Political campaigns should ordinarily be colourful and entertaining, apart from being issue-based. But it appears that both are now lacking.
A probable reason is the ideological vacuum or stalemate, which deprives the political parties of a clear compas and direction. Early leaders, who ran for elections on the platform of township associations and later, political parties, unlike their latter-day successors, were motivated, not by the privilege of officialdom, but by the patriotic duty of service.
As they competed among themselves for power, the presented their promises for verification. There were rooms for alternative choices based on the manifesto and programmes they presented to the people. They were predictable because they seldom deviated from their campaign promises after achieving victory at the poll. Today, attention has shifted from what the party should promise broadly to what individual candidates are promising, and in some settings, there is no alignment. Yet, associations only become political parties when their campaign promises take firm roots in their ideological outlook, as propagated by their leaderships.
Action Group (AG) and the Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN), arguably the best organised platforms of those days, demonstrated the clarity. AG projected the ideology of ‘Democratic Socialism,” with the accompanying motto of ‘Freedom for All, Life More Abundant.’ The Northern Peoples Congress (NDC) was a clearly regional party, judging by the name, and never projected any plan for the entire country beyond its reliance on the numerical strength of the region arising from lopsided distribution of constituencies by the colonial masters.
The National Council of Nigerian Citizens (NCNC) was confused, oscillating from its leaning towards the NPC and AG in critical alliances. The NPC leader, Sardauna Ahmadu Bello, never bothered about campaigns in his region until the AG leader, Chief Awolowo, drew him out after dropping leaflets from helicopters on residents of the Northern region. Awo sustained his campaign itinerary by traversing nearly all the major towns and villages in Nigeria.
While his UPN came up with the cardinal policy of free education, free health, full employment and rural development, the only notable promises of the National Party of Nigeria (NPN) were housing and national unity.
Campaigns in those days attracted huge crowds who were not induced by money. The audience was never rented. Even, commoners who agreed to be party members paid dues to the parties. Their anticipated reward was the inevitable fulfilment of promises after securing the mandate.
Many contemporary actors are not prepared for campaigns and debates. They seem to lack that experience, communication skills, depth and sarcastic behaviour that trilled the crowd and held the audience captive in past dispensations.
Apart from the historic Abeokuta speech by Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu ahead of 2023 elections, which observers christened ‘Emilokan,’ no quotable quote from speeches of other candidates and party leaders were captivating.
Nigeria is yet to have another Mbonu Ojike, the boycott king; Great Zik of Africa, the beautiful bride; Kingsley Mbadiwe, man of timber and calibre; SLA Akintola, master of ambiguities; Adisa Akinloye, the regional Casava minister, Bola Ige, the Cicero of Esa-Oke, ebbulient, dashing and fork-tongued Remi Fani-Kayode, Fani power, high priest of rigging in the old Western Region; and the legendary Adegoke Adelabu, Penkelemes, whose evergreen speeches polarised the Ibadan society.
All of them were populists in varying degrees; flamboyant, adept in the war of words and propaganda, and claiming to embody the aspirations and will of the people whose votes they competed for. Radio and newspapers reports and advertisements profited immensely from the brickbats and media wars. An economy was generated around campaign grounds, with commercial drivers making money and hawkers smiling home with huge profits.
Unlike then, campaigns now seem to be very dull, restricted to certain locations, abusive, boring and lacking in substance. The periodic rituals are in some settings marred by thuggery and violence, like it happened ahead of the recent governorship poll in Osun; outright lying and prevarication, and social media assault by miscreants. Although consultants now push for door-to-door campaigns, they are not spectacular like the old model of crowd pulling. Then, there was a correlation between huge crowds at campaigns and high turn out of voters on poll day.
There were practical engagements and amusement in those days of clever insults. Awo cautioned Adelabu, who twisted the free education programme to mean that children would rebel against their parents after their exposure to schooling. An orator and humour merchant, Adelabu rekindled the pre-colonial friction between his native Ibadan and the neighbouring Ijebu, describing Awo, a native of Ilishan-Remo who had lived in Ibadan all his life, as a villager.
On the campaign train in Ekiti, Akintola, who met very hostile rural dwellers, retorted that ‘Ekiti kawe, sugbon won o kanu,’ meaning Ekiti people are only embraced education, but not exhibiting native intelligence.
