Problematisation of Normalising Political Debate in Nigeria’s Election Discourse

Nigerians frequently want social and political institutions to function similarly to those found in other parts of the world. They frequently refer to socioeconomic and political advances deemed positive in other countries while criticizing Nigerian actors. To them, anything good in other countries must be normalized in Nigeria, regardless of whether the country’s cultural elements support it. Any political office seeker, from media organizations to civil society actors and some political analysts, must engage in political debate.

According to several submissions and positions observed by our analyst since 2015, political parties and candidates who failed to engage Nigerians through debate during the campaign period are unprepared to be scrutinized by the public and to increase informed voting during elections.

Participation in election debate, on the other hand, is not required by the constitution, according to another school of thought. Because the 1999 Constitution makes no mention of it, this school believes there is no need to advocate for its inclusion in the country’s political discourse. As the debate rages on various platforms, our analyst presents his chosen sound bites from a virtual group dedicated to discussing both personal and national issues of great concern. This was done with the intention of bringing out counter- and alternative narratives on the normalization of the idea that is regarded as a hallmark of Western democracies.

Sound Bites from a Virtual Group

• The is the bitter truth. The average Nigerian politician doesn’t want to engage the elite because it is perceived as a waste of time and resources. The same vote you and I have is not superior to the vote of “Musa @dgate” (one-man, one-vote).
• While we hold the politicians accountable on one hand, we should also not allow the 4th Estate take undue advantage of their role because that will provide an excuse for already unwilling politicians.
• They need to give a good excuse, and that’s perception management. Reality needs to be effectively packaged and managed to sway some minds, particularly such minds that are operating from the frays of events. Agreed, governance is different from electioneering. Leaders must communicate with their followers, failing which they risk being misunderstood and purposely misrepresented by the opposition.
• What’s the media reach of Arise TV? Is that the only means of reaching the electorates? Arise TV can only, if at all, influence the undecided voters?  And what’s the average percentage of undecided voters in our election? And what fraction of undecided voters can Arise TV swing based on their 23% viewership share of the market?  These are among the statistics to be considered by political strategists, and not just jumping between media houses. He has learnt his lesson anyway, belatedly though. Democracy is a game of numbers, political strategists are more interested in these numbers and not the hysteria around it, and are willing to ply the route that will return the highest numbers. The last presentation before the Organized Private Sector seems more meaningful and impactful than 100 times appearance on Arise TV.
• That’s Pareto’s 80/20 principle. Focusing on the 20% that controls the 80% of the economy. A political masterstroke it was. Who even stands to gain more should BAT attend an interview at Arise TV? Arise TV of course. It’s definitely going to catapult the media rating of Arise TV to high heaven.  Asiwaju is an example of a matured product, and in product life cycle you don’t use the same marketing strategy for a matured product and a newbie.  A new product needs the intensity of awareness creation more than a matured product. A new product chases after the news using sales promotions of all sorts, coming in different packaging and sizes. The matured product on the other hand chooses and picks his market. In the FMCG industry, St Louis Sugar is a good example of a matured product, it rarely advertises its strength because we all know its selling points; it doesn’t change packages, it doesn’t come in sachets, yet we all know where to find it.
• Honestly, the only way forward is the continuous check and balance which depends on the civic consciousness of the citizen. We all have a role to play in our democracy. That is why I cannot blame those that are demanding accountability of the aspirants. One the integrity test is passed people should willingly submit their votes on trust. So, institutions are entrusted to keep the trust of the masses. Today that has become a subjective process in the light of liberal democracy.