By Alabi AbdulKarim
NB: This is a personal message for all those who profess love and support for Mallam Saliu Mustapha, the Turaki of Ilorin Emirate.
Just a few days after the official kickoff of the campaigns towards the 2023 General Elections, it is regrettable that the opposition is already showing rather too early the strategy with which they intend to run their campaigns. They have shown very clearly that their only tactic is to attempt a demarketing of their opponent, believing that this whole business of politics is a ‘win by all means’ game.
While we also have a choice to choose the path of throwing dirts about the opponents, the path we have chosen in this election flatly forbids that. No matter the temptation to reflect the behavior of our challengers and reciprocally throw back the very stones thrown at us; our ideals would not allow us to join in any form of mudslinging or tantrums. We won’t, not because we cannot, but because that is simply not our ways.
Meanwhile, even those who have chosen blackmail as their official and preferred method of gaining support deserve our sympathy, not condemnation or anger. It is in the nature of man to throw everything into a battle he is afraid of losing. Those who are afraid of the polls must, therefore, be forgiven if they feel their only chance at victory is to focus on bringing their perceived nemesis to public ridicule.
They must have concluded in their minds that without consistently seeking to chip off the credibility of their opponents, they have no iota of chance to avoid the impending defeat that ostensibly stares them in the face.
While they are welcomed to deploy whatever methods they believe would best serve them in the long run, they would do well to realize that the name ‘Saliu Mustapha’ is already ingrained in the minds and hearts of the people, and it would take the opponents million of years of hard and deliberate effort, rather than unintelligent misinformation and media attack to get to that level. It is even possible that the reason for the obvious desperation is that they seek to do today what Turaki has done long ago. That is why it is good to be good all the time, and not wait till you require votes to rekindle a dying political career.
For Mallam Saliu Mustapha, his “Doing It Differently” political mantra is not a mere campaign rhetorics. It is an ideal he is irredeemably committed to, and one he expects all his supporters and admirers to also embrace, no matter the extent of provocation or temptation to do otherwise.
We must honour this commitment, not only because it is the right thing to do, but because of our belief that there is life after every election, and that we have relationships to go back to long after the ballots are casted, votes counted and winners emerged. We cannot throw away our decency simply because we seek victory at all cost. That is not who we are.
Instead of joining the mudslingers in their game, it is more honourable and a lot more rewarding to focus our energy on what truly matters, and rededicate ourselves to reinforcing the love the people freely extend to us; while genuinely worrying about how to repay their affection and trust. We must continue to organize ourselves more effectively, door to door, unit by unit, ward by ward, and keep propagating the ideals of effective and responsive representation which is the hallmark of our ambition. We must continue to run a decent, clean, smart and responsible campaign which reflects our regard for the sensibilities of the people we seek to represent.
Alabi Abdulkarim is of the Research and Strategies Directorate of the Saliu Mustapha Campaign Organization
