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Carrington said at a public lecture held at the Nigerian Institute of Internatio nal Affairs (NIIA), here, put together Tuesday by the institute in collaboration with the US Embassy, “This election is more remarkable than in 1960 when President John F. Kennedy emerged as the first Catholic to win an election.
"In America's democratic history, Barrack Obama is the first blackman to emerge as the presidential candidate of any political party. "He (Obama) makes this year's election unique by wooing white votes to his side during the primaries.”
One other uniqueness of the 2008 election is that, this is the first election in eighty years with no incumbent president or vice president running for office.
The election in the US has continued to attract a lot of interest in the media and among Nigerians with the emergence of Obama and the latest report of an assassination attempt on him at the on-going Democratic Party Convention in Denver, dominating the newspapers and the electronic media.
A group, led by the Nigerian Stock Exchange boss, Ndi Okere-Onyiuke, recently organised an expensive controversial dinner with guests paying huge sums to partake, apparently to raise funds and drum up support for the Democratic Party candidate.
In a swift reaction, the Obama campaign group disowned the fund-raiser, saying they have no link with them, prompting the country's anti graft agency, the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC), to invite the stock exchange boss for interrogation.
The former US envoy's lecture, which centred on "US Electoral Process And Domes tic Politics", provided the right platform and ample opportunities for Nigerians to take him up on issues bothering on the American election.
He identified the Voting Rights Act of 1964, which revolutionised the American p olitics, as one of the key factors responsible for current happenings in the polity.
The Voting Rights Act, for the first time in American history, gives the black the right to vote and be voted for in an election like the white, thereby providing some sort of balancing power in some states for the black.
It also saw the emergence of an increased election of black into the Congress and other political positions.
“I don't have a crystal ball to foresee the future. I can't predict who is going to win the election. The recent public opinion polls showed that both candidates are tight. The election outcome will be decided on state-by-state basis,” Carrington added.
He remarked that the Iraq war, economy, oil, mortgage and the abortion law, are some of the issues that would shape the election campaign and possibly determine where the voters would finally cast their votes.
“Domestic issues are influenced by what happens elsewhere. Nigeria is a major source of oil supply to the US because the Nigerian crude oil is easy to refine than the one from the Middle-East which is unpredictable due to the volatility of the region.
"But Nigeria's continued failure to arrest the restiveness in the Niger Delta re gion is affecting the US economy”, he lamented.
According to the former US Ambassador, “one of the most interesting things about the US election is the strict regulations on campaign funding and zero tolerance to corruption.
"Every candidate has to account for all money received and their sources. The law forbids candidates from taking money from corporate organisations and non-American citizens, unless the person has been granted permanent resident permit in the US”.
Responding to questions from the audience, Carrington noted that African countries and other emerging economies had a lot to learn from the American democratic system, advocating that efforts should be geared towards making elective leaders true representatives of the people by making them accountable while the followers must equally not stand aloof.
“In a democratic setting, the citizens must be very active to influence what is going on. Democracy involves the input of the leaders and followers. It could be a frustrating effort at times, you must not give up.
“When Africa got its independence, government of the people was realised. What has been missing is government for the people, that would be more responsible in uplifting the living condition of the people.
"Until people's voices are more active in making their leaders deliver the divid ends of democracy, much of the problems will still be with us. What is lacking in most democracy is equality, things have to change,” Carrington said.
Carrington served as the American Ambassador to Nigeria from 1993 to 1997. He was seen by the Nigerian human rights community as a strong ally and democrat who supported the struggle for the revalidation of the annulled 12 June, 1993 presidential election won by the late business mogul, M.K.O.Abiola.
Married to a Nigerian, Carrington was honoured with a traditional chieftaincy title and is currently a fellow of the W.E.B. Dubois institute at Harvard University, where he is completing the writing of a book on Nigeria.
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