By the Qoheleth
For the last six months, a fresh air has been blowing across Ngor Okpala and most parts of Imo State. A worthy son, Dr Matthew Chima Amadi, popularly known as Mazi Gburugburu has ignited a new wave of political and social movement not prevalent to this part of the world for quite some time.
Many say it is a welcome development and therefore have embraced it undiluted and with open hands. One of the reasons it was accepted wholeheartedly may not be unconnected with the harsh economic condition in the state. Many people have suffered as a result of bad governance and leadership. There is hunger and joblessness all over the land. Many impoverished people see it as an opportunity to benefit from the financial largesse that came with the Gburugburu movement.
From all indications, many of those who embraced this movement do not even know Dr. Mathew ab initio. Such people see him as a young man who barged into their economic sensibilities with bundles of cash. From recent evidence, more than half a billion naira may have been sunk into this social and political movement already.
It is speculated that the young intellectual and entrepreneur has a desire for a political office which had been denied of people of his zone for a long time. The closest his community could go was late Hon Hyacinth Nkwoala, popularly known as Mayor, who won a seat at Imo State House of Assembly in 1983. This was short-lived through a military coup in the country. At a point, Hon. Okey Nkwocha and Hon. Geraldine Ekeh (Nee Akagha) were also elected Councilors in Ngor Okpala Local Government Area. Others with a stint at government are Hon. Magnus Nwachukwu and Hon. Uche Ezeoguzie who at various points were Vice Chairmen of Ngor Okpala Local Government Area respectively.
Dr. Amadi is therefore renewing the hope for his people in this direction. Considering that his vision is clear, what strategies is he using to attain such lofty position he aspires in the state? There are clearly defined positive and negative ways of winning elections in Nigeria. They include gaining larger number of votes, having huge financial muscle, using the power of existing political incumbency, introducing new and novel ideas different from existing ones, and of course rigging oneself into power.
Dr. Amadi can be said to be a neophyte in partisan politics. However, he may not be entirely new in Nigerian politics having studied political science and being at the helm of political related organizations. He has also worked closely with top political office holders and those in higher authorities.
During the last governorship elections in Imo State, over a hundred candidates showed interests in various parties before the primaries. After the primaries, 18 candidates contested in the election from various political parties. These candidates have different background and strategies which they applied from the primary levels to the general elections. Many were without adequate preparations and just stumbled into the contest few months before elections. Some were jumping from one party to the other searching for tickets to run for the election. Their failures were anticipated due to inadequate preparation.
It is most likely that in the next few years, many of these politicians would resurface to seek political offices in Imo state especially at the highest level. Many of them flaunt their past failures as experience. They usually wait for another opportunity to jump into fray when the time comes.
How would Dr. Matthew Amadi manage these murky waters if he finally decides to seek the highest political office in Imo State? No gain saying the fact that he would need to mobilize very large number of genuine followers different from the usual campaign crowd that was seen during elections. The least number of votes any past governor had scored in the last governorship elections from all the local government areas was over 500,000. He therefore needs to mobilize over half a million people to get to the existing mark.
Current electioneering campaign in the country requires huge capital to implement. It requires human, financial resources and time. While it seems that Dr. Amadi is confident of his financial war chest, how this can be used to override the other prospective candidates who also have enviable huge financial chests coupled with existing political structures can be imagined. Dr Amadi has not declared any interest to currently join any political party.
He may not be opportune to muscle his way through existing big political parties who may have structured themselves earlier before any elections. Some of them have built succession plans. Studies have shown that those who jump into political parties at the dying minutes of elections don’t usually win if they cross the primaries hurdle. For Dr Amadi to pave an efficient entry into the political system, he needs to start developing a watertight strategy to penetrate the party system as early as possible.
Another area of gaining political position is what is referred to as power of incumbency. This is where an existing governor uses his political structure to pick a successor and ensures that such candidate wins the election. It is obvious that the current governor of Imo State who is running his second term may have set his succession plan with his trusted aides and allies. It will be an uphill task to upstage him without a watertight strategy.
Chief Rochas Okorocha, a former governor of Imo State was able to unseat a sitting governor through a solid political strategy and unwavering bond with the people built around social values. Through this, he gained access into an existing political party that had local content and appreciation. The issues around the then ruling political party especially on poor performance did not help matters. Dr Amadi can adopt similar strategies especially in contesting with the ruling party known to have strong affiliation with the presidency.
