Re: Jimmy Carter- Adieu to the Champion of Downtrodden - Nigeria, Nay Africa

 Re: Jimmy Carter- Adieu to the Champion of Downtrodden - Nigeria, Nay Africa

By

Prof. M. K. Othman

 

President Jimmy Carter stood much taller amid the giants.  His aura of influence may continue to touch the lives of the underdogs years after his demise. We cannot but continue to mourn the death of the African hero, the American president who advanced human rights and alleviated human suffering. We grieve the death of Jimmy Carter for spearheading the campaign to eradicate dracunculiasis, onchocerciasis, trachoma, lymphatic filariasis, and malaria across over eighty countries in Africa and Asia. We will continue to cherish and immortalize President Jimmy Carter, who passed on at the Centurian age.

As part of the mourning, I lifted and edited (for clarity) Dr. Wumi Akintide’s comment on my article published two weeks ago to further enlighten my readers on the excellent job to humanity performed by Jimmy Carter during his 100-year journey on earth. Happy reading. Dr. Akintide is an elder statesman of over seventy who has seen it all and is adequately qualified to share his memoir for posterity.

 

God Almighty has ranked Jimmy Carter among the best Presidents of America based on his achievements in and out of office, as evidenced by his scorecard, which I am trying to itemize.

First, it is by the grace of God that President Carter and his First Lady Rosalyn Carter spent their four years together in the White House as American President and first lady without a single scandal or Court action for any crimes committed, be it small or big, is my proof that God Almighty had scored President Carter one of the best. If not the best, on his score card which is different from the scorecard of ordinary mortals like you and me and some of the fake pastors and prophets of nowadays who predict some Cock and Bull stories they could not have heard from Jehovah Jireh and Yahweh and the Alfa and Omega.

Second, President Carter was the first Submarine Nuclear Physicist to be elected President on his first attempt to secure the position.

Third, during his 76 years of conjugal bliss with the Love of his life, President Carter did not experience a single marital problem known to the public. God made his wife the longest-surviving American First Lady, who lived to the ripe old age of 96. While he survived for 100 years, their marriage lasted for 76 years. What a gracious wisdom.

Fourth, President Carter became the greatest peacemaker of all. He received the Nobel Peace Award for himself. He helped two other world leaders, Menahem Begin, and Anwar Sadat, receive it simultaneously due to their tenacity and perseverance at the Camp David Accord that Carter oversaw.

Fifth, President Carter became the most religious and moralistic President ever. He remained a Sunday School teacher throughout his years in the White House and for much of his adult life.

Sixth, President Carter avoided getting America into the Third World War by declaring War against Iran. He could easily have won this war, thus guaranteeing his re-election, but he did not want to be a Bully or abuse his power as President.

 

Seventh, President Carter singlehandedly and quietly eradicated the Guinea Worm from the surface of the Earth. Through his center's interventions in over eighty countries, he also attempted to eliminate many tropical diseases. He established the Carter Center as a catalyst for promoting World Peace, and during his presidency, he kept NATO strong and united. He has helped in many profound ways to facilitate the establishment of the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta, Georgia, with the Carter Center as its twin sister next door.

Eighth, President Carter built the Natural Habitat, an affordable housing for poor people worldwide.

During his presidency, President Carter helped make Atlanta “the New York” of the South and an Olympic City. His development fast-tracked the city's rapid development by making Jackson International Airport the most modern and the third busiest Airport in the United States, second only to O’Hare Airport in Chicago and Dallas/ Forthworth in Dallas.

Tenth, President Carter helped to develop Plains, Georgia, which would be his last resting place and the home of his First Lady. It will also become a tourist center for the whole World, much like Mount Vernon has become for the First American President, George Washington, who was President from 1789 to 1797.

These are by no means enormous achievements by President Jimmy Carter, but they were unparalleled by presidents globally. Consequently, President Jimmy Carter and his First Lady are sitting at the right hand of God. The Bible says it better than I can ever say: “That the last shall be the first in the Kingdom of God.”

 

Furthermore, President Jimmy Carter is a prime candidate for Mount Rushmore by acclamation and consensus. If any American President deserves to have his head statute carved in stone on Mount Rushmore in South Dakota, the name of that President is James Earl Carter Jnr, the 39th President, the iconic citizen of Plains, Georgia, a tiny rural village of roughly 600 people by population with the seven Denominational Churches. Unbelievable!!

Suppose President Jimmy Carter's accomplishments are factored in and out of office, as meticulously and comprehensively stated and articulated in this write-up. In that case, he is far more deserving of an honor than many presidents of America and other countries.

To corroborate the points made, one should listen to a funeral oration posthumously written by Vice President Walter Mondale of Minnesota, who thought that a man who was diagnosed with Cancer that had spread to his liver and brain was likely to die before him. In 2015, Walter Mondale wrote the eulogy for his former running mate, Jimmy Carter. Mondale has since passed away, but his son delivered his father's eulogy at Carter's funeral on Thursday, January 9th, 2025, at the National Cathedral in Washington, DC, where the whole world bid Jimmy Carter a well-deserved farewell.

Walter Mondale died at 93, and Rosalyn Carter at 96. In contrast, “Ajagunmole Oluwo Orun”—the one and only Jimmy Carter of Plains, Georgia—died at 100, totally Cancer-free by some miracle that only the Almighty God can explain or unravel.

I rest my case.

Dr. Wumi Akintide