How to Campaign

I really admire candidates who surrender themselves to public questions and debates.

It proves that they are interested in debating ideas, instead depending on their (false) pedigrees.

Hiding behind influencers and saying those online are noisemakers do not cut it.

That’s what one candidate has said in actions and words.

Another one shows up to selected shows but still only to answer to questions he’s been shown ahead of time.

Then there is the last candidate who goes everywhere in the country answering all kinds of questions — Abuja, Lagos, Jos etc.

He goes further to engage Nigerians in the diaspora, who are not hungry for a few coins and his attention and obviously will not reveal their questions beforehand. He’s been to Cambridge, Oxford, Harvard, Brussels, Frankfurt, etc. He recognizes the importance of the diaspora to the country whether it’s in remittance, provision of human capital, or the sheer volume of ideas they can dish out based on their experiences dwelling in places where systems work.

It’s a shame that there is still a competition between these three. It’s a testimony to our disregard for transparency and the role of ideas in nation building.

Peter Obi still needs to release his manifesto and, by God, I hope what Doyin Okupe talked about his manifesto release next week is not a bluff. However, if you are a young person who is not being fed crumbs by his opponents and you are not impressed with the efforts he is putting into telling you what he has to offer then you deserve whatever state Nigeria is in at the moment. And I pray you are unable to escape the consequences of your actions.

A proper political campaign is not about gathering sycophants and yelling ‘Broooooom!’ or ‘Power to the People!’.

A proper campaign is a politician presenting himself plainly to the people for their probing.