The Upper Crust

Is debate the issue?

 

With Uche Nnadozie

So the Broadcasting Organisations of Nigeria/Nigeria Election Debate Group, BON/NEDG scheduled January 19, 2019 presidential election debate has come and gone. Some people may think that in the end, it didn’t live up to its touted billing, but it held after all. What is more, the debate has grown from a makeshift event to what may be called a national, prime time live television event. It gets active political commentators fired up for the high point which never really come. In spite of its humble beginnings, while the aesthetics of the debate has continued to improve, the content and texture of the campaign effort has continued to simmer into the doldrums. Depending on who you ask, the response will be different. Everyone will blame the other person for why the debate often ends up as an anticlimax.
I do not wish to bore us on notable absentees since 1999, but suffice it to say that at the early stages, the organisers of this debate were always viewed with suspicion. Politicians and their strategists found one reason or the other to recluse their candidates from participating in the debate. Those notable absentees smeared the authenticity of the gathering. It robbed it of its luster and shine. The expectations are always dulled each time leading candidates fail to show up. The field will then be left to candidates who will lose the election. And it turns out that absentee candidates have always won the election. So if you are a candidate, will you really want to attend?
To be frank, I support election debate. It gives yet another opportunity for candidates to project their programmes and policies. Of course, the guinea pig in a debate is always the incumbent. It’s a lonely place to be. Its worse if you have more than one debater. Its possible that in our case the other four candidates will have you for dinner if all you do is respond to darts from every corner because your record in office is the blood that fuels the debate. Otherwise, what is there to debate? For me today, there are only two political parties that are running for president. They are the PDP and APC! Every other political party is just there to make up the numbers in order to satisfy constitutional requirements. For me, I think that the debate organisers should henceforth organise debates for two leading candidates then another debate for another set of contestants. Parties that form majority and minority in the National Assembly should have their presidential candidates square up in a debate. Those are the main contenders. Let’s stop fooling ourselves.
So personally, I think Atiku’s debate no-show was the safe bet. If I were him, I will do the same. Who was he going to debate? Folks whose parties cannot win a state House of Assembly seat also want to debate; that is a huge waste of time. Politicians should learn how to participate in programmes that will give them mileage and avoid programmes that will suck out positive energy from you. Candidates should also create events or participate in events that promote their strengths not their weaknesses. We all know that President Buhari is not good with public speaking, so why bother with a debate. But he should also be welcoming if that costs him his goodwill in some quarters. You can’t eat your cake and have it.
As the presidential election draws closer, our debates are not even structured in a way to help any candidate gain a momentum. It’s a drab show. All talk no action. Listening to the debaters yesterday, they appeared to me to not be serious. I read people say they are the best we have. Some commentators claim it is only “stupid” Nigerian that will hear Oby Ezekwesili, Fela Durotoye and Kinsley Moghalu speak but chose to vote “old cargoes”. You see that’s where the problem lies.
Somehow, our people who claim superior intelligence can’t see the contradiction in their own derogatory commentaries. After calling people stupid, ignorant or cursed, you also want the same people to fawn all over you and vote your “informed” candidate. But this candidate has not displayed any known effort in galvanising the electorate to look their way. Our well informed candidates easily vibes out superiority complex at every turn. They know the answers to our problems but don’t know how to solve the problem of consensus-building, mobilisation, organisation, campaign messaging, etc. they claim our people are ignorant and hungry, yet don’t know how to reach this demography. But somehow they feel they can reach them after winning the election.
We should have more debates. The NESG and its broadcast partners are not the owners of debate franchise. I think there is something dishonourable about that debate group. They never find the clout to put two leading candidates on same podium. Their style, context and form of their questioning is weak. During the event, there are too many irrelevant ceremonials. Other groups should come up with their debate template. This group lack gumption. This debate event should even hold many times by different bodies. So the period of campaign should be extended via the Electoral Act by the National Assembly.
Whatever it is, I maintain that debates are good, but not the ultimate. There are a thousand and one ways to reach targeted audiences; debates may be one of them, but not anything serious. You can win a debate and lose the election. It has happened many times, even in “saner climes”.

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