Nigeria’s Campaign Culture Must Change, GOMEP-NG President Says

By Our Correspondent

Abuja – Nigeria’s political campaign culture remains trapped in an archaic tradition in which politicians address large crowds from high platforms, make promises, and leave without giving citizens an opportunity to question or challenge their claims,
the Nat’l President of the Guild of Online Media Editors and Publishers of Nigeria (GOMEP-NG), Comr. Akpovoke Otiti, has said.

Otiti called on Nigerian youths to reject what he described as an outdated model of political engagement and demand a more participatory approach to election campaigns. He argued that political campaigns should not be treated as one way exercises in which candidates speak while the electorate is reduced to a passive audience.

According to him, any politician seeking public office should be prepared to come before the people, explain clearly what he or she intends to achieve, and, more importantly, listen to the concerns and grievances of the electorate.
“Let any politician who thinks he is qualified come out, tell the people what he wants to do and listen to the plight of the people,” Otiti said.

He criticised the practice whereby politicians climb a podium during campaign rallies and, in his view, create an immediate divide between themselves and the people they are seeking to represent. He said the physical elevation of politicians during campaign rallies had come to symbolise a wider separation between political leaders and ordinary citizens.

“In Nigeria today, when politicians come for campaigns, as they climb the podium, that is where the separation starts. No more equality. Separation of power automatically begins,” he said. Otiti questioned how long Nigerians, particularly the younger generation, would continue to accept a campaign system in which politicians speak uninterrupted, make promises and depart without answering questions from the very people whose votes they are seeking.

He maintained that genuine political engagement requires a two way conversation. “If you come to visit me, you cannot be the only one talking and then leave without giving me room to bare my mind to you.

What sort of campaign is that?” he asked. The GOMEP-NG president urged Nigerian youths to become more assertive in demanding accountability from political candidates, insisting that campaign rallies should provide an opportunity for voters to interrogate policies, challenge promises and communicate their own priorities.

He said allowing citizens to question candidates would create a more balanced political process and help voters make informed decisions based on programmes and policies rather than slogans, personality or carefully choreographed rallies.

Otiti’s remarks come amid renewed calls for greater accountability, transparency and citizen participation in Nigeria’s political system. He argued that the country’s democratic culture would be strengthened if politicians regarded campaign appearances not merely as occasions to address crowds, but as opportunities to listen and engage directly with the electorate.

For Nigeria’s increasingly influential youth population, he said, the time had come to move beyond traditional campaign rituals and demand a political culture in which candidates are accountable to the people even before they are entrusted with public office.

The question, therefore, is not simply how politicians will speak to Nigerians, but whether they are prepared to listen.

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