My dear governorship candidate,
I am compelled to write this open letter to you, especially at this time when Kogites are in quest of a leader who can bring the desired change in terms of governance. Today, Kogi is faced with many challenges, which include salary arrears, poverty, insecurity and unemployment amongst others that have rendered the citizenry helpless.
With your emergence as the flag-bearer of the Social Democratic Party, there has been a reawakening and re-conscientisation of the minds of Kogites, especially the downtrodden who have seen the light at the end of the tunnel and all out to sail on the MuriNation boat.
As the governorship election draws close, you must re-strategise your campaign to accommodate what I termed “party branding” rather than just focusing on the product (Muri). In essence, it is difficult to sell a brand like SDP in the eyes of an average Kogite who over time is used to the likes of PDP, APC and LP as household names in the current political dispensation. Hence, your campaign strategy must be well-rooted in a two-pronged approach that focuses on your candidacy and party visibility. With this taken into cognizance, the electorate will be able to familiarise themselves with the ideology of the party alongside your manifesto.
Sir, you must rejig your strategies to sell the project (SDP) if you must win come November 11, as this will also help to get more people on board and support the movement for a new Kogi. The party as an entity is more supreme than a candidate who is just a part of the whole. Thus, more effort should be put into branding rather than just selling the name “Muri” as a product.
Sincerely sir, SDP needs more visibility in the State, and your publicity must be refocused to ensure that all Kogites (Igala, Ebira and Okun) identify with the party going forward.
Going forward, it is a fact that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as an unbiased umpire, would not include the photographs of candidates in the ballot papers as rightly recommended in the buildup to the 2023 general elections owing to its guidelines and modus operandi, hence, the need to sell the SDP brand, which of course, will be impressed on the ballot during the voting exercise.
For your party (SDP) to win as a third-force party in the State, your campaign strategies should be geared towards promoting the party side-by-side with your candidacy. The strategy should be “SDP first before Muri”. An electorate will only see the SDP logo on the ballot papers and it is practically impossible to vote for Muri if such a voter doesn’t know the SDP as the platform.
Finally, having a structure as opined is necessary to achieve a paradigm shift in the face of the November 11 gubernatorial poll and that must start with the brand visibility of the SDP.
With all the aforementioned put into consideration, I see the possibility of SDP causing an upset in the forthcoming governorship election by taking the seat of power from the ruling party.
– Arogbonlo Israel is a media strategist and can be contacted via gemid931@gmail.com
