Emmanuel Onwubiko : Trump’s new world order is here!

The key points of the inauguration speech made by the 47th President of the United States, Donald John Trump, were encapsulated in the following few chapters of his lengthy speech.

His words: “As we gather today, our government confronts a crisis of trust. For many years, a radical and corrupt establishment has extracted power and wealth from our citizens, while the pillars of our society lay broken and seemingly in complete disrepair.

The American dream will soon be back and thriving like never before. To restore competence and effectiveness to our federal government, my administration will establish the brand-new Department of Government Efficiency.

America will reclaim its rightful place as the greatest, most powerful, most respected nation on Earth, inspiring the awe and admiration of the entire world. A short time from now, we are going to be changing the name of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America.

The United States will once again consider itself a growing nation, one that increases our wealth, expands our territory, builds our cities, raises our expectations, and carries our flag into new and beautiful horizons. And we will pursue our manifest destiny into the stars, launching American astronauts to plant the stars and stripes on the planet Mars.

We are one people, one family, and one glorious nation under God. So to every parent who dreams for their child, and every child who dreams for their future, I am with you, I will fight for you, and I will win for you. We are going to win like never before. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

In recent years, our nation has suffered greatly. But we are going to bring it back and make it great again, greater than ever before. We will be a nation like no other, full of compassion, courage, and exceptionalism. Our power will stop all wars and bring a new spirit of unity to a world that has been angry, violent, and totally unpredictable.

America will be respected again and admired again, including by people of religion, faith, and good will. We will be prosperous, we will be proud, we will be strong, and we will win like never before. We will not be conquered, we will not be intimidated, we will not be broken, and we will not fail. From this day on, the United States of America will be a free, sovereign, and independent nation.

We will stand bravely, we will live proudly, we will dream boldly, and nothing will stand in our way because we are Americans. The future’s ours. And our golden age has just begun. Thank you, God bless America, thank you all.”

President Trump anchored his speech and unveiled his blueprint on the mantra of MAKE AMERICA GREAT AGAIN (MAGA), even as he promised to ensure that in every action he would take during his second stint as the world’s most powerful political leader, his country’s national interest comes first, which he termed “AMERICA FIRST.” Throughout his inaugural address, which was witnessed live by some of the wealthiest living human beings in our time—such as Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Mark Zuckerberg, and other heavyweights whose combined net worth is higher than the wealth accumulated by every member of the human race—the assembly that saw President Trump as the leader of the USA was made up of the richest living persons to have ever existed on the planet.

The presence, solidarity, and endorsement of the second coming of President Donald John Trump for his second term, beginning on January 20th, 2025, demonstrates the main thrust of the administration, which is to once again make America the richest and most productive nation on Earth. Trump also signaled his determination to flush out undocumented immigrants numbering in the millions, just as border security was emphasized as the central theme of his mandate as the President of the USA for the next four years. He said he had already detailed military troops to safeguard some borders through which illegal aliens flood into the USA, and one novel approach to law enforcement was Donald Trump’s declaration of hard drug cartels and barons as TERRORISTS, having accordingly signed an executive order to that effect. Trump signed over 100 executive orders to begin the implementation of some of his salient programs which he believes would make America great again.

There are fears that Trump’s closeness to the dictator of Russia, Vladimir Putin, could endanger the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), which connects Europe and the USA in a binding security and defense treaty. Trump is not known to be a supporter of the massive scale of funds that the Joe Biden administration gave out to Ukraine during its ongoing war with Russia, which invaded and annexed several Ukrainian territories. Just as Trump has stressed the strategic importance of imposing tariffs to discourage US markets from being flooded by foreign-made goods, especially from competitors like China, Trump’s administration is expected to be at odds with many foreign policies pursued by the previous administration. Trump wants TikTok to belong to American billionaires, with the Chinese founder retaining 50%. Already, the US Supreme Court validated a congressional law banning TikTok in the USA for security reasons, but Trump signed an executive order to suspend the execution of the law for a few days so that there could be a negotiated settlement giving 50 percent ownership to American billionaires.

Ideologically, the presidency of Donald John Trump is seen as the right answer to the departure of much of the American establishment from the belief in God. In the last few years, the Democrats pursued policies that antagonized belief in God, and the epithet IN GOD WE TRUST, the motto of the USA, was almost abrogated by Joe Biden, a self-acclaimed Roman Catholic, who against all logical thinking, declared Easter Sunday as GAY DAY, just to offend conservative Christians. Trump’s return would serve as an effective check and balance to the near domination of the world order by defenders of the rights of those with lifestyles that manifest same-gender sexual orientations. It is in this light that Nigeria and much of Africa would experience a reprieve from the external political and economic pressures mounted by the Democrats, led by Joe Biden, a rabid supporter of gay rights.

