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If you desire to become the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria, your job is to woo majority of the voters. Very simple, isn’t it. And with the benefit of hindsight (from 1999 till date), some winning strategies have now become well established. Let’s look at three of them today.
First, to win the presidential contest, you must appeal very strongly to any two out of these three: Hausa, Igbo and Yoruba (listed alpabetically). This is strategy No. 1. These three tribes essentially own Nigeria. That’s why we have nicknamed our country WAZOBIA; and most of us love and have accepted this nickname. Don’t we? Haven’t we? Any politician who desires the presidency must bring the majority of the members of at least two of these three pillar tribes to his side.
If you are Hausa (Hausa/Fulani), Igbo or Yoruba by tribe, you already have a clear advantage ahead of contestants from any minority tribe in the North or in the South. If you are a minority candidate, and you seek to occupy Aso Villa, you’ve got a bigger and tougher fight on your hands. You have to bring something to the table that is convincingly better than what the Hausa/Fulani, Igbo or Yoruba contestant brings. It is gonna be a huge task, but it is doable. And it would be done one day soon. Sooner than many of us expect.
There are three Northern and three Southern zones today. Strategy No. 2 is to position yourself (as well as your party) to win convincingly in a combination of two Northern zones and two Southern zones. Three Northern zones plus one Southern zone can also do the magic. Same thing as three Southern zones plus one Northern zone. You must forge viable alliances across the two regions (North and South) and across the six zones.
Strategy No. 3, as at today, is to win the presidential primary of either APC or PDP. These are the two platforms, tried and tested, through which presidents have emerged in Nigeria, from 1999 till date, irrespective of whether the election was rigged or not. By the way, let me quickly add that the majority of Nigerians don’t really like both parties.
Yet this so-called majority wouldn’t step out of their comfort zones to create a strong and winning alternative; a pan-Nigerian political party (with a solid presence in the six zones, in the 37 states, in the 774 LGAs and in the over 9,000 wards); using such a huge and extensive platform to pursue the presidency.
PS
Please feel free to add to these three strategies. Or explain them in better ways. We all learn everyday from one another.
