The Secret of Winning Political Election

Publish by richvine cares Publishing House
The secret of Winning a Political Elections;

A Practical guide towards 2023 General Election
Written by Femi Wisdom.
© 2022 richvine cares Publishing House

Table of Content
Definition of Election
History of Election
History of Political Parties in Nigeria
The Arts of Winning a Political Election
Practical Guide towards Winning an Election
Attributes of Good Governance
The Strength and Weakness of the Past and Present Political

Administration in Nigeria.
Praying for our Politician and Dear Nation

Definition of Elections.
Election is the formal process of selecting a credible, trustworthy and

accountable person into public office for the interest of it's citizens.
It is also an acts of accepting or rejecting a political proposition by voting in

a particular environment or society.
History of Election
Elections were used in ancient Athens and Rome for the selection of popes
and Holy Roman emperors, the origins of elections in the contemporary
world lies in the gradual emergence of representative of government in
Europe and North America beginning in the 17th century. At that time, the
holistic notion of representation characteristic of the Middle Ages was
transformed into a more individualistic conception, one that made the
individual the critical unit to be counted. An electorate is limited by formal
legal requirements—as was the case of universal adult suffrage. In many
countries with free elections, large numbers of citizens do not cast ballots.
For example, in Switzerland and the United States, fewer than half the
electorate vote in most elections. During the 18th century, access to the
political arena depends largely on membership in an aristocracy, and
participation in elections was regulated mainly by local customs and
arrangements. The vote remained an instrument of political power
possessed by very few.
Even with the implementation of universal suffrage, the ideal of “one

person, one vote” was not achieved in all countries. Systems of plural
voting were maintained in some countries, giving certain social groups an
electoral advantage. For example, in the United Kingdom, university
graduates and owners of businesses in constituencies could cast more
than one ballot until 1948. Before World War I, both Austria and Prussia had
three classes of weighted votes that effectively kept electoral power in the
hands of the upper social strata. Until the passage of the Voting Rights Act
in 1965 in the United States, legal barriers and intimidation effectively
barred most African Americans—especially those in the South—from being
able to cast ballots in elections.
During the 19th and 20th centuries, the increased use of competitive mass
elections in western Europe had the purpose and effect of institutionalizing
the diversity that had existed in the countries of that region. However, mass
elections had quite different purposes and consequences under one-party
communist regimes of eastern Europe and the Soviet Union during the
period from the end of World War II to 1989–90.
In sub-Saharan Africa, competitive elections based on universal suffrage

were introduced in three distinct periods. In the 1950s and ’60s, a number
of countries held elections following decolonization. Although many of
them reverted to authoritarian forms of rule, but there were exceptions
(e.g., Botswana and Gambia). In the late 1970s, elections were introduced
in a smaller number of countries when some military dictatorships were
dissolved (e.g., Ghana and Nigeria) and other countries in Southern Africa
underwent decolonization (e.g., Angola, Mozambique, and Zimbabwe).
Beginning in the early 1990s, the end of the Cold War and the reduction of
military and economic aid from developed countries brought about
democratization and competitive elections in more than a dozen of African
countries, including Benin, Mali, South Africa, and Zambia.
Competitive elections in Latin America also were introduced in phases. In

the century after 1828, elections were held in Argentina, Chile, Colombia,
and Uruguay, while Chile reverted to authoritarianism. Some other countries
also held elections in the period dating roughly 1943 to 1962, even though
many did not retain democratic governments. Beginning in the mid 1970s,
competitive elections were introduced gradually throughout most of Latin
America.
In Asia, competitive elections were held following the end of World War II, in
many cases as a result of decolonization (e.g., India, Indonesia, Malaysia,

and the Philippines), when the restoration of authoritarianism was
commonplace. Beginning in the 1970s, competitive elections were
reintroduced in a number of countries, including the Philippines and South
Korea. With exceptions, such as Turkey, Iraq, and Israel, competitive
elections in countries of the Middle East are rare.
Authoritarian regimes often used elections as a way to achieve a degree of

popular legitimacy. Dictatorships hold elections in cases where no
substantive opposition is remotely feasible or when economic factors
favour the regime. Even when opposition parties are allowed to participate,
they may face intimidation by the government and its allies, which thereby
precludes the effective mobilization of potential supporters. In other cases,
a regime may postpone an election if there is a significant chance that it
will lose. In addition, it has been a common practice of authoritarian
regimes to intervene once balloting has begun by intimidating voters (e.g.,
through physical attacks) and by manipulating the count of votes that have
been freely cast.
History of Political Parties in Nigeria

A political party is an organization in a democratic system of government
that seeks to attain power through an electoral process and representation
in government. They have political activities and ideologies that guide their
membership and activities.
Political parties are fundamental to the democratic process. There can be

no democracy without political parties. Democracy is a form of government
that delegates power through an electoral process, and political parties are
platforms through which power is contested for in a democratic system of
government.
The history of political parties in Nigeria goes as far back as the British
colonization of the nation. Herbert Macaulay, grandson of Bishop Ajayi

Crowther, formed the first political party in Nigeria – Nigeria National
Democratic Party ( NNDP)– in 1922.
The national struggle of most African countries to free themselves from

the imperial rule of the British government, and to participate more in
governing their national affairs, led to the formation of many political
parties across Africa. So, the NNDP was one among a long list of politcal
parties and politically inclined organization springing up across the African
continent.
In West Africa for example, prominent patriots felt that, to achieve the
common goal of liberation from colonialism, a joint international
organisation should be formed. So, in 1920, the likes of Ghanian lawyer,
Joseph Casely Hayford and Dr. Akinwande Savage led a host of
representatives from all West African countries to host a West African
conference, and there, The National Commission of British West Africa
(NCBWA) was formed.
The NCBWA was to further continue the push for freedom from British
colonialism. After the conference, a delegation was sent to the office of the
Secretary of state for the colonies informing him, not just of the forming of
the commission, but also of the demand of the colonies. Their demands, in
no particular order, were;
 The separation of the legislature from the judiciary.
 A legislative council for each territory, with elected Africans

occupying half the seats on the council.
 Abolition of racial prejudice and discrimination in and from the civil

service.
 Establishment of a university in West Africa.
 Appointment of and disposition of chiefs by their own people.
 Control of taxation by the elected Africans on the legislative council.
 Seeking active participation of West Africans in the politics and

governance of the West African people.
The colonial secretary general, however, turned down their demands.

However, Sir Hugh Clifford was later in 1922 embed the elective principles
in the famed Clifford constitution of 1922. The Clifford constitution, the
first constitution Nigeria ever had, paved way for active participation of
Nigerians in the political affairs of the nation. It also pave way for the
formation of the NNDP in the same year.
The Herbert Macaulay led NNDP contest and eventually win all seats in the
Lagos municipal elections of 1923, 1928, and 1933. The success of the
NNDP lead to the formation of the Lagos Youth Movement (LYM) in 1934,
by the likes of H.O Daniels, Earnest Okoli, Samuel Akinsanya, and J.C
Vaughan – young blossoming intellectual talent in the nation.
The likes of Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, Obafemi Awolowo, Dr. Kofo Abayomi,
amongst others, eventually join the movement. The name of the
movement later was changed to the Nigerian Youth Movement (NYM).
Then, in 1944, the National Council of Nigeria and Cameroon (NCNC) was
formed because of the infusion of Southern Cameroon into Nigeria, making
it a part of the Nigerian territory. NCNC had Herbert Macaulay and Dr.
Nnamdi Azikiwe at the helm of affairs as President and Secretary
respectively.
The MacPherson constitution eventually follow in 1951. Unlike the Clifford

constitution, the MacPherson constitution was not unilateral, as it had the
entire nation participate in its formation. Thus, the dream of active
participation in the politics and governance of the nation’s affairs by its
citizens was gradually being achieved. Two more parties follows the
MacPherson constitution – the Action Group (AG) and the Northern
People’s Congress (NPC), both formed in 1951.
The AG was formerly Egbe Omo Oduduwa (Society for the Descendants of
Oduduwa), which was formed in 1945, in London, by Obafemi Awolowo,
Ooni of Ife, and Michael Ajasin. The NPC, as well, was formed from the
Jamiyar Mutanen Arewa, and was formed to cater for the political interests
of the Northern people. Thus, the Nigerian political landscape was first
framed by the NNDP, NYM, NCNC, AG, and NPC. A handful of other political
parties eventually follow, although those were formed either as opposition,
or for some other purposes.
Example of some of these political parties are Mallam Aminu Kano’s

