payers’ money.
During your campaign, you argued that the people’s tax dollars should be used to fix Michigan’s crumbling infrastructures (clinics, schools, and government offices). You promised a safe environment for all irrespective of the people’s sexual orientation.
You said that you would do all within your power to allay the fears of vulnerable Jewish, Muslim, and the religious inclinations of other communities.
Habibi! Now is the time to act. If I were you, I would be a doer and gain the people’s trust, rather than a slacker who becomes an object of collective opprobrium.
Again, congratulations!
Martins Agbonlahor is an essayist, journalist, author, and criminologist. He resides in Greater Manchester, The United Kingdom. (https://www.martinsagbonlahor.com)