Mistakes would-be Jonathan’s presidential handlers should never make

In the coming weeks, active political activities for next year’s general elections will kick-start fully and officially! It will be a time to expect the unexpected. A time for massive defections from one party to another in furtherance of one’s political interest.  A time for accusations and counter-accusations. A time to open the dossiers of politicians for public scrutiny. A time for truthful or deceptive political promises, among others. Just as we say in journalism, “If it can bleed, then it can lead”.

The coming weeks will be time when my colleagues in the media who are still standing idle, watching and studying the nation’s political activities, will be divided along party lines promoting, attacking and defending the interest of one candidate or the other depending on the terms. It will be the time when my articles will no longer appear in certain media organizations.

As the elections draw closer, President Goodluck Jonathan should note that as a top candidate for the forthcoming presidential election, most candidates would turn him their punching bag with the sole intention of discrediting him while enhancing their chances at the polls. Hence, he should never put up a too-big-to-fail attitude throughout the electioneering campaigns! He should not leave anything to chance because an unconsidered variable in an election of this magnitude may turn out to be the major issue, especially now that the major battle is going to be between the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) and the All Progressives Congress (APC).

Therefore, the would-be Jonathan’s official presidential handlers should do away with some of the attitudes similar organizations put up during the 2011 presidential campaigns. They must put Jonathan’s interest at the forefront and be open to good ideas and recognize individual and collective efforts that will ensure that Jonathan is returned to office next year, instead of wrongly thinking or assuming that anybody coming around is coming to dislodge them from their vantage positions. The truth is that if they refuse to show altruistic commitment and support to the president’s re-election bid and allow selfish interest and the spoils of the moment to deny him re-election, Jonathan as a person has nothing to lose! Rather, when the worse comes to worst, Jonathan would join the league of African statesmen. In this regard, they are the ones who would bear the brunt of their mistakes! Also, it is the Nigerian people, the intellectual and business community,

that will be most affected as they would be bugged down by the miasma of policy instability. I say this because I personally do not believe in frequent change of government and policies.

Besides, President Jonathan should not be complacent in extra-ordinary times because that was the strategy that cost former French President Nicolas Sarkozy his re-election bid in 2012. It will be recalled that when the opposition party led by Francois Hollande was roaring like a lion and leading in various opinion polls, Sarkozy displayed nonchalant attitude and an image of a bound-to-win candidate. Before he could realize what was happening, the opposition Socialist Party, which had been in disarray after the fall of its predicted presidential candidate and former IMF managing director, Dominique Strauss-Khan, had already gained much ground. Consequently, when they went into the election proper, Hollande defeated Sarkozy.

Those managing any presidential candidate must be open to new ideas at all times, especially game-changing ones. These are ideas that can leapfrog a backward candidate to the leading position in the race. They should note that Nigeria is changing and as a result, ideas that worked in previous elections may not work in the coming election or may simply require little review and improvement so as to match the unfolding political realities in the days ahead!

Secondly, presidential handlers should always consider the interest of their candidate first before any other considerations! They should be focused, dedicated and always loyal to their candidate. They should never be two-faced Janus or found running with the hare and hunting with the hound or backstabbing their candidate and cutting deals with his opponents. Some of the things I highlight here were some of the egregious political mistakes I personally observed while working with the Jonathan/Sambo presidential campaign train during the 2011 elections.

Finally, from every political calculations and permutations devoid of propaganda, President Jonathan is still on the lead even as he needs more work to be done in the area of grassroots mobilization and sensitization. Hence, let’s continue to be proactive while waiting for the right time to officially give him the green light to continue in office through our ballots.

Edwin Uhara