If Mr Donald Trump has his way and becomes the next American President come November, ‘a big, big wall’ will spring up to divide Mexico and the United States of America. Mexico’s economy is on the rise and is billed to get to the top 10 among the world’s largest economies in about five years. The US economy on the other hand, is on the wane and might even stop being the world’s largest economy by the end of next year.
People like Mr Trump blame Latin America in general and Mexico in particular for much of what is wrong with America today—from unemployment, to values, to lifestyles. Everybody in fact, but their decadent, xenophobic selves. Heck, Trump even blames Nigeria and Nigerians for seizing job opportunities in America and has promised to deport us. Mr Trump is a bully. And like most bullies, he is shallow. It is amazing what you can see through someone’s books if you know where to look as every book takes on some of the personalities of the writer.
I was a fan of his books at the beginning, especially ‘What They Didn’t Teach You At Harvard Business School’. Mr Trump was, and is a good communicator, an asset he has used well during this campaign. But by the time I got to ‘Everything is Negotiable,’ I had seen him pretty much for what he is—a vain, egoistic man who likes to hug the limelight and who likes to look down, and talk down at people. It is true that the Mexican economy is tied to that of the US. Mexico supplies a lot of agricultural products and electronics to the US. It also supplies cheap labour. It also, we should say it, supplies drugs to the decadent and drug crazed in America.
The American tourists account for making Mexico a country with one of the largest number of visitors in a year. But it is not a one way street. Mexico gives to America what America wants but cannot get at a low prize. In other words, Mexico helps America to put a lid on inflation. But Trump doesn’t see it that way. He sees a country that is prospering at the expense of America, whose people have become senators, High Court judges and successful businessmen in ‘his country’. He and his fellow right wing sympathisers forget that America started out as a land of opportunities for immigrants. They forget the ‘American Dream’ that their forefathers loved to tell. And instead of looking inwards to find where the rain started to beat them, they are lashing out at the vulnerable. They are lashing out at religion. They are lashing out at race. Alas! The world has moved on from the Hitler days. And Donald Trump, the man to whom very few people gave a chance at the outset given his extreme right wing views, might yet occupy the White House. That is a measure of how far gone the average American white has become, how much he has taken the pre-eminent position of his country for granted; how distrustful he is of the current politicians and how deep seated his xenophobic fears are. But until Trump gets there, Mexico will continue to be an important outpost to US. Americans do not need a visa to get to Mexico. In fact, nobody who comes into Mexico through US needs a visa.
I was one of those who took advantage of this proviso last month. It was my second visit to Mexico. The three-hour flight from Washington was full, mainly of Americans who wanted to thaw out in the Mexican sun. The mood was so light that even the flight attendants joked that some of them might not want to come back. I needed the mood because it helped to lighten some of the heaviness I had about me. To the uninitiated, Mexico is nothing but a land of drugs and robbers where a visitor goes at his own peril. I couldn’t immediately shake my irrational fear. Irrational because I was not likely to venture outside the tourist routes; also irrational because the sheer number of tourist hits every year easily dismisses my fear. It is difficult not to compare Cancun with Lagos or any of our coastal cities— the weather, the ocean, the seas are very similar. It is also difficult not to wonder why they are doing so well with tourism and we are doing so badly. In terms of nature and historical sites, the Mexicans have no edge over us. Their people are not saints either and would take advantage of the unwary without batting an eye. They have their own crime, their seedy areas and racial tension. Yet millions of people troop in every year bringing millions of dollars. Wherein is the difference? The difference is that their leaders had at some point, laid the necessary foundation for tourism.
The airport is neat and welcoming. The officials polite and efficient—within minutes, an entire plane load had emptied. The roads are clean and totally devoid of potholes. Even the inroads to the villages which were not tarred were graded with limestones. Then the beaches were lined with hotels and resorts and equipped with all kinds of water sports. I left Cancun to spend a weekend in Playa Del Carmen and it was heavenly. The ambience, the architecture and the service were very, very impressive. The resort I stayed in—I am not being paid to advertised its name—must have thousands of skilled and unskilled labour at its employ. It is a large, sprawling collection of buildings with staff popping up in literally every corner offering help and direction. My point and I am done, is that what Cancun has, what Playa Del Carmen has can be replicated in Nigeria. Our leaders must take tourism seriously. Our stupendously rich men and women must begin to invest in our country. Tourism is a major employer of labour. It is so diverse and varied that people can key into its many openings—marketers, artisans, guides, entertainers, hospitality workers, sculptors, musicians, the works. Bring your earned and unearned wealth and launder it through tourism as I am sure some of the Mexican drug barons have done and all will be forgiven. Last week, a young friend disclosed that he is bringing a team of Canadian investors to set up an international resort in Epe, Lagos. He made my day. I just hope the bureaucracy will not kill his resolve.
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