A policy paper published by a US government foreign services agency, dated June 17, 2013, at 10:36 AM, stated the following: “The passage of the Same-Sex Marriage Prohibition Bill on May 31, 2013, by the Nigerian House of Representatives places President Goodluck Jonathan in a tricky position. Not signing the bill risks alienating his own government and signaling to the general public that he does not support one of the few issues that brings the majority of Nigerians together. Alternatively, signing such legislation may cost the country substantial sums of international aid and investment. Either way, gay marriage—an otherwise unlikely political issue—may significantly influence the Nigerian political debate leading up to the 2015 national elections.”

The bill, which received unanimous approval in the House, inched closer to becoming law in the oil-rich nation. In simple terms, the bill prohibits same-sex marriage contracts from being issued or recognized by the state. However, if President Jonathan signs the current version, the law would also enable courts to levy criminal charges against public displays of affection between individuals of the same sex. It would further make it a criminal offense to establish or operate gay organizations in Nigeria—incurring penalties of mandatory imprisonment if found guilty.

Recent studies have found Nigerians to be overwhelmingly against accepting homosexuality, even in comparison to other African nations with anti-gay legislation. However, according to Nigerian civil society groups, the recent version passed by the House places more than just the LGBT community at risk. Both Nigerians and international aid workers implementing HIV/AIDS prevention programs may be prosecuted under the new law if their efforts are construed as promoting same-sex relationships.

If President Jonathan signs the bill, questions loom as to what extent the law will be enforced and if the international community will retreat. In 2011, when the Nigerian Senate passed a similar bill, the United Kingdom threatened to withdraw aid; but the Nigerian Senate did not back down.

Even more may be at stake for Nigeria this time. Since the 2011 passage of the Senate version of the bill, the Obama administration publicly affirmed its stance toward the advancement of LGBT rights across the globe, even suggesting that the United States might tie aid to support for LGBT rights. However, it remains an open question whether the United States will divest aid from countries with anti-LGBT legislation, particularly in light of President Obama’s previous statement that “Africa’s future is up to Africans.”

Under the Obama administration, and later under Joe Biden’s presidency, the U.S. claimed that Nigeria’s anti-gay laws have the potential to violate not only international treaties and conventions—many of which Nigeria has signed—but also the country’s Constitution. There is a justifiable concern that this law could be used to abridge Nigerians’ rights to freedom of speech, association, and assembly. Yet, the bill’s enactment may also lead to political blackmailing and rampant abuse by the country’s security forces.

During Obama and Biden’s administrations, many Nigerian anti-gay activists feared that then-President Obama might pressure President Buhari during his U.S. visit. Nigerian opponents of gay rights vowed to defend the country’s anti-gay laws as President Muhammadu Buhari met his United States counterpart, Barack Obama, in Washington D.C., on Monday. Some feared that Washington would threaten to reduce aid if these laws remained on the statute books.

On July 20, 2015, a U.S. media publication affirmed that former Nigerian president Goodluck Jonathan steered an anti-gay law through parliament in 2014, which also banned same-sex marriage. The law criminalized public displays of affection between same-sex couples and penalized organizations advocating for the rights of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people.

Mausi Segun, a Human Rights Watch researcher in Nigeria, said, “This law serves no purpose at all. It restricts the right of freedom of assembly and freedom of association.” The United States Supreme Court had recently ruled that gay marriage was a constitutional right, and the U.S. government was trying to push the Nigerian government to review the law.

U.S. Assistant Secretary of State for African Affairs, Linda Thomas-Greenfield, had stated that supporting gay marriage would now be part of Washington’s foreign policy. The United States had recently pressured Uganda to reverse its anti-gay law and had influenced Mozambique to scrap its own anti-gay laws.

The American administration knows that Nigeria is a very religious country, with recent polls indicating that 85 percent of Nigerians oppose gay marriage. The Nigerian government, however, is very unlikely to give in to this pressure, as stated by Bishop Felix Akinbuluma: “The Nigerian government will never succumb to that. The people will never succumb to that. The Bible is our standard, and it says that men and women should be married together. This is the will of God. In Nigeria, several religions oppose it as well.”