Northern Elements Progressive Union (NEPU), formed to oppose the NPC’s
dominance in the north, The United Middle Belt Congress (UMBC), formed
from the merger between the Middle Belt’s People’s Party (MBPP) and the
Middle Zone League (MZL), and with the aim to pursue the interest of those
in the middle belt of Nigeria. In the eastern region, the United National
Independence party (UNIP) break away from the NCNC and stand in
contention for the eastern part of Nigeria. Then, in the Western region, the
Nigeria National Development Party (NNDP), formed by Chief Akintola,
break away from the Action Group to contend with the AG for the Western
region. However, Chief Akintola was later merge to NNDP with the NPC and
MDF to form the Nigeria National Alliance (NNA). He also form a coalition
in the east with the NCNC to form the United People’s Party (UPP). Chief
Obafemi Awolowo then reorganized his Action Group, and with coalitions
with the NCNC, UMBC, and NEBU form the United Progressive Alliance
(UPA) ahead of the 1964 elections.
Therefore, the NNA and the UPA were the major political parties in Nigeria
for the elections in 1964. The military eventually take over the political
office , banning all political activities in the process. The ban on all political
parties and political activities was later lifted for the 1979 elections, as
Nigeria prepared for the transition from military rule to civilian rule.
Five political parties were registered by the Federal Electoral Commission

(FEDECO) for the elections. They were; Obafemi Awolowl’s Unity Party of
Nigeria (UPN), Sheu Shagari’s National Party of Nigeria (NPN), the Nigerian
People’s Party (NPP), the Greater Nigeria Peoples People’s Party (GNPP),
and the People’s Redemption Party (PRP). In 1983, however, another
military coup signalled the end of the short-lived civilian rule, and another
ban on political activities was imposed.
The military then, hold on to power for 16 years. Then in 1993, General
Ibrahim Badamosi Babangida had plans to transfer power once again to
civilian rule. Two main parties, Moshood Abiola’s Social Democratic party
(SDP), and the opposition National Republican Party contested in the
election that was later annulled. Then, in 1998, plans were again made by
the military government of General Adbussalaam Abubakar to shift power
back to civilian rule. Elections were fixed for 1999 and two parties – The
People’s Democratic party (formed from the SDP) and the Alliance for
Democracy (formed based on the ideologies and philosophies of The
Action Group, Awolowo, and the Yoruba heritage) – were able to contest
for the seats of power.
The 1999 elections set the stage for the struggle that ensue on the nation’s
political scene in the years that followed. Several political parties, like the
All Nigeria People’s Party (APP), National Conscience Party (NCS), Labour
Party (LP), All Progressive Congress (APC), KOWA, APGA, etcetera, were
eventually formed and at one point or the other, contest for seats of power
in the nation.
Today, the biggest political parties in Nigeria are the People’s Democratic
Party (PDP) and the All Progressive Congress (APC). Currently, there are 91
registered political parties in Nigeria.
List of Political Parties in Nigeria

Accord (A)
Action Alliance(AA)
African Action Congress(AAC)
Advanced Allied Party (AAP)
All Blending Party (ABP)
Advanced Congress of Democrats (ACD)
Allied Congress Party of Nigeria (ACPN)
Alliance For Democracy (AD)
African democratic Congress (ADC)
Action Democratic Party (ADP)
All Grassroots Alliance (AGA)
All Grand Alliance Party (AGAP)
Advanced Nigeria Democratic Party (ANDP)
Alliance for New Nigeria (ANN)
Alliance National Party (ANP)
Abundant Nigeria Renewal Party (ANRP)
African Peoples Alliance (APA)
All Progressives Congress (APC)
Advanced People Democratic Alliance (APDA)
All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA)
Allied Peoples Movement (APM)
Alternative Party of Nigeria (APN)

Action Peoples Party (APP)
Alliance of Social Democrats (ASD)
Alliance for united Nigeria (AUN)
Better Nigeria Progressive Party (BNPP)
Coalition for Change (C4C)
Change Advocacy Party (CAP)
Change Nigeria Party (CNP)
Congress of Patriots (COP)
Democratic Alternative (DA)
Democratic People Congress (DPC)
Democratic People Party (DPP)
Freedom and Justice Party (FJP)
Fresh Democratic Party (FRESH)
Grassroots Development Party of Nigeria (GDPN)
Green Party of Nigeria (GPN)
Hope Democratic Party (HDP)
Independent Democrats (ID)
Justice Must Prevail Party (JMPP)
Kowa Party (KP)
Liberation Movement (LM)
Labour Party (LP)
Legacy Party of Nigeria (LPN)

Mass Action Joint Alliance (MAJA)
Modern Democratic Party (MDP)
Masses movement of Nigeria MMN
Mega Party of Nigeria MPN
Movement for The Restoration and Defense of Democracy (MRDD)
National Action Council (NAC)
Nigeria Community Movement Party (NCMP)
National conscience party (NCP)
NigerIa Democratic Congress Party (NDCP)
Nigeria Democratic Liberty Party (NDLP)
Nigeria Elements Progressive Party (NEPP)
Nigeria for Democracy (NFD)
New Generation Party of Nigeria (NGP)
National Interest Party (NIP)
New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP)
Nigeria Peoples Congress (NPC)
New Progressive Movement (NPM)
National Rescue Movement (NRM)
National Unity Party (NUP)
Peoples Coalition Party (PCP)
People for Democratic Change (PDC)
People for Democratic Movement (PDM)

Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)
Progressive People Alliance (PPA)
Providence People Congress (PPC)
People Party of Nigeria (PPN)
People Progressive Party (PPP)
People Redemption Party (PRP)
Peoples Trust (PT)
Reform and Advancement Party (RAP)
Re-build Nigeria party (RBNP)
Restoration Party of Nigeria (RP)
Save Nigeria Congress (SNC)
Social Democratic Party (SDP)
Sustainable National Party (SNP)
Socialist Party of Nigeria (SPN)
United People Congress (UPC)
United Democratic Party (UDP)
United Patriots (UP)
Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN)
United Progressive Party (UPP)
We The People Nigeria (WTPN)
Young Democratic Party (YDP)
Yes Electorates Solidarity (YES)

Youth Party (YP)
Young Progressive Party (YPP)
Zenith Labour Party (ZLP)
Nigeria’s political history is a long one, dating as far back as before

independence, into the colonial rule. Knowledge of this interesting history
will help you understand better the political clime of the nation today, and
the tension that comes with it. I believe this information will be helpful to
every Nigerian citizen and specially to all Political aspirants.
The Arts of Winning a Political Election
The political campaign process can be challenging and overwhelming,

especially during a tight race. With the rise of social media and the 24/7
news cycle, voters are more involved than ever, which means even the
smallest local election or seemingly least contentious mid-size elections
have become more difficult to win in recent years. As a result, campaign
managers and other key campaign figures must work hard to master the
art of winning tight political races.
1. Fully understand and support your target audience
One of the worst mistakes candidates could make during a tight race is to
fail to understand who their target audience is. In order to be confident that
you are reaching out to the right demographics, you must have access to
factual data about your intended target audience online. You need to
estimates on how many they are, how to target your spending and how to
best reach them.
In order to gain access to this information, you can use Social media
Application or other similar tools. This tool will let you know a rough
estimate of your target voter audience based on gender, age, interests,
location and other essential demographic information. After all, you don’t
want to waste significant amounts of resources on a particular group of
voters who either will never vote for you or aren’t reliable enough to count
as firm votes.
2. Don’t underestimate your competition
If you want to triumph in a tight race, you must know who you are running
against. You want to know everything about them, how many social media
followers they have and how effective is their engagement of campaign
website . Even if you don’t have a lot of data or information on your
opponent, you can win by being the one to outwork your competition. See
how many rallies they hold, how much money they raise, what their social
media presence looks like or how many special appearances they make.
Then take that and double it.
Your candidate can come out on top in a tight political race but dont
underestimating the person he or she is running against. In order to do so,
you’ll need to campaign so hard that by the end of the election cycle, you’ll
feel satisfied in knowing that you gave the job your all.
3. Perfect your social media strategy
Social media has the power to make or break any campaign. If your
candidate isn’t active on most popular social media channels, you may
have the chance of being successful in the political race. Depending on the
size of your election and voter base, you need to tailor your social media
strategy to meet a wide range of voters while still appealing to your target
audience.
Start with Facebook, Instagram, YouTube and Twitter. Then, depending on

the demographic of your voters, consider adding Snapchat, LinkedIn and
other trending social media platform. Voters want to know that you are up-
to-date with the newest technology, trends and issues. Remember to make
these social media channels an extension of your candidate’s personality.
Consider spicing up your platforms by using memes, GIFs and hilarious
videos to show your voters that you are current with the use of all social
media technologies.
4. Build an engaging website and internet presence
In today’s tech-savvy culture, if your website is dull, voters will likely

associate this lack of excitement with your campaign . Instead of just
having the basic facts about your campaign’s message on your website,
consider running a fun blog, consistently uploading team photos and
integrating other interactive elements on your site.
The goal is to get the public talking about your party because, in a tight race,
name recognition is everything. If the public doesn’t know or care about
your party, they are far less likely to cast their ballot in your favor on
election day. So try spicing up your website and online presence to get
voters talking about your party in their message.
5. Hire an enthusiastic marketing team

