From Nigeria-
All politics, as
the political cliché goes, is local. Politicians, in an attempt to woo
voters, strive to strike a chord in their hearts. They invoke, and at
times, invent social, cultural and even religious similarities between
themselves and the voters and then spin convincing tales that can earn
them votes.
This strategy,
which is some sort of homophily-identifying with people of like minds,
worked well for President Donald Trump during the last presidential
elections in the United States. He knew his target audience- the
ultra-conservative white supremacists, who believed that the problem of
the US started and ended with immigration. Mr Trump identified with
their aversion to immigration and with a
we-are-all-in-this-hole-together kind of rhetoric, he won the election.
Back home in Nigeria, President Mohammadu Buhari understood this
strategy--and it has worked for him. Mr Buhari started working on the
strategy since 1999 when he led a team from the Arewa Consultative Forum
to the Oyo State Governor's Office, Ibadan, to challenge the government
on the perceived unfair treatment meted to the Fulani in the state. It
was reported that he asked the then Governor Lam Adesina: 'Why are your
people killing my people'? Mr Buhari was later to make many other
pro-North - interventions. This, overtime, endeared him to the average
northerner who saw him as someone who would always protect their
interest. Competence, unfortunately, was secondary.
More here-
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