A lot has been written the impact of Trump's ban from Twitter and other technology platforms, but that isn't the most important lesson from the past three months for us Africans.

There is a potentially serious impact on democracy around the world, especially Africa.

To bring this home, a thought experiment;

Assume that instead of conceding to Buhari in 2015, Jonathan mobilized his supporters to disrupt final collation and announcement of results by INEC - would Jonathan have been spared being sanctioned by the US State Department? No.

No African politician who attempted anything close to what Trump attempted would be spared being sanctioned by the US State Department.

But that's not all;

By all indications, Trump will emerge from this scot free. The Republican Party will ensure he is not punished.

Americans might believe their "institutions worked", and "reconciliation trumps justice". That is a big delusion.

China, Russia and every African dictator/authoritarian democrat is paying close attention - and will dish it out to the State Department at the right time.

Let me remind Americans that US credibility took a big hit in the wake of the Iraq War (e.g. Putin felt emboldened to invade Georgia).

In addition, their "institutions cannot be said to work" if no senior political figure is punished - and this is likely to be the case.

There are other long-term threats to democracy in the US - like Trump managing to convince millions (possibly tens of millions) of Americans to lose faith in America's electoral system and its justice system.

We Africans can tell you how this ends, for free.