Unless you are running a tiny local race, you must know that you cannot
maintain an effective digital marketing campaign without a solid team of
experts. To be successful, consider hiring digital marketing strategists,
writers, graphic designers, photographers, content creators, social media
strategists, search engine optimization experts and others.
Be patient and wait until you find the right professionals to join your team.
After all, a campaign team is like a well-oiled machine. If one part isn’t
operating properly, the rest of it will shut down or fail to fulfill its intended
function. You want your marketing team to be innovative, enthusiastic and
passionate about what they do and the message your campaign intends to
spread. This way, you can depend on them to do their job, while you focus
on other key areas of the campaign.
6. Set a firm budget
Obviously, you know the importance of setting a firm budget before the
launch of your campaign. However, it’s important to recognize that time
and money are intricately related in a tight political race. If you want to
spend less time working on the campaign, you will need to invest more
money. Yet, if you want to save funds, you will likely have to spend more
time on the campaign trail.
Without setting a budgetary goal, your campaign’s spending habits can

exceed your initial expectation in the blink of an eye. For any campaign, you
could always spend more money or invest more time, but at some point,
you have to learn how to say “no”. Set spending limit and draw the line.
Continuously re-evaluate if your funds are being invested in the right places.
For example, if you discover that 15 percent of time warrants a 90 percent
value, you might want to look into investing more money into this particular
area to maximize the spend. Essentially, use your campaign funds wisely or
else your opponent may outspend or outlast you.
7. Meet the voters organically
It’s vital for your candidate to spend time out in public, meeting the voters
organically is advisable and rewarding at the end. This is because not all
people of voting age will attend rallies or organized political events.
Therefore, if you want to win them over – and not just on social media or
on TV – you need to meet the voters where they are. Go to local athletic
league games, eat and hold photo sessions at mom-and-pop diners, attend
religious gatherings or simply walk around downtown areas, shaking hands
and showing people you are more than your brand.
Knowledge of your target audience, expertise on social media and political

marketing and an understanding of campaign finance management are just
a few of the skills explored across the many course offerings within the
Master’s Degree in Political Management . Classes such as Fundamentals
in Political Management, Political Data and Analytics, Applied Political
Communications and more can take you beyond political theory and anchor
you in the principles of political reality. For more details about how an
online program can support you while you are working in the political sector
or considering a career switch, kindly contact the author of this great
innovative book.
Practical Guide for Winning a Political Election
Elections—at every level of government—are critical to stopping any

candidate. The present administration didn’t come out of nowhere. For

many years before the 2015 election, different political parties had been
building power by winning elections at all levels of government. From local
school boards and state legislatures to Congress and eventually the
Presidential Office.
it’s now our turn to build a blue wave that can take back power for the right
people to rule these country—The candidate that we can hold responsible
and accountable for stopping the bad government and passing good and
progressive policie that will move this country forward.
Some Indivisible parties have started emerging to take charge of the next
election coming up.
We know we’ve got the people power to make the difference by casting
their vote.
This article is written by political analyser in nigeria and is all about how we
can effectively position the right people into political offices.
We’re excited to share the knowledge we’ve developed from winning a

political race —and the key lessons we’ve learned from our losses—to build
the oncoming blue wave. We certainly have our work cut out for us; but, it’s
been more clear that if we stick with it, together, we will win.
We are most effective when we concentrate our time and resources on the
most impactful tactics. This guide has been designed to make sure you
have the best information and the tools to do just that.
The basic formula for winning an election is straightforward—your

candidate needs to get more votes than their opponent(s). The art comes
into play by figuring out how to get to that number.
Developing a strategy to win takes some math, creativity, and an

understanding of your local area. Generally, a candidate will start with some
set of base voters or folks that are definitely going to support them and are
definitely going to vote. We don’t need to take the time talking to these
folks about voting, but they’re great volunteer prospects. There are three
key ways we can supplement those base voters to defeat our opponent:
Build the Electorate. The first strategy to get to 50% + 1 is to make sure
your supporters are registered to vote. Voter registration is an important
activity to ensure your candidate has enough supporters that are able to
turn out on Election Day. Furthermore, broadening the electorate is crucial
to a truly representative democracy. For many nigerians securing their right
to vote and ability to register has been a long fight throughout the history of
our country. The history of laws designed to suppress voting along racial
lines continues to this day.
Persuade Undecideds people: Persuasion is an effective strategy, when

done right, because it not only wins you a vote for your party, but it also
takes one away from your opponent so you essentially need two votes
from one voter.
Turn Out Supporters. In some cases, the main focus of a campaign will be
identifying supporters and making sure they get out to vote. Generally, this
will be focused on voters who are likely to support the progressive
candidate, but may not vote without a few reminders.
Every area is different, so the amount of time you invest in each of these
strategies will depend on the particular area and campaign. Your campaign
manager can help you make a plan for the elections that you care about.
But no matter your strategy, there’s one thing that is critical to every
successful campaign which is direct voters contact.
Strategic Choices
Direct Voter Contact—or having conversations with voters—is one of the

key ingredients to winning an elections at all levels of the campaign (and
the most important way for your party to make an impact). However, who
you talk to and how you talk to them is going to be just as important as it
was when remembering to only call you owner of the party.
Direct Voter Contact programs should be focused on two-sided

conversations; Targeted efforts and relationship building.
The best types of voter contact are two-sided.
Imagine you want to convince a family member or friend to do a time-

sensitive chore that you didn’t want to do yourself. How would you
convince them? Send a carrier pigeon? Smoke signal? Put a letter in the
mail? No, you’d have a conversation. That’s going to be quicker and more
compelling. Similarly, the most effective voter contact is direct; that is,
having conversations with voters ( it’s a lot more fun to engage with voters).
Face to face conversations are the gold standard. There’s still no

replacement for going door to door and talking to voters in your community.
This is how to win in every election and beyond. Making calls and other
direct tactics can be good supplements to knocking doors.
Keep track of responses and follow up. While many campaigns invest in
ads and direct mail (both of which are important for many reasons too), a
major benefit to direct voter contact is being able to track who you actually
reach and their responses. This way you can ultimately turnout confirmed
supporters, follow up with undecided voters to persuade them to support

your party and drop folks supporting the other side to better target your
voters universe. Data collection is also crucial to telling the story of your
movement. It demonstrates your power clearly through numbers.
Voters contact should always be targeted. Think about planning a birthday

for a good friend. While everyone has different methods of party
preparation, you generally start by making a list of folks to invite. In theory,
you could stand on a street corner and ask everyone who walks by if they’ll
attend the party, but that won’t be particularly effective and you’re definitely
not going to end up with the right people at the party (or maybe anybody at
all). Talking to voters is not that different. If you spend your time walking
down a street and talking to every single person, that’s not the most
efficient use of your time and you may be turning the wrong folks out to
vote.
Focus on people you can impact. Some voters have already made up their
minds—they know who they’re voting for, and they’re 100% committed to
voting. It’s not worth our time to talk to these folks, because we can’t have
an impact on their decisions. Instead, we focus on people who need an
added push to either support your party or to show up and vote.
Talk to people at the right time. Your targets are going to change over the
course of the campaign. Over the summer, you’ll talk to a wide variety of
people to ask who they’re supporting, and to persuade people who are
undecided. But closer to Election Day, you’ll switch to talking to voters who
already support your party, but need an extra push to vote.
It’s okay to talk to people more than once. You’ll usually talk to someone
several times over the course of the campaign—at first to ask if they’re
supporting your party, then to persuade them to your side, then to make
sure they turn out to vote. It’s all about finding the balance between talking
to as many people as we can, but also making sure we talk to people
enough times that they can remember us.
Everything comes back to relationship building.When picking a restaurant

for a celebratory dinner, whose recommendation are you more likely to
trust—a close friend or a stranger? Most folks would likely follow the advice
of a friend, because you not only have faith in their judgement, but you also
know that they can tailor their recommendations to your preferences.
Picking a candidate to vote for has much wider implications than one
dinner, so the same idea applies. Like with all organizing, electoral
organizing also always comes back to relationships.
Always focus on building your volunteer capacity. Every canvass or phone

call should focus not only on contacting voters, but also bringing in new
volunteers and empowering consistent volunteers to take role of
leadership.
Conversations with voters should include genuine connection. A

conversation at the doors or over the phone may just last a few minutes,
but there’s enough time to learn about what the voter values and connect
that with the campaign. The best conversation will connect the voter with
you and the candidate through shared values.
Localize your efforts. It’s all about neighbors talking to neighbors! Let
voters know that you’re from their community and why this election is
important for the place you live. If you’re going into a community that is not
your own, be sure to connect with the head of the community in the area.
One of the great things about two sided conversations with voters is that a
volunteer can tailor their approach based on the particular voter. That
means, a conversation that was intended to fall into the persuasion
category may turn into a volunteer recruitment conversation if voter is a
huge supporter of your party. Alternatively, if you’re doing turnout and come
across someone that’s planning to vote and is undecided, it makes sense
to have a quick persuasion conversation.
it’s easier to think about voter contact conversations in a few distinct

categories:
Identification: Early in the election cycle, it’s important to spend time

figuring out who your supporters are so that you can turn them out to vote.
In identification conversations, you’ll ask voters if they know who they’ll be
supporting. If they turn out to be a supporter, you can ask them to volunteer!
If they’re not sure, this is a great opportunity to do some light persuasion.
Persuasion: In some cases, it’s strategic to have persuasion conversations

