“Democracy is based upon the conviction that there are extraordinary possibilities in ordinary people.” – Harry Emerson Fosdick.
Nothing underscores the influence of Peter Obi of the Labour Party in the current electioneering than the fact that at a flag-off rally of the PDP in Uyo, Akwa Ibom State, on Monday a paid entertainer was so carried away that right on the stage, he ended a song and faded in with a popular one with Obi in its lyrics. The “Obi kereke” song hugely embarrassed the organisers. Talk about he who pays the piper….
No doubt, many Nigerian youths are already in tandem with the Obi-dient project in which they are all involved. Even the two candidates of the leading parties, Tinubu and Abubakar, who are pretty familiar with each other and are already busy undoing themselves, find Obi a jigsaw puzzle to solve.
On Wednesday, Sept 28, the 2023 electioneering formally began in earnest. Nigeria again is agog with political talks and the dramas that come with them. In this clime, the election period is when lies are whitewashed to deceive voters, a period when politicians elevate sanctimoniousness to dizzying heights. The rat race for the presidency and the bicameral legislature of the federal government kicked off officially.
The Electoral Act 2022 (Section 94 (1)) stipulates that a campaign in public by all political parties “shall commence 150 days before polling day and end 24 hours before that day.” The Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, on September 20, published the final list of candidates for national elections – Presidential, Senatorial, and House of Representatives – as provided for in Section 32 (1) of the Act and the Timetable and Schedule of Activities.
As the breakdown goes, 18 candidates are seeking to become President Muhammadu Buhari’s successor and 16th President of the republic. Only one woman is among the 18 presidential candidates listed by INEC. The campaign for the governorship and the state-level legislature–House of Assembly–was scheduled to start on October 12.
The Chairman of INEC, Prof Mahmood Yakubu, had admonished political parties that the best way to complement the INEC’s efforts to ensure transparent elections in which only the votes cast by citizens determine the winner is for them and their candidates to focus on issue-based campaigns. The Chairman can say that a zillion times because our campaigns are hardly ever issue-driven and that explains why attack dogs get the spokesperson jobs more easily than professional PR handlers.
Eighteen presidential candidates will be chasing the 95 million votes projected by the Commission. When American author, Peggy Noonan, said, “Our political leaders will know our priorities only if we tell them, again and again, and if those priorities begin to show up in the polls.” She was trying to underscore the importance of campaigns during electioneering as the best opportunity for the people to pass down their demands to their would-be leaders. It is supposed to be an interface period with the citizens whose votes determine who gets victorious in the contest.
Is it what obtains in our clime?
By lifting the embargo on campaigns, political parties are now empowered to enter the market with their different products, trying to engage buyers who in turn will scrutinise the products and say the kind of qualities they desire.
Like in a typical marketing situation, salespeople will try to outsmart one another. Those with better persuasive strategies and sweeter tongues will be handy to push for their products.
Well-established brands with known pedigree are expected to not only reap the benefits but also have to cope with the adverse effects of the old products not meeting old and new tastes and expectations and the people wanting to try the new offering.
In this regard, the two leading political parties, the incumbent All Progressives Congress, APC, and the main opposition People’s Democratic Party, PDP, are in a very precarious situation ahead of this election. Although in opposition now, PDP had been in power for 16 years from 1999 to 2015. It has been tested, as we often say. Is it trusted too?
The APC has been in power since 2015. The people are tasting it and can easily fathom how enjoyable or otherwise its rule has been. Only with its experience in power, it can brag about having a political structure. While power experience may be true as relating to structure, it’s also a fact that it has the baggage acquired over time while in power. The old brigade politicians, Bola Ahmed Tinubu (APC) and Atiku Abubakar (PDP) have the advantage of experience in the power corridors but need to use this period to prove that such an upper hand will benefit the people.
The fact that Nigeria as a country has been on an epileptic journey in its politics puts all previous leaders on the spot. This pressure is made manifest by the surprising emergence of a tornado of former Governor of Anambra State Peter Obi as the presidential flag bearer of the Labour Party.
Obi’s entrance into the political market changed all the equations. The behavioural pattern of the buyers suddenly and shockingly changed. The old products who underrated him and didn’t give him any chance of getting space will attempt to use this campaign period to make the people discountenance him. Ahead of the campaign period since June 2022 when the candidates emerged, Obi and his LP have established themselves as a possible third force.
Going by Obi’s apparent disruption of the political equation in the last three months, even before electioneering formally kicked off, he is certainly going to drive the narrative of the campaigns. Since he appears to be the only candidate anchoring his messages on issues that concern the people, especially the youths, he is going to be at the centre of the campaign conversations.
In addition to his resonating messages filled with deep thinking that is addressing the contemporary challenges of the people, Obi has enviable antecedents which attract anybody desiring a break from ugly Nigeria’s past.
We all know why this election is important to all Nigerians and why this campaign season is vital. For our country and economy to get on the right track again, we need a leader who understands how the real economy works and has the vision to fundamentally change it. If Peter Obi’s name echoes among a cross-section of Nigerians, particularly the youths, it is because no other candidate in the field possesses his lifetime of success in both the private sector and public sectors.
In a way of conclusion I wish to remind our candidates to note that aspiring to be President of over 200 million people requires both physical and mental completeness and this insight from the former First Lady of the United States, Michelle Obama, underscores this fact: “Being President isn’t anything like reality TV. It’s not about sending insulting tweets or making fiery speeches; it’s about whether or not the candidate can handle the awesome responsibility of leading this country.”
I dare add that in our instance, it is not about entitlement, my religion, my tribe, or my geopolitical area; rather, it should be about character, competence, and capacity to tackle the multitude of challenges facing the people. God, help us.