The Mistake Would-Be Jonathan Presidential Handlers Should Never Make
By Edwin Uhara
In the coming weeks, active political activities for next year General
Elections will kick start fully and officially! It will be a time to
expect the unexpected. A time for massive defections from one party to
another in furtherance of one political interest. A time for
accusations and counter accusations. A time to open the dossiers of
politicians for public scrutiny. A time for truthful or deceptive
political promises among others. Just like we say in journalism
profession; €œIf it can bleed, then it can lead€. The coming weeks will
be time when my colleagues in the media who are still standing idly,
watching and studying the nation political activities will be divided
along party lines promoting, attacking and defending the interest of one
candidate or the other depending on the terms, it will be the time when my
articles will no longer appear in certain media organizations.
However, President Good luck Ebele Jonathan should note that, as a top
candidate for the forth coming Presidential Election, most aspirants would
turn him to be their punching bag with the sole intention of discrediting
him while enhancing their own chances for the polls. Hence, he should
never put up €œA too big to fail attitude€ throughout the
electioneering campaigns! He should not leave anything to chance because
an unconsidered variable in an election of this magnitude may turn out to
be the major issue; especially now that the major battle is going to be
between the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives
Congress (APC).
Therefore, the would-be Jonathan official presidential handlers
should do away with some of the attitudes similar organization put up
during the 2011 presidential campaigns. They must put Jonathan
interest at the forefront and be open to good ideas and recognize
individual and collective efforts that will ensure that Jonathan is
returned to office next year, instead of wrongly thinking or assuming
that anybody coming around is coming to dislodge them from their vantage
position. The truth is that, if they refuse to show altruistic commitment
and supports to the President re-election bid and allows selfish
interest and the spoils of the moment to deny him re-election, Jonathan
as a person has nothing to lose! Rather, when the worse comes to worst,
Jonathan would join the league of African Statesmen. In this regards, it
is them that will bear the brunt of their mistakes than President
Jonathan himself! Also, it is the Nigerian people, the
intellectual and business community that will be most affected, and as a
result this, they would be bugged down by the miasma of policy
instability. I say this because, I personally do not believe in frequent
change of government and policies.
Besides, President Jonathan should not maintain complacency in
extra-ordinary times because, that was the strategy that cost former
French President, Nicolas Sarkozy his re-election bid in 2012. It will be
recalled that when the opposition party led by Francois Hollande was
roaring like lion and leading in various opinion polls, Nicolas Sarkozy
was displaying nonchalant attitude and an image of a bound to win
candidate. So, before he could realize what was happening, the
opposition party; the Socialist Party which had been in disarray after the
fall of its predicted Presidential candidate and former Managing Director
of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Dominique Strauss-Khan, had
already gained much grounds.
Subsequently, when they went in to the election proper, Francois Hollande
defeated Mr. Sarkozy. Im however not saying this will happen to
President Jonathan, but it a call on him to seat up and march or
surpass the opposition in every front till the Independent National
Electoral Commission (INEC) declares him winner of the February 14, 2015
Presidential Elections! Though, some of us will move back to trenches to
ensure his absolute victory so as to avoid any form of run-off next year!
Hence, I decided to cite the experience of Nicolas Sarkozy and his party,
the Union for Popular Movement (UPM) so that Jonathan official
Presidential handlers will learn nostalgic lessons from the misadventure.
This is because, those managing any presidential candidate must be open to
new ideas at all times; especially game-changing ones. These are ideas
that can leapfrog a backward candidate to the leading position in the
race. They should note that, Nigeria is changing and as a result, ideas
that worked in previous elections may not work in the coming election or
may simply require little review and improvement so as to march the
unfolding political realities in the days ahead!
Secondly, presidential handlers should always consider the interest of
their candidate first before any other considerations! They should be
focused, dedicated and always be loyal to their candidate. They should
never be two-faced Janus or found running with the here and hunting with
the hound or backstabbing their candidate and cutting deals with his
opponents. Some of the things I highlight here were some of the egregious
political mistakes I personally observed while working with the
Jonathan/Sambo Presidential campaign train during the 2011 elections.
Finally, from every political calculations and permutations devoid of
Propaganda, President Jonathan is still on the lead even as he needs more
works to be done in the area of grassroots mobilization and sensitization.
Hence, lets us continue to be proactive while waiting for the right time
to officially give him the green light to continue in office through our
ballots.
Comrade Edwin Uhara is a Political Strategist, an Activist, Media
Consultant and Public Affairs Commentator. Reach him on 07065862479 or
[email protected]
He writes from Abuja.
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