with voters who haven’t made up their mind. Persuasion is all about
convincing the voter to support your party by sharing the candidate’s
positions and your personal reasons for supporting that candidate. The
best persuasion connects the volunteer and voter and subsequently the
candidate based on shared values and personal experiences.
Turnout: In the final two weeks before Election Day, most conversations
with voters will be focused on turning them out to vote. Turning supporters
out to vote is a critical stage.
Volunteer Recruitment: This isn’t exactly “voter contact” because your

volunteer base can be broader than voters. Either way, this is a really
important part of winning elections—by recruiting volunteers, you can have
more of the identification, persuasion and turnout conversations explained
above.
Targeted voter contact doesn’t just mean talking to the right voters, it also
means talking to them at the best time. While every election timeline will
look slightly different depending on the community, this is a general
overview of what you should focus on and when:
Phase 1: Identification and Capacity Building: Start talking to voters as

soon as you’ve decided to run for political office.
This phase is also a good time to do volunteer recruitment—asking voters

to join you in talking to other voters, and to join your political party,
Depending on where you live, this is also an important time to fasttrack the
registration of the voters.
Phase 2: The Road to Victory: Voter contact varies the most in the period
between a few months before an election day and two weeks before it. The
Election -day” could either be the primary or general election.) This period
might include additional identification and volunteer recruitment
conversations, or persuasion. It’s all about figuring out the path you need to
take to win on election day.
Phase 3:Get out the Vote ( GOTV).: The last phase of voter contact starts
either two weeks before Election day . During GOTV, you’ll be talking to
people who will support your Party, but need an extra push to get out to the
polls. You’ll remind them that voting is there civic duty and help them make
a plan to vote.
Tactic 1: Canvassing
No matter how many new and exciting digital tools come about, face to
face conversations will always be the best way to connect with voters.
Canvassing, or going door to door to talk to voters, is the key ingredient to
any successful campaign. Plus, it’s actually a ton of fun to fasten up your
sneakers, grab a clipboard and have meaningful conversations with
voters—you’re quite literally collecting votes for your party in real time.
How to Canvass
Whether you’ve been an avid canvasser for decades or this is the first time
you’ll be trying it out, to be successful after election require knocking the
door of every voters. Find a good friend to sign up with you and start
knocking on doors!
Find an event in your area. Check out the important event in your
environment and negotiate with the event planner to scheduled your party
to canvass with the voters.
Gather your materials. Go through this checklist to make sure you have all
of your canvassing essentials!
Pens, Water , snacks, Weather gear, A poncho, Sunglasses,Comfortable

shoes, Fully charged phone or tablet/iPad with GPS (particularly if you’re
canvassing using an app) Phone or tablet charger for back-up.
Once you’ve committed to an event, make sure you show up a few minutes
early on the given day. Take time to familiarize yourself with your materials
for speech delivery.
Begin your conversation with an introduction. Start off your conversation by

introducing yourself and explaining why you’re stopping by. Try to use
context clues to build a quick connection.
Follow the script, but put it in your own voice. Make sure you’re hitting all
the points in the script (they’re in there for a reason!), but this is a
conversation so feel free to put it in your own voice. As important as talking
points are, what matters most is your story or perspective as a constituent,
and as a neighbor.
Share your success stories and don’t forget to take pictures, post them on
social media and celebrate the great work your party is doing. Tag people
on Twitter so that they can help amplify your work. There’s nothing like a
canvassing.
Tactic 2: Phone Banking
For volunteers who can’t get out knocking doors or in areas where homes
are very spread out, making phone calls is a useful way to connect with
voters. When making phone calls to voters, volunteers will generally have
very similar conversations to those at the doors. While face-to-face
conversations are more effective, conversations over the phone are more
efficient because you can reach many more voters in a short period of time.
The best voter contact programs will be heavily focused on canvassing, but
phone banking is a great supplement to those efforts. Different voters will
be most responsive to different types of outreach, so it’s important to try to
reach voters in a variety of ways.
Smile while you dial. It may sound silly, but if you’re smiling while you
phone bank, that enthusiasm really comes through on the other side of the
line. Plus, it’s a lot more fun for you too.
Start calling! It’s typical to get nervous before your first call, but remember
you’re talking to your neighbors! Take a deep breath, smile, and press call.
If it’s your first time making calls, consider practicing a few times with
another phone banker.
Don’t spend time with people who don’t agree with you. No need to spend
time with folks who don’t agree with you, when you could be making more
calls. If someone starts to really disagree, it’s OK to end the conversation
quickly with “Thank you for your time,” or “OK, sounds like we’re on
opposite sides of this, and we can both get on with our day!” No need to
draw things out!
Mark down the result of the conversation. Make sure to indicate the
response in the phone bank. Your party will use this information later to
decide who to talk to—for example if someone is a “maybe” supporter, we’ll
go back and talk to them again! Make sure to collect the contact
information of anyone you talk to who wants to get involved with your party.
Tactic 3: Texting
One of the new ways we have to connect with voters is texting. While
emails and phone calls have declining open and answer rates, these days
people open over 90% of the text messages they receive. Organizing is all
about meeting people where they’re at, so if voters are spending a lot of
time looking at their texts, that’s a great place to contact them.
When parties engage in “text banking,” chances are they’ll be doing peer to
peer texting. Many of the party volunteers can easily get familiar with this
tactic because there were legible voters all over the country. This also
allows for conversations between volunteers and voters. Volunteers will
receive the responses from the voters they reach out to and be able to
engage in a conversation.
Texting is certainly not a substitute for canvassing and phone banking, but
is a fun supplement that has many creative ways to engage.
Texting Conversations
Like phone banking and canvassing, the types of conversations you can
have with a voter over text can vary. the types of conversations that have
been shown to be most successful are Get Out the Vote and recruitment
conversations. So far other uses, like persuasion or identification, haven’t
been proven to be effective.
Tactic 4: Everything Else
There are several other ways to contact voters, the three tactics mentioned
above are the best way to engage! there are a few other methods of direct
and indirect voter contact that are worth talking about.
Voter Registration: Registering voters is a key piece to most successful

campaigns! We didn’t dive into voter registration much in this guide
because we have a full guide dedicated just to that tactic ...watch out for
next episode
Relational Organizing Tools: There are many new digital tools that are
popping up to help volunteers find voters within their existing networks to
have conversations with about elections. These tools help identify who
those voters are, but volunteers still need to do the work of having those
conversations. These tools are new and the impact is unimaginable.
Postcards/Letters: Writing postcards or letters to voters can be a fun

supplement to canvassing and phone banking, especially if you have
people in your group that are not able to make calls or knock doors.
Postcards or letter writing are not a replacement for other types of voter
contact (keep in mind: it’s not direct because you’re not having a
conversation with a voter), but have shown to have an impact for Get Out
the Vote efforts.
Paid Ads: Campaigns and consulting firms often will largely focus on paid
ads. This may include television ads, radio ads, social media promotions,
etc. While paid media can reach a lot of people at once, we encourage you
to focus on volunteer voter contact like canvassing and phone banking.
Direct Mail: Like paid ads, direct mail is something that campaigns and
consulting firms will invest resources in. Direct mail is when campaigns
send promotional pieces through the mail—this could be positive
information about their candidate or negative pieces about the opposition.
This is an efficient way of reaching a lot of voters, but again this is indirect
(it doesn’t follow our principles of two sided conversations).
Rides to the Polls: This a great tool to use to ensure voters are actually
going to their voting site and voting on Election Day. Rides to the Polls also
know as “Souls to the Polls” has a long history of providing voters with free
transportation to their local polling site. This tactic dates back to the Civil
Rights era in our country, where so many people had to fight for their right
to Vote (and in many ways still are). It’s important to use this as a
supplement to, and not a replacement for, canvassing and phone
banking—it’s a great way for volunteers to get involved who can’t knock
doors or make calls, but can drive.
Voter Protection: You can always call the voter protection hotline ( IT'S
YOUR RIGHT to report issues or ask questions. Did you know: if someone
needs assistance voting at the polls, it's their right to bring someone in with
them to help. This is often unknown, but for voters for whom English is not
their first or dominant language, it's good to know they can bring a friend to
build confidence when voting.
Attribute of Good Governance
The World Bank [1989] identified the following as the features of good
governance.
 An efficient public service
 An independent judicial system and legal framework to enforce

contract
 The accountable administration of public funds
 An independent public auditor, responsible to a representative

legislature
 Respect for the law and human rights at all levels of government
 A pluralistic institutional structure and
 A free press
In the same vein, Sir Kenneth Stove [cf Faradaus and Khan, 2006: 92],
identified the following as features of good governance:
 Political freedom including free speech and a freely elected

parliament.
 Constitutional and judicial protection for the rights of the individual.
 Maintenance of the rule of law by an independent judiciary.
 Maintenance of stable currency.
 Development of a society as a whole by education and health care.
 Executive accountability to a freely elected legislature.
According to Fardaus and Khan [2006], good governance is characterized

by the following:
 Participation: This involves the participation of all and sundry in

decision making either directly or through their elected
representatives. Such broad participation is built on freedom of
association and speech as well as capacities to participate
constructively.
 Accountability: It requires not only government institutions but also