When the embattled Western Regional premier was reinstated by the Supreme Court, he bragged, saying: ‘A ti ki oje bo oloosa lowo, o ku baba eni to o bo,’ meaning the ring of victory has been fixed on his finger and nobody can remove it.” AG Publicity Secretary Bola Ige said if it cannot be removed, it would be cut off.
In the Second Republic, NPN National Vice Chairman Emeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu, with his Ikemba Front, dismissed Awo during the campaigns, saying that he was going nowhere. The old man simply ignored the former warlord. Awo described Ojukwu as a brilliant rascal who had uncritically confused showmanship with statesmanship.
The press conference of Mbadiwe was what reporters also looked forward to because of his polemics which served as ballistic missiles. It was all fun. Always accompanied by his long standing friend, Chief Kola Balogun, the man of caterpillar and bulldozer from Arondizuogu, Orlu Division, once thundered: “When the come comes to become, you will know the physicality of man.” Many were confused. But the incomprehensible sentence generated wild laughter.
During the 1983 campaigns, Mbadiwe, Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, said he had asked Awo and Zik to surrender and leave the stage, warning that if they ignore his advice, they would be routed in an operation he would personally command. At the end of the day, it paled into an empty threat; a figment of imagination. He never commanded any operation afterwards.
In the Second Republic, the televised governorshio debate between UPN’s Ige and his rival, Chief Richard Akinjide of NPN, nearly degenerated into a physical combat. Akinjide of the old Nigeria National Democratic Party (NNDP), led by SLA, locked horns with his colleague at the bar. When he disparaged the implementation of the free education programme by Awolowo government, saying that it turned out miscreants, Ige asked from Akinjide how many of his family members who passed through the programme were hoodlums. Tempers rose. The televised programme abruptly came to an end. There was a clash of wit NigerianEconomic Reports
It was during that Second Republic also that the influential Transport Minister, Dr. Umaru Dikko, who has not seen any poor Nigerians eating from the dustbin and dump site, told the nation that President Shehu Shagari will win, not by landslide, but by moonslide. The apprehension about rigging instantly engulfed the polity.
An aggrieved Zik later complained bitterly over the 1983 poll outcome, only to be dismissed by his kinsman and Shagari’s Political Adviser, Dr. Chuba Okadigbo, as the ranting of an ant. The Owelle of Onitsha, in a fit of anger, uttered some hot words. When Okadigbo later fell as Senate President in the current dispensatio, those who witnessed that era drew a linkage.
Among others, two issues made the ill-fated Third Republic campaigns memorable. The first was the popular slogan of ‘Abolition of Povery’ by Chief Moshood Abiola, on the platform of ‘Hope ’93.’ It later paled into an elusive hope and wasted expectation.
The second was the Babagana Kingibe/Slyvester Ugoh debate where the retired diplomat brought out some Biafran Republic coins produced by the former minister when he was rebel’s Central Bank Governor in Enugu. Kingibe diplomatically passed a message. Viewers laughed it off.
Apart from the ‘change’ mantra adopted by President Muhammadu Buhari of the APC in 2015 and the ‘Renewed Hope Agenda’ of President Tinubu in 2023, opposition parties have not invented any catchy campaign slogan worthy of public attention. TrackingExecutive Branch Policy Changes
Campaigns are legal and legitimate persuasive weapons in the hands of candidates and parties. But they can fail if they are not strategically handled. It is often stressful, energy sapping and time-consuming. It is also an expensive venture It should start early and it should never be executed in a snail-like speed. Every stage should be properly evaluated before the next step.
Of importance is research amid campaigns for purpose of tracking voters’ sentiments and expectations.The targets are the voters, who should find the messages and promises captivating, especially if they reflect and align with their interest, needs, priorities and expectations. If the message does not resonate with their yearnings, it is futile.
Crowd at campaigns may not necessarily translate into candidate’s acceptability. Either on the field, television, radio or other digital platforms, mobilisation efforts should be properly coordinated. The cynosure of all eyes is the candidate, but his structure and platforms are also important. Throughout the campaigns, scandals should be avoided.
If politicians embrace issue-based campaigns in consonance with the Accord or Peace Deal brokered by the National Peace Committee led by former military Head of State, Gen. Abdulsalami Abubakar, they will refrain in character assassination and smear campaigns that trigger litigations, cripple cordial inter-party relations and heat up the polity……
NOTE: Views expressed by contributors are strictly personal and not of Theliberationnews
