By Francis Ewherido
The general elections will commence in February 2023. It is an election no Nigerian should be lethargic about. It is our collective future and no one should sit on the fence. You do not have to be a card carrying member of any political party to be involved. The electoral system has been improved on, so the will of the people will likely prevail. There might still be irregularities, but the practice of the past where a political warlord who controls a ward or an area fraudulently determines who wins the election is gone.
The only area which might be difficult for INEC to control is vote buying. I do not know how INEC will deal with that. In the cities, many people have already decided the candidates they will vote for. Anybody who gives such people money is odiodi (futile exercise). There will be vote buying, especially in the rural areas and poor neighbourhoods. There is a lot of hunger, especially in these areas and the only language they understand is money. “Otarevu” (Stomach infrastructure) is a major consideration of where votes swing in these areas. INEC has its work cut out. Voting for the wrong people because of financial inducement is like someone who defecated in the front of the bush he is clearing. He will meet his sh*t as he goes on, so our people need to shine their eyes. But will hunger allow them to realize that? We shall find out in February and March 2023,
I see some irritating trends, especially among young people. You needed somebody’s help at a time and he said he had no money. You felt he was just being mean because he was living in a big house with a fleet of cars. Now he wants to contest elections, it is payback time. You will not vote for him, no problem, but must you also rubbish him in the social media? Have you not heard of the phrase “asset rich and cash poor?” Don’t you know that some people might be worth billions of Naira in assets, but at some point might not even have N200,000 cash?
When your wife delivered your baby, your acquaintance did not help out with the medical bills. Now he is contesting election, it is payback time. Na im you rent the prick when you take give your wife belle? Is nine months not enough time to plan for the arrival of your baby? You pursued a girl with another guy 15 years ago in the university and the guy won. Now he wants to contest election, you want to avenge the defeat he inflicted on you 15 years ago. Please go and cast your vote for his less competent opponent, but he will still win if he is destined to. “What’s gonna be is gonna be.” Too many people behave like demigods on social media and I am pissed off.
This brings me to the so-called influencers, media warlords and the rest of them. In the 80s when we started our media careers, my former classmate and friend, no brother, Emma Esinnah, stumbled on an information that thoroughly deflated our ego: Communications professionals (advertising and public relations practitioners, to be precise) thought they were demigods. They decided to conduct a poll to confirm their demigod status. To their shock, they found out they were not even admired or hated – they were simply by the IGNORED by the public! Okay the study is over 50 years old, predates social media and is therefore archaic. But some things are basic: the media will inform, remind, persuade voters to vote for your candidate; they might also convince and swing votes of undecided voters during elections, especially in the US. There is no report I know of in Nigeria where social media swing votes or decide elections.
Now look at political posts on Facebook and twitter. Go through the responses to the posts. Some who belong to your line of thought will affirm, while those with contrary opinion will contradict you. Some will even use your post to promote their candidates in your comment section. Again, how many people have access to social media? How many of over 30m Nigerians with Facebook accounts are active? How many see your page? How many of those who have accounts have money for data? When they go online, what do they do with their phones? How many people in the rural areas can read and write? For many of them, the phones are just for receiving and making calls. Not all of them can even make calls. Do not get me wrong, the media still have impact. If not, candidates, companies, etc., would have dispensed with their services. The candidates need the media, they need the visibility, they need voters to constantly know that they are still very much in the race. After being in the media for almost 40 years, I can confirm that the media are powerful, but do not exaggerate your power.
In Nigerian politics, you need the substructure and superstructure to win an election. Social media belong to the super structure. The super structure is very important, but elections results are determined by the substructure, including owenewene (I do not know the translation) in those days. As they say all politics is grassroot, it is a field activity, every other thing is support activity. The media are important, but you cannot compare the effect of the media in Nigeria as we have it the UK and the US. And I am even talking more of traditional media, not social media that is an all-comers affair.
Finally, let me just touch on the dangerous trend of blackmailing people contesting elections. Ordinarily, making a choice of who to vote for is your right, but no one likes being rejected. That is the problem those of us who come out openly to support a candidate face. But when you add blackmail, you go into dangerous territory. All humans, especially politicians are like the anus. Every anus has some sh*t. Yours too has, remember that. Two, blackmail has ifuen (antidote). You might not know how potent the ifuen of the person you are blackmailing is. Three, some Davids still defeat Goliaths today, but there are many more Davids in the “graveyard” today than there are Goliaths. Our local rabbits or bush rat, whatever you call them, have escape routes when endangered; where are yours (alternative sources on income, etc).
You are young men/women just coming up. Use and dump is popular among politicians. Once election are over and the candidate loses, the tap of free money will dry up. The bridges you burnt today can stop you from crossing to an important destination tomorrow. Every boxer has a team he works with, but no one follows him into the ring. He takes the beating and punishment alone. Hyena and leopards walk away from confrontations, is not out cowardice, but self-preservation. Getting injured in such confrontations can be like signing your death warrant in the jungle. Be careful of those urging you on in this dangerous game of blackmail.
Young people, be wise. It is a crucial election not a do or die affair. Participate, work for a candidate you believe in, but remember you have a whole future ahead of you to make or mar by your actions and inaction, sins of omission and commission today. May God guide us in our choices. A better society is what is paramount to me.