both private sector and civil society organizations to be accountable

to the public. Accountability is guaranteed by the process by which
public decision-making processes and the results they produce are
held up to public scrutiny and feedback.
 Management Effectiveness and Efficiency: Effectiveness concerns

the ability of public bureaucracies to skillfully and efficiently
transform public resources into services and infrastructure that
correspond to public determined priorities. The concept of efficiency
covers the sustainable use of natural resources and the protection of
environment.
 Equity and inclusiveness: This attribute requires all groups

particularly the less privileged ones to have opportunities to improve
or maintain their wellbeing. All human beings are born free and equal
in dignity and rights.
 Transparency: This is built on the free flow of information process,

institutions and information are directly accessible to those
concerned with them and enough information is provided to
understand and monitor them.
 Consensus Orientation: It requires mediation of different interests in

society to reach a broad consensus on what is in the best interest of
the country and the way this can be achieved.
 Responsiveness: It requires that institutions and processes serve all

stakeholders within a reasonable time frame.
Having examined the attributes of good governance, it is important to

examine the relationship between good governance and public
administration. As we all know, public administration does not exist in a
vacuum, it is influenced by a number of factors among which is the political
values [Adeosun, 1999]. By political values, it means basic beliefs and
assumptions not only about politics and the political system but also about
appropriate government relationship to private activity, especially economic
activity [Gordon, 1992].
 Good governance and administration demand that every citizens

must be able to contribute their views on issues of importance to
them. Good governance and public administration ensure citizen
participation in governance.
 Another element of good governance is responsiveness. The public

officials are expected to be responsive to the yearning and
aspirations of the people. Their ability to do this depends on several
factors present in governmental processes. The first is the people
assumption of what is and what should be the conduct of
government and public policy making; secondly, responsiveness
requires access to right decision makers and a legitimate opportunity
to be heard; government and its agencies have to be able to respond
to policy and programme demand.
Holding government official, accountable for their actions is crucial to

good governance, more so, when responsibility is entrusted to non-
elected personnel. Governmental openness to public scrutiny is a key

to accountability for official conduct.
In the same vein, Adamolekun [2002] contends that a public

administrative system that functions in an environment of
transparency, with officials fully aware that they would be held
accountable for their actions, is likely to perform more efficiently and
effectively than one that operates in an opaque environment where
the rulers are not accountable to the ruled.
The Strength and Weakness of the Past and Present Political

Administration in Nigeria.
Discussing about the strenght and weakness of the past and present
political administration in nigeria will ordinarily require us going down
memory lane to recall events that shaped our transition from military to
democratic governance in 1999. It would require us putting in context, the
formations of major political parties like the Peoples Democratic Party,
(PDP), the All Peoples Party, (APP) and the Alliance for Democracy, (AD),
prior to the 1999 general elections and the factors that shaped what we
then called our "nascent democracy" in 1999.
Now, talking about the strengths of Nigeria’s politics within the last 20
years, I would like to task us with one imagination. I want us to picture
General Muhammadu Buhari as head of state in 1984. I also want us to
picture the combination of Buhari and late General Tunde Idiagbon in their
twin control of Nigeria. Then, I want us to picture the possibility of
Nigerians from the North and South, with the names Kalu Kalu, Labaran
Ismail and Hassy Kyari el-Kuris filing cases at a High Court, the Court of
Appeal and the Supreme Court, claiming that the Head of State, General
Buhari was not qualified to be in office.
As we can remember, these three Nigerians I already listed, had before the
March 2019 Presidential election, filed cases with follow-ups at the Court
of Appeal and the Supreme Court, seeking the disqualification of President
Buhari from contesting the Presidential election. Imagine the repercussions
that would have taken place for such an effrontery back in 1984 under the
Military Regime, but this time under democracy, the only thing President
Buhari could do was to send Lawyers to represent him in Court!
As imperfect as we may feel about our democratic experiences, the fact

that some Nigerians could freely go to Court, determined to disqualify a
retired General and Powerful Commander-in-Chief, is an incredible
indication of strength in Nigeria’s democracy. Freedom of expression is
what separates the citizens governed under a democracy from citizens
ruled by dictatorship.
For me, the greatest strength of our democracy is that feeling of being free
from dictatorship. The mere feeling of being ruled under a system of
dictatorship imprison citizens psychologically.
The cornerstones of democracy are freedom of citizens to hold their

leaders accountable; freedom in the exercise of public rights to elect their
leaders through periodic elections that are free and fair; the freedom of
religion, movement, social, cultural and political associations; the freedom
of citizens to have their say in Policies and Programmes of Government
and most importantly, sanctified adoption and enforcement of the Rule of
Law which predicates all citizens equal before the law.
We are not like the satirist and American novelist Mark Twain who mocked
his country, the United States, in the following words: “It is by the goodness
of God that in our country we have those three unspeakably precious things:
freedom of speech, freedom of conscience and the prudence to never
practice either of them.”
We may all argue and rightly so, that Nigerian democracy has witnessed
hindrances to most of the principles of democracy, especially on the rights
of citizens to good leadership; on the rights of citizens to freely vote
candidates of their choices and respect for the Rule of Law. At the same
time however, we have seen from 1999 till date, many instances at which
our Courts have passed landmark judgments against interests of Powerful
Presidents and their Political Parties. Under the PDP-led administration, we
saw how the Courts returned Governors impeached through presidential
fiat. We saw how Courts ruled against Presidential withholding of state
allocations; we saw how the Court ordered the swearing-in of candidates
like Rotimi Amaechi who was opposed by Powerful People. We also saw
how Courts removed a number of PDP Governors in the South-west and
ordered the Swearing-In of Opposition candidates and these rulings were
against the interests of the incumbent President and the ruling PDP.
In recent times, we have seen even more extreme judgments of the court
against the APC under an APC administration.
Never for once did we have judgment in which a Political Party which won
all elective seats at the polls ended up losing all of those seats from
Governorship to National and State positions to another party because the
court in its own wisdom, declared so on Zamfara State. We have also seen
how the Court stopped the APC from participating in the Rivers State
Governorship elections.
I am not contesting these judgments but I am trying to point out that as

imperfect as Nigeria's democracy has been, all of these instances suggest
progress in our Rule of Law and, by implication, strength in our democracy.
Regardless of what anyone might make of these landmark judgments by

our Courts, the lessons to be learned by those who are wise, can going
forward shape the internal democracies of Political Parties in Nigeria. I
think what most politicians have now learnt is that only foolish people
avoid primaries. There are many references in which Courts ordered the
swearing-in of those who won the Primaries even after those who robbed
them of the tickets wasted their time and resources to win elections. No
primary result is a fait accompli because a strongman said. This is a
humbling proposition.There is significant decrease in the number of
situations where wealthy and highly connected politicians habitually go to
their party headquarters and collect tickets. This departure is an important
strength in our democracy.
Our electoral system is, without doubt, still a major problem. But then, there
is still strength in the fact that very popular candidates still manage to win
elections all over the country. And if we do not agree with this, we may
agree that very unpopular candidates somehow lose no matter their
influences. We have witnessed in the last 20 years of our democracy, an
incumbent President, Governors, Powerful Senators and Members, House
of Representatives lose elections to unknown politicians, in some cases.
We have seen Governors who control the politics of whole States failing to
win senatorial seats that are one third of a State. All of these happened by
the power of our electorates who were only able to exercise these powers
on the strength of our democracy. I think one of the things that are very
clear in Nigeria’s democracy is that even if you can rig, you must either
have some measure of popularity or as it is often the case, you find ways to
benefit from the protest against a more unpopular candidate. The fact that
electorates can succeed in voting out very unpopular candidates is an
indication of strength in 20 years of Nigeria’s democracy.
Related to our electoral system is the freedom of expression through which

electorates rise against candidates they stand against. The advent of social
media has given powers to citizen-commentators to hold leaders more
accountable. Wrongly as it is, there are countries that have at different
times applied or still applying technical restrictions or outright ban on the
free use of some social media platforms in public expression. According to

some research, citizens in 24 countries of different continents including
Europe, have had their rights to express themselves through the social
media, temporarily or permanently curtailed by Government.
But luckily, Nigerian government was an exception in the list of those 24

countries and this indicates another strength in our democratic freedom of
expression.
I am sure some people are already thinking about the recent controversies
over regulation of online media platforms and hate speech in Nigeria.
Citizens, as I cited earlier, are entitled to the freedom of expression upon

which they hold their leaders accountable. This brings me to the issue of
leadership in our 20 years of democracy.
"The trouble with Nigeria is simply and squarely a failure of leadership"

quote and unquote. That was the conclusion of Professor Chinua Achebe in
his book, The trouble with Nigeria. But before we come to that aspect, I
would like us to establish the fact that there have been some positive sides
of leadership in our 20 years of democracy.
In these years, Nigeria has had four elected Presidents and their
leaderships define largely our democracy.
No matter what anyone may conclude about Chief Olusegun Obasanjo's

