By BEN EZENTA
I never wanted to post this write up on this forum until I read the delusion from Dele Momodu or whatever he is called. The 2023 election will be a different election from anything we’ve seen in our life time in Nigeria. The 2022 Electoral Act will be a game changer but more importantly, the involvement of the youth is quietly causing a tsunami that most traditional politicians and the main stream media are not even paying attention to.
The 2022/2023 election campaign will be highly technology driven. Unfortunately for PDP and the APC they are still and will still rely on the traditional campaign method of “strongholds” and “vote buying” as their strategy.
The young people supporting Peter Obi are extensively geo mapping data mining the country to determine where every voter is located and how they intend to vote. That gives them unparalleled advantage to enable the campaign direct resources and efforts to where they are most needed or where they see weaknesses in their strategy. The irony of it all is that this initiative is not costing Peter Obi a dime. For PDP or APC to achieve the same stealth technology it will cost them billions of Naira (including those that will be stolen) and they may never get it right. The young people are volunteering their resources, skills and talents to a cause they believe in and been yearning for so many years. If you paid attention to the END SARS protest, you’ll understand what I’m talking about. The energy generated in that protest is now being directed and deployed to Peter Obi’s campaign.
PDP and APC may be relying on their well oiled rigging machine. Unfortunately for them, the 2022 Electoral Act has checkmated that anomaly. APC is busy trying to select a strong candidate that can beat Abubakar Atiku in the election, in the process they’ve taken their eyes away from the ball – Peter Obi’s threat. That is good for the Obi’s campaign to enable them continue to fly under the radar and unleashing the element of surprise.
The election will be more tactical and technology driven which plays into the hands of the young people. In the month of May alone, according to INEC report, young people (between the ages of 18 and 24 years of age) accounted for 69.5% of all new completed CVR registration which is 4.5 million of the 6.5 million new registrations. If I were PDP and APC, I’ll be worried about this development. The emergence of the young people on the stage means that they have found a reason to get involved. That reason may not be far fetched from the END SARS protest and/or Peter Obi presidency both of which is a challenge to APC and PDP.
Young people are equally organizing themselves in pockets of cells of supporters and volunteers in virtually every nook and corners of the country including diaspora. The development and strategy is reminiscent of Obama’s campaign in 2009. When the young people bought into his message, his campaign took a flight like a rock, surprising everybody including those whowho had always dismissed the impact of young voters in American election. That same scenario is beginning to play out in the Nigerian election.
His message is resonating with the young demography that they are not only sold on it, they’ve owned it. They’re now reciting some of his buzz words like “we want to turn the country from consumption to production economy”, “we want to change the country from sharing formulas to production” etc etc.
They cut across all ethnic, religious, regional, zonal and gender demography. The support from the mid-aged people is equally mind boggling. The Nigerian corporate world and business community are paying close attention ready to open their wallet at the splinted time to level out the financial playing field.
One challenge he may have is APC and PDP may tag-team to take him out with false scandals, court cases and the like. All said, there is hope that Obi’s dream may come to reality. For that to happen, it requires ordinary people doing extraordinary things without expecting anything in return other than a good country. That is why we all need to get involved. I’m involved, what about you?