Anti-LGBT activists argue that the U.S. is now the major exporter of gay rights in the world. They fear that Obama could leverage U.S. assistance to pressure Buhari’s government into reversing Jonathan’s anti-gay law, and they have called on Buhari to resist such a trade-off.

Buhari, elected that year, had to contend with several major issues during his four-day trip to the U.S. Pro-LGBT activists were fully aware of these complexities. Michael Ighodaro from the Global Advocacy for HIV Prevention group noted that, “The situation is still the same; people are being attacked, and there have been a few arrests.” Public awareness and the rights of LGBT people need to be a primary focus, he said.

What Does a Donald Trump Presidency Mean for LGBTQ+ Rights?

Lucy Middleton posed the question in a piece published on November 6, 2024, asking, “What does a Donald Trump presidency mean for LGBTQ+ rights?”

Trump, whose campaign was criticized for being anti-LGBTQ+, made a comeback and won the 2024 U.S. presidential election. His victory followed a campaign that heavily featured anti-LGBTQ+ rhetoric. Trump and his running mate, J.D. Vance, secured more than the 270 Electoral College votes needed to win the presidency. Both have been accused of seeking to roll back key LGBTQ+ rights, and millions of dollars were spent on ads using anti-transgender messaging during the campaign.

LGBTQ+ advocates and allies have described a possible Trump administration as dangerous for the community, citing policies against gender-affirming care for minors, education in schools, and protection from discrimination. Here’s a summary of Trump’s stance on LGBTQ+ rights:

What Has Trump Pledged to Do on LGBTQ+ Rights? Trump has outlined a number of policies that will change the rights of LGBTQ+ Americans, particularly transgender individuals. His plan includes:

1. A ban on gender-affirming healthcare for trans minors.

2. Restricting government programs that “promote” changing gender at any age.

3. Blocking the participation of trans female athletes in women’s sports.

4. Removing any clinician who provides trans healthcare to minors from Medicare and Medicaid.

5. Imposing severe consequences for teachers who suggest to children that they might be a different gender than their biological sex.

6. Federal recognition of only the gender assigned at birth, either male or female.

7. Giving parents control over what their children are taught in schools, including cutting federal funding for any school that promotes “gender ideology.”

Trump also promised to eliminate “left-wing gender programs” from the military and remove Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) bureaucrats from universities.

What Is Trump’s Record on LGBTQ+ Rights? In his first presidency, Trump sought to roll back anti-discrimination protections for LGBTQ+ people across various sectors, including healthcare, employment, adoption, school restrooms, housing, and homeless shelters. Many of these policies included religion-based exemptions that allowed LGBTQ+ people to be excluded on the grounds of faith.

Additionally, the Trump administration banned trans Americans from serving in the military, a policy Biden reversed, and removed LGBTQ+ content from federal websites. Trump also re-assigned the U.S. Special Envoy for LGBTQ+ Rights, leaving the post vacant until 2021.

What Have LGBTQ+ Groups Said? Multiple LGBTQ+ organizations have strongly criticized Trump’s actions. GLAAD, a nonprofit LGBTQ+ advocacy organization, documented Trump’s anti-LGBTQ+ policies, while the Human Rights Campaign described him as the most anti-LGBTQ+ president in American history.

The American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) published an analysis of Trump’s record, highlighting the harmful impact of his policies on LGBTQ+ individuals. Advocates have said defeating Trump in the election is “critical for the cause of equality.”

In conclusion, there is a general belief that President Donald John Trump represents a New World Order, but for how long and how impactful this new order will be remains to be seen. While it is within the remit of any president to prioritize the interests of their own country, it is crucial that Trump does not forget that the strength of the United States is also rooted in its support for democracy and human rights worldwide. As he works to make America great again, he must not neglect the global spread of democracy or the human rights of citizens across the world. America’s greatness will remain limited if it allows nations like Uganda, Rwanda, and Nigeria to continue to be led by dictatorial regimes. Ensuring that periodic elections in African nations are transparent, free, fair, and peaceful should become a cornerstone of Trump’s New World Order. That way, Trump can avoid betraying and alienating the conservative Africans who supported him during his campaign. America First, yes—but the well-being of the rest of the world matters too.

Emmanuel Onwubiko is the head of the Human Rights Writers Association of Nigeria (HURIWA) and was a National Commissioner of the National Human Rights Commission of Nigeria.