Presidency, it is difficult to deny OBJ's commitment to the unity of this
country.
I would like us to cast our minds back to the structure of Obasanjo's inner
caucus or his cabal. By the way, it was late Prof Dora Akunyili that in 2010,
made the term cabal to become popular.
Obasanjo's cabal was composed of Nigerians from all sections of this

country and that structure not only indicated his nationalism but may have
impacted on his handling of serious issues that touched on our redlines-
religion and ethnicity.
Nigeria’s return to democracy in 1999, created an atmosphere of freedom

with opportunities for choices. In October 27, 1999, Zamfara State
announced the adoption of Sharia Legal system. About 11 states in
majority Muslim northern States also joined due to agitation of citizens.
There were protests by minority Christians.
Two years later, violence erupted with massive killings in Kaduna, around
October 2001. The violence spread to Kano and some parts of the
southeast. President Obasanjo, being a Christian with open interest in
theology, was faced with a very tricky situation very capable of sending the
country to another civil war. The President managed the country with
wisdom. I do not think anyone saw OBJ as taking side with Islam or
Christianity. There was actually a time the President insulted a pastor in
Jos for being reckless on the issue of religion.
Again, whatever the opinion of others on Obasanjo’s anti-corruption stands,

he summoned the courage to establish the Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission and the Independent Corrupt Practices and other related
Offenses Commission. Although there was large-scale corruption under the
military as the case in our democracy, we all must acknowledge that the
EFCC and ICPC as permanent establishments, fighting corruption, came
into existence under our democracy.
Still talking about the strength of our democracy in terms of leadership, we

can't take away three important achievements of the late President Umaru
Musa Yar'Adua who took over from former President, Chief Olusegun
Obasanjo in 2007.
President Yar'adua openly made it an obligation to enforce the Rule of Law

in defiance of powerful people and his own PDP's political interests. The
Rule of Law is one of the most sacred principles of democracy.
I once read an article in the Daily Trust of September 3, 2018, authored by

Comrade Issa Aremu, in which he wrote a posthumous tribute to late
Yar'Adua's respect for the Rule of Law. Some of the examples cited by
Aremu were Yar'adua's prompt declaration of his assets, enforcement of

the Supreme Court's ruling for the reinstatement of Peter Obi as Governor
of Anambra state; his refund of Lagos government's withheld federal
allocation; his reversal of some policies of the federal government on VAT,
increase in fuel price and sales of refineries all of which didn't follow legal
procedures. Beside Aremu's observations, some senior writers have also
applauded Yar'Adua's prompt enforcement of rulings by the Court of
Appeal, mostly in 2008, which sacked a number of PDP Governors in the
southwest and Edo state in favour of candidates of the opposition Action
Congress. President Yar'adua knew that deploying security details to
Governors was the most important way to confer on them, authority and
legitimacy. As such, each time the Appeal Court rules, Yar'Adua
congratulated those declared and directed the Inspector General of Police
and the Director General of State Security Services to immediately enforce
such rulings. Yar'adua's respect for the Rule of Law was extremely
significant. He laid the foundation for our electoral reform through the
Uwais committee. Yar'adua was a courageous leader. It was for his
courage that he was able to proclaim amnesty in the Niger Delta and
brought about political and economic stability. It takes courage for a
Commander-in-Chief to forgive. Weak people do not forgive; they retaliate
in disregard for consequences. He followed the words of the Poet
Alexander Pope: “To err is human; to forgive is divine.” Some leaders go
quietly into history only to roar later with their legacy. Former President Yar’
Adua was one such leader. Just like Harry Truman and Lyndon Johnson of
the United States long after their deaths, Yar’ Adua is rising in nobility. His
acts are whispering aloud from his august grave.
Few leaders in all our history can boast of his bi-partisan poise, integrity
with public funds, transparency about processes, and his serenity of vision
as we saw in the Niger Delta. To rephrase Shakespeare, his good is no
longer interred in his bones.
There are indeed strengths of leadership in our 20 years of democracy and

one of such strengths was the Will and Courage of President Goodluck
Ebele Jonathan in saving the country from post-election violence.

Sometimes, what kills a society is the arrogance of leadership. President
Jonathan is humble, humane and empathetic. On June 8, 2010, President
Jonathan made the courageous nomination of an incorruptible and
Independent-minded Attahiru Jega as chairman of the Independent
National Election Commission. He had the option of nominating a
blackmailed asset that would forcibly submit to him at the appropriate time,
yet he went for a clean man and gave Nigeria what is adjudged one of our
most credible elections in the last 20 years. At the time it became obvious
Jonathan had lost his reelection bid to candidate Muhammadu Buhari of
the APC in March 2015, he could defy consequences in favour of
desperation to hang onto power. Had he done that, there would certainly
have been protests and counter protests from the North and South and
lives could most certainly have been lost. Jonathan's action indeed saved
lives and preserved our democracy.
The coming of President Muhammadu Buhari opened another chapter of

democratic leadership especially in the recovery of Nigeria’s dignity in the
eyes of the world. Call him whatever you like but you cannot call Buhari a
corrupt man. His stand against corruption has elicited natural fear for his
person and that fear alone reduced the guts with which corruption stared
Nigeria in the face. Buhari's stand is shaping the independence of Nigeria’s
Legislature and the Legislature is what institutionally separates the military
from democratic administrations.
President Buhari is rising steadily before our eyes as a man of legacy, a

man who fits into the definition of a statesman rather than a politician. The
politician is seen as a man who looks to the next election. The statesman
focuses on the next generation.
We can point to a few areas where the man is looking beyond our noses.
One is rail and road infrastructure. This is a monster assignment with a
sweep that can be compared to the dream of another General and Former
United States President Dwight Eisenhower who set up a 41,000 mile

National System of Interstate and Defence Highways to connect the vast
country and eliminate unsafe roads, inefficient routes and traffic
inconveniences. President Buhari is doing same in twin assaults of road
and rail. Massive work is going on within budgetary possibilities in different
parts of the country. We can also say the agricultural policy is the most
original of any government in recent memory. In spite price wars on rice, we
know this is the first time local rice is in genuine competition with
importers who now have to contend with the locals in reach and nutritional
quality. The border closure, though temporary, is an act of great courage
and has exposed some of the chicanery going on in our economy.
If the North East of Nigeria were to be treated as a Nation, we are poorer

than Niger, Tchad, and Afghanistan. I dare to say that in the contemporary
epoch, no Nigerian President understands the Peace – Development nexus
better than President Muhammadu Buhari, hence he deserves special
kudos for setting up the North East Development Commission, geared
towards addressing the humongous developmental deficits in the North
East sub region. I believe posterity will judge him kindly for such a beautiful
initiative.
Nigeria has within its years of return to democracy produced leaders at

different levels who have made good marks. We have had Governors,
Lawmakers, Ministers, Heads of Government Agencies at the Federal and
State levels, Chairmen of Local Government Councils, and other
Government officials that have made genuine efforts to move their
societies forward. These leaders have brought about advancements on
infrastructure, healthcare, education and so on.
TRANSFORMATIONAL LEADERSHIP AT NATIONAL AND SUB-NATIONAL LEVELS
Call them whatever names but you cannot ignore the transformational
efforts of Ahmed Makarfi, Ibrahim Shema, Babatunde Fashola, Sule Lamido,
Danjuma Goje and Godswill Akpabio, to name but a few, as Governors of

their respective States. Controversial, contrary, and enigmatic, Mal. Nasir
Ahmad El-Rufa’i is unarguably a Gadfly, the enfant terrible of the Nigerian
Political Class. Like the Late Gani Fawehinmi, he evokes the extremes of
emotion from people: you either love him passionately or hate him
intensely. However, what is incontestable is that in terms of
transformational leadership, he is the best FCT Minister Nigeria has ever
had!
Inspite of the strengths I tried to cite on Nigeria's freedom from

dictatorship, freedom of expression, freedom to freely vote in our electoral
system and our Rule of Law, Nigeria's 20 years of democracy has had more
Weaknesses than strengths.
In the minds of majority of Nigerians is a consensus which agrees with the

conclusion of Late Professor Chinua Achebe, that indeed, Nigeria is in
trouble and that trouble is simply and squarely a failure of leadership.
WEAKNESSES OF NIGERIA’S DEMOCRACY
Selective adherence to the Rule of Law:
The Rule of Law which is sacred in a democracy has been and is still under
serious threat. From 1999 to date, only the administration of Late President
Umaru Musa Yar'Adua took seriously, obedience to most Court
Pronouncements. Yes! it is true that other Administrations did obey Court
Orders but what is more true is that they selected Orders that served their
interests. That mere attitude of selectivity is a colossal compromise on the
constitutional resolve to uphold the Rule of Law in a Democracy.
Democracy is a big joke where there is no Rule of Law. It is the Rule of Law
that amply guarantees freedom from dictatorship; freedom of expression
to hold leaders accountable, the freedom of movement, religion, social,
cultural and political associations; the freedom to credible election of
leaders. It is the Rule of Law that guarantees the separation of powers

between the Executive, Legislature and the Judiciary. Democracy is a
charade when there is no Rule of Law. For what guarantees citizens' right
to good Leadership which keeps them and their property secured and
prosperous. Perhaps, I should be right to say, that the Rule of Law is to
democracy what water is to human life!
There can only be good leadership if citizens are fundamentally free to

reasonably hold their leaders accountable.
Poverty and Insecurity:
Twenty years of Nigeria’s democracy has seen the creation and spread of
poverty and the political exploitation of poverty.
Research has shown that there is correlation between the lifespan of a

nation’s democratic march with its economic strength.
In his book, The Future of Freedom: Illiberal Democracy at Home and