Human capital and financial resources are necessary tools for winning elections in Nigeria. Many candidates during the past elections have been supported financially by various stakeholders, political parties and “investors” towards funding their campaigns. Dr. Amadi may need to secure huge sum of money to do this alone. New entrants into politics are usually surrounded by some political hawks who may have little or no inputs to the candidate’s campaign fund but rather are there to extract what they can. Such people usually claim to be experienced with little or nothing to show for it. Dr Amadi must be wary of these set of people if he needs to go far in his mission.
The strategy of throwing money around to individuals and groups few years away from the election is like burning one’s candle at both ends. This is like starting an 8,000 meters relay race on a top speed. Before the middle of the race, the athlete would have spent the whole energy. It exposes one’s financial strength to political opponents before the election proper. At this point, it will be observed that many other prospective candidates and party members would rather keep mute than reacting to such candidates. It may even be used as a weapon during the campaign proper.
One of the best ways of gaining popularity, trust and win the support of the people is by investing in them. There are various ways of doing this. It also requires huge financial resources. Former Gov. Okorocha applied investing in the people extensively prior to Imo state governorship election in 2011. Late Senator Arthur Nzeribe also applied the strategy by investing the then huge sum of about N12 million when he came into politics newly in 1983. At that period, he had to contend with candidates who had exhibited high level of integrity and had through this earned people’s trust and respect with his stupendous wealth as displayed then.
The people around Dr. Amadi’s movement must be seen as those with clearcut purposeful vision. Not just those who gather to rip him off through many aimless channels. A central strategic team needs to design a blueprint of his vision, how to get to his goals and what is requires to achieve so before introducing the man to the public. After this, all stakeholders will then key into the blueprint and understand his manifestoes clearly.
A situation where there are aimless crowds following him all over the place would yield no positive results. It is like the froth that rises when beer is poured into a cup. It will soon die down and collapse into the drink. Dr Matthew Amadi is a saleable candidate considering his rich background. What he requires is professional packaging that will present him to the public. This can’t be done by existing old politicians who usually flock around new entrants to siphon them of available funds. They may not bring something new and some of them lack credibility among the people. They are also likely to shield him from technocrats and professionals who may be willing to offer their services towards the young man’s vision and aspiration. To summon enough courage to avoid these old politicians would go a long way to attain his leadership aspiration.
Charity, they say begins at home. A solid home base and integration have always helped political office aspirants to fly higher among competitors. When late Hon, Hyacinth Nkwoala, former Mayor of Ihunanaya Club of Nigeria presented himself for elective office, he first did his homework by consulting and surrounding himself with effective, efficient and trusted members of his community. His youth campaign team then was spearheaded by Captain Chukwuso Arinze Onyewuenyi and Mr. Anaele Anyanwu, popularly known as Principal and other vibrant youths. They delivered. He got unwavering support from his community and through this won his election.
Dr. Amadi needs to be seen as a solution provider. He should begin to do this by providing solutions to the challenges in his immediate community especially the short-term ones. This can be in the areas of refurbishing schools, health care centre and maintaining the community roads; organizing skill acquisitions and other empowerment programmes, setting up micro and small industries to create jobs as well as offering scholarships to students at all levels. Doling out money to individuals and groups is like giving a child fish. They would eta it only once. Engaging them in the support and empowerment programmes is like teaching a child how to fish. Through this they will eat fish throughout their lives.
Efficient political strategists have also proposed that it is wise to keep one’s political plan behind the scene and public space before the ban on campaign is lifted. This would prevent competitors from planting challenges and putting cogs in the wheel of progress. The managers of Dr. Amadi put the cart before the horse by exposing his intentions very early in the race. At a time when he is surrounded by old politicians from different political parties with various interests, it is important to review the real activities and intentions of these to be able to pick the grain from the chaff. He should also have access to the people who have genuine interests in his vision and not those looking for financial benefits.
It is easy for Dr. Chima Amadi to win elections in Imo State if proper things are put in proper perspectives. He has all it takes considering his antecedents; solid academic and financial background. It is also easy for such intelligent and wealthy young man to fail woefully even before the primaries in an election if he plants his strategies around sycophants and greedy fair-weather people who are like painted sepulchers.
The best strategy is to move away from what other existing politicians are doing and introduce new things. This would build trust among the people and separate them from others. He who follows others behind in a race cannot come first. And he who runs and looks back will always stumble and fall.