Abroad, Fareed Zakaria, a global anchor, argued while referencing a
research by two social scientists, that when countries become democratic
at low levels of development, their democracy usually dies. This is because
as countries develop economically, their societies also develop the
strengths and skills to sustain liberal democratic governance.
In our 20 years of democracy, majority of electorates go after vote buyers

and distributors of food items, the Practitioners of Stomach Infrastructure.
The irony is that the electorates have lost faith such that they do not take
campaign promises any seriously. They have more faith in the cash and
bags of rice they can collect than to expect delivery of good governance.
Rich aspirants simply gather enough and wait for election time.
We have in our 20 years of democracy, seen ceaseless insecurity of lives

from the attacks by boko haram, militants, robbers, rural armed bandits and
herdsmen, inter-communal and religious rivals. If we reflect on the killings
in Borno, Yobe, Adamawa, Kaduna, Kano, Rivers, and other places, no one
can quantify the number of Nigerians that were brutally murdered in our 20
years of democracy.
I believe that few current or former public officials in Nigeria are better
placed than I am to talk about the destabilizing, disorienting, disheartening,
disrupting, and destroying effect that insecurity can have on leadership and
democratic governance. The Boko Haram insurgency exploded in the North
East region in 2009. We have seen abductions of schoolgirls in Chibok and
those of many other citizens forced to pay ransom. For me personally, who
was the Governor of Borno State at the time of the Chibok girls’ abduction
in April 2014, Indeed, it will count as one of the most sorrowful events in
the history of Nigeria. Much has been said and written about the Chibok
girls’ episode, and I do not intend to reopen old wounds on this occasion.
We can however imagine the disrupting and destabilizing effect it had in
our democratic journey as a state and as a country. The abduction and
continued detention of the Yobe schoolgirl Leah Sharibu as well as
thousands of young boys and girls that were abducted, killed, enslaved or
otherwise forcibly conscripted into the insurgents’ army, has been a most
distressing and most destabilizing episode in our democratic journey.
Even as the efforts of the Nigerian Military and other Security Agencies with
the help of the Civilian JTF which was created in 2013 greatly diminished
Boko Haram violence in the North East between 2015-2018, sadly too, it
has again started assuming worrisome levels. Yet other very destabilizing
episodes of insecurity reared their heads in other parts of the Nation. These
include the terrible sedentary farmers-versus-herdsmen clashes in the
North Central states, and kidnapping for ransom all over the country.
Needless to say, not only democracy but the economy, the society and the
polity itself were imperiled by these challenges.
To my own personal view , there is a direct correlation between poverty and

violence. It is pertinent to mention that Boko Haram was a phenomenon
borne out of Social Exclusivity and unless we want to engage in an endless
war of attrition, there can never be a Military solution to the insurgency. To

find a lasting solution, we have to embrace a holistic approach
encompassing the Social, Economic, Political, and Military options.
Based on the Post Insurgency Recovery and Peace Building Assessment

Report on the Northeast which was jointly validated by the World Bank, the
European Union, the Presidency and the Borno State Government, the Boko
Haram has inflicted damages to the tune of 9 billion US Dollars in the
northeast. Of this amount, the destructions in Borno State amounts to 6
billion US Dollars and they are supported by the following statistics.
A total of 956,453 private houses representing 30 % of the total number of

houses in Borno were destroyed across almost all the 27 local government
areas of the State. Apart from Private houses, a total of 665 municipal
buildings comprising offices of MDAs, LGA buildings, Prisons, Police
Stations and PHCN offices were destroyed in Borno. 5,335 classrooms and
other school buildings were destroyed in 512 primary schools, 38
secondary schools and two tertiary institutions in the State. 201 health
centres, mostly primary healthcare clinics, dispensaries and some General
Hospitals were all destroyed. The insurgents also destroyed 726 power
substations and distribution lines just like they destroyed 1,630 water
sources including motorized boreholes, hand pumps, solar powered
boreholes and facilities for piped water schemes. Across 16 local
government areas of the State, the insurgents bombed parks, gardens,
orchards, game Reserves, Green wall projects and poisoned ponds, Rivers,
Lakes and they stole over 500,000 cattle.
All these were in addition to setting ablaze markets, large scale farms and
hundreds of trucks that evacuated farm produce for international export to
neighboring countries. Today, hundreds of well-known rich farmers and
transporters have become extremely poor and dependent on food aid.
Despite those challenges, we also found time, within our meager resources,
to try to lay the foundation for a post – Boko Haram future in Borno State
by investing heavily in mega school projects and other key infrastructure. If
you have not visited Borno State recently, you may have heard of or seen
pictures of the [number] mega schools that was established in Maiduguri
and other towns. This is because we believe that in the long run, it is only
universal and quality education that will enable our State, our people and
our country to recover from the ravages of Boko Haram. Universal and
quality education, as well as poverty alleviation, will also ensure that in
future, our youths do not easily fall prey to the teachings and rantings of
demagogic preachers.
To be candid , majority of us as the citizen of this great nation are guilty for
the failure of leadership in our 20 years of democracy.
One of the unspoken attitudes I see as a fundamental problem of our

leadership is the entitlement complex of politically ambitious and
competent elites in Nigeria. Majority of competent and ambitious elites
simply assume they are entitled to be invited to pick readily available
tickets to contest elections. We rarely make the sacrifice of connecting
with the grassroots.
Many Nigerians question the rationality of some Governors in supporting

aspirants who sometimes do not communicate well in English to contest
and win elections. But as Tip O’Neill famously quipped, “All Politics is
Local”.
This is where the problem emerge, while the well-educated elite with
Harvard and Cambridge degrees is busy searching for top paying luxurious
job, the half-baked local politician sticks to the electorates in his or her
village and town. The local politician tolerates the difficulties of either living
or frequenting rural areas to attend to community events, periodic
festivities, frequent Wedding and naming ceremonies and funerals. He
identifies community problems and reports to authorities. He follows up
diligently until the problems are addressed or he is seen to have tried. The
local politician is so rugged, fearless and tireless that he can move from
one village to the other, day and night, connecting with the grassroots in
many years. Some of them involve in clearing refuse in their communities.
They are there come rain or sunshine.
While the elite mostly opens his doors to invited guests to attend luxury
birthday parties, the local politician has no privacy since his doors are open
to uninvited guests at any time of the day. The electorates grow to love and
cherish these local politicians and then, we say they can't contest elections
since they do don't have degrees?
Oftentimes, they do not back out and they have the firm support of their
people. You either allow them to contest or they defect to another party and
win the election. The implication of course, is that they create serious
problems for you as a Governor and leader of your party, whose ultimate
responsibility is to deliver votes. The local politicians are mostly popular.
They contest and win and as to be expected, they give you the kind of
representation that is equal to their level of competence.
I have heard a casei in which a state government entice some medical

doctors with free cars and houses to compel them to accept employment
at hospitals located in their own communities. Some of them rejected the
offers and this is the common attitude with elites including those with
political ambitions.
The people at the grassroots are normally appreciative. They recognize and
reciprocate selflessness and community development efforts.
Therefore, elites who seek to hold public offices need to be deliberate and
ready to make long term investments that would require connecting with
the grassroots. They must have clear visions for the office they seek.
Opportunities for quality leadership lies with deliberate sacrifices from

those with the competence to lead. Opportunities to lead under a
democracy does not come easy or cheap. You have to work for it.
Sometimes, you invest half of your lifetime wining the hearts of the people
you hope to lead.
Opportunities in our democracy lies with politicians becoming principled.
One major weakness of our democracy is their chameleonic mobility, the

shameless speed with which we defect from one political party to another.
Agreed, there are many instances in which aspirants are treated with
callous injustice in Political Parties and are forced to defect. However,
many of these politicians are oftentimes, beneficiaries of the same political
party or in fact, they benefited from unjust acts to others!
We need to address the issue of defection. More than any time in our
democratic history, there is currently a near balance of strength between
the APC and the PDP in terms of the number of Governors and prominence
of stakeholders. It may be extreme but considerate view that we consider
laws that will make it mandatory for anyone who defects from one political
party to another, to have to wait for at least two election cycles of eight
years before he or she is constitutionally allowed to contest election under
a new platform. This drastic but necessary measure could minimize the
shameless convenience of defections. It could force aggrieved party men
to remain in their parties to fight unfairness and build the party. After all,
our Courts are already passing landmark judgments over party matters.
Opportunities for our democracy is a moral onus bestowed on all of us in

leadership positions recognizing that without obedience to the rule of law
our predecessors could have held on the public offices we now occupy. We
must drop the culture of impunity if for nothing else, for the fact that, no
matter how long, power is something you eventually leave someday or it
leaves you sooner than you expect. Most of the time, people spend more
years outside power than inside it.The pity though is that some people do
not know when power has left them. They have hangover of power like
alcohol. Being drunk and having hangover are not the same.Leaders must
be concerned about what we hope to be remembered for.
o Obedience to the rule of law implies respecting and enforcing every

freedom that citizens are guaranteed by the constitution.
o Opportunities for our democracy lies with providing quality education

that will empower citizens to know their rights, to hold their leaders
accountable and to be more employable and to be ambitious in
adding value to themselves and our country.
o Weakness of our Democracy: Low Political Participation of Women
Nigerian society and by extension politics and governance is inherently

patriarchal and thus Nigerian women are denied the full opportunities in
politics and governance in line with the Beijing Declaration (of which
Nigeria is signatory to) and Nigeria's National Gender Policy that require at
least 30% and 35% respectively, of all elective and appointive positions go
to women. Although there has been some progress in women's
participation over the last 20 years, according to the National Bureau of
Statistics, women's participation in both elective and appointive positions
has remained at about 7%. Presently, female Ministers represent only about
17% of the cabinet and female representation in both chambers of the
legislature stand at about 6%.
This low representation of women in politics and governance spaces is not

due to a lack of effort on the part of women but due to man made and
structural stumbling blocks that prevent the full participation of women.
For example in a few states, the only female Commissioners appointed by
male Chief Executives are those of Women's Affairs/Social Development -
indicating that if that ministry did not exist, perhaps a woman may not even
be appointed as commissioner. The highly capital intensive, oftentimes
violent and late-night politicking processes of party primaries does not
favour women, especially women who are wives and young mothers and
often excludes them from the process and thus the outcome. Ayisa Osori
in her book "Love does not win elections" succintly captures and from
personal experience the multi faceted challenges that women in Nigeria
face in vying for elective office.
Strengths:
Nigeria have the advantage of a large pool of highly educated, experienced

and competent women from every state of the country ready to take on
leadership positions in elective and appointive capacities. Nigeria also has
the policy framework to ensure the full participation of women.
Gender Parity will strengthen our democracy:
Study after study has demonstrated that when women are fully engaged
and empowered, everyone benefits. It has been proven, over and over again
that communities and societies that fully empower and engage women are
more Peaceful, Prosperous, Just and Secure. Internationally, the Nordic
countries and recent times the UAE are good case studies while locally, the
south west region of Nigeria proves this assertion.
Opportunities:
We have the opportunity to strengthen our democracy by implementing the

requirements of the National Gender policy - at all levels. We can take the
sample of south western states of Nigeria, which have over the past 20
years, instituted a system where most of the deputy governors are required
to be female. We can also learn from the practice of Kaduna state where at
least 50% of appointees are women. Political parties must adhere with the
35% affirmative action and ensure that across board - at least 35% of all
candidates are women. The executive should also ensure gender parity in
not only the appointment of ministers and commissioners, but also in
service chiefs, heads of agencies, advisers and assistants as well as board
members.
In the last 20 years of Nigeria’s democracy, the list of Weaknesses are

endless just as those of our strengths are few. Let our strength cheer us,
so we don’t despair over our many weaknesses. We cannot afford to
remain in despair and I believe this is why we all need to be actively involve
in politics . We all have roles to play in building our democracy, for the
alternative to freedom is imprisonment whether physical or emotional. We
should focus on exploring the opportunities that can make our democracy
enduring and I am so sure that, together, all of us, can make our democracy
work as envy for posterity.
Conclusion
Now that you have known the principles and the most effective tactics to
use in winning an elections, it’s time to put that into action.
Let us come together and build a powerful nation void of malice and
corruption for the next generation unborn. Furthermore, getting involved in
political offices is a good steps to strengthen your political ambition and to
make people building interest in politics.
If you have any questions or need our help as your campaign manager,
please don’t hesitate to reach out to us by sending us an email
( [email protected], [email protected] or through our
Whatsapp number +2349152327267)
We look forward to hear about your success, best practices and creative
ideas as you put this guide into action.
Thank you for your incredible work till date. We have a lot more work to do,
but together, we will win! Let’s get to it.
Praying for our Politician and Dear Nation

There is a social rule that says politics is not discussed at the table.
Others say politics should not be discussed at work or in church. We all

have an opinion on how the government of our country and its leaders are
or are not doing their jobs.
It is easy to fall into the game of criticism and accusations. However, the
Bible tells us in Romans 13: 1 , that God targets the rulers of all nations.
They are subject to the will and judgment of God. Christians must pray for
the leaders and governments of our countries so that God will keep his
hand on the people.
When we pray for peace in our country or in our city, we are praying for
something that will affect us directly.
Jeremiah 29: 7 says “Seek peace in the city to which I transported you, and
pray to the Lord for it, for in his peace you will have peace.” So always pray
for your city, your country, and the leaders who have the responsibility to
govern.
Praying for them is praying for your own well-being....
Our heavenly Father, The God of the whole universe you created the world
in goodness, and blessed humanity with many beautiful things. We thank
you for the gift of our country Nigeria, You have richly endowed this country
with extraordinary human and material resources, which, if well used, would
adequately provide for the well-being of the people in all parts of the state.
Unfortunately, dear Lord, due to egoistic political interests of our leader, the
populace of this blessed country are in anguish. Now, as we are preparing
for the forthcoming elections in the year 2023, we perceive the activities of
political gangsters, aimed at destabilizing the electoral process. Crime
wave is on the increase, bringing about a general feeling of insecurity. All
this signs are generating a sense of hopelessness in the life of every
citizens . But you, O Lord, is our strength and If you do not guard the city, in
vain do the guards keep watch. We pray that you send your unlimited love,
strength and justice to save our country. Fight for us against the enemies
of your people. Safeguard our electoral process, so that men of integrity
may get into positions of leadership. Endow our leaders with the requisite
wisdom to rule your people, guide and protect them while in office, and
sustain them in good governance, so that they may lead your people to the
“Promised Land”. We ask this through our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ .
Amen.
Like our page on facebook to receive daily prayer for our political leader
and dear nation ...God bless you
(https://m.facebook.com/Prayer-Intervention-For-Nigeria-Politics-
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References
https://indivisible.org/resource/practical-guide-winning-elections
https://www.britannica.com/topic/election-political-science#ref229014
https://infoguidenigeria.com/history-of-political-parties-in-nigeria/
20 years of democracy in Nigeria: Strengths, weaknesses and opportunities

- By Kashim Shettima on Media Trust 20th Anniversary.

The Secret of Winning Political Election

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The secret of Winning a Political Elections;

Written by Femi Wisdom.

© 2022 richvine cares Publishing House

History of Political Parties in Nigeria

The Arts of Winning a Political Election

Practical Guide towards Winning an Election

Attributes of Good Governance

The Strength and Weakness of the Past and Present Political

Praying for our Politician and Dear Nation

Election is the formal process of selecting a credible, trustworthy and

It is also an acts of accepting or rejecting a political proposition by voting in

Even with the implementation of universal suffrage, the ideal of “one

In sub-Saharan Africa, competitive elections based on universal suffrage

Competitive elections in Latin America also were introduced in phases. In

many cases as a result of decolonization (e.g., India, Indonesia, Malaysia,

Authoritarian regimes often used elections as a way to achieve a degree of

History of Political Parties in Nigeria

Political parties are fundamental to the democratic process. There can be

colonization of the nation. Herbert Macaulay, grandson of Bishop Ajayi

The national struggle of most African countries to free themselves from

 The separation of the legislature from the judiciary.

 A legislative council for each territory, with elected Africans

 Abolition of racial prejudice and discrimination in and from the civil

 Establishment of a university in West Africa.

 Appointment of and disposition of chiefs by their own people.

 Control of taxation by the elected Africans on the legislative council.

 Seeking active participation of West Africans in the politics and

The colonial secretary general, however, turned down their demands.

The MacPherson constitution eventually follow in 1951. Unlike the Clifford

Example of some of these political parties are Mallam Aminu Kano’s

Five political parties were registered by the Federal Electoral Commission

List of Political Parties in Nigeria

African Action Congress(AAC)

Advanced Allied Party (AAP)

All Blending Party (ABP)

Advanced Congress of Democrats (ACD)

Allied Congress Party of Nigeria (ACPN)

Alliance For Democracy (AD)

African democratic Congress (ADC)

Action Democratic Party (ADP)

All Grassroots Alliance (AGA)

All Grand Alliance Party (AGAP)

Advanced Nigeria Democratic Party (ANDP)

Alliance for New Nigeria (ANN)

Alliance National Party (ANP)

Abundant Nigeria Renewal Party (ANRP)

African Peoples Alliance (APA)

All Progressives Congress (APC)

Advanced People Democratic Alliance (APDA)

All Progressive Grand Alliance (APGA)

Allied Peoples Movement (APM)

Alternative Party of Nigeria (APN)

Action Peoples Party (APP)

Alliance of Social Democrats (ASD)

Alliance for united Nigeria (AUN)

Better Nigeria Progressive Party (BNPP)

Coalition for Change (C4C)