This is arguably Buharis best chance to be president of Nigeria, - TopicsExpress



          

This is arguably Buharis best chance to be president of Nigeria, and the 2015 presidential contest is shaping up to be the most competitive in recent Nigerian political history. Yet one fears that some of Buharis (and Tinubus) hardcore supporters may jinx it for their man. Their strategy for selling Buhari is to insult, bully, and emotionally blackmail those who raise legitimate questions or express skepticism about Buharis candidacy and its change mantra. This is the time for outreach, patient outreach, persuasion, proselytization, debunking of widespread falsehood, and respectful engagement, not impatient dismissal of critique and questions or impulsive insults. Buharis riding a momentum, but his supporters must approach this contest as though he is an underdog, which, given the incumbency factor and the resources available to Jonathan, he very well may be. There are those who will never give Buhari a sympathetic hearing or understanding because their opinions of him are already calcified or because they are supporters of president Jonathan. It is a democracy, and they are free to reject, support, or question any candidate they want. The right response to those who question, reject, or even malign Buhari is not to insult them, call them names, or engage in ethnic or religious baiting. The problem with this approach is that not only will it not win over those whose minds are already made up against Buhari, it may actually play into their hands by substantiating their accusations about Buhari and his supporters. Even more tragically, insults, flippant dismissals, statements of inevitability and entitlement, and ethnic counter-attacks scare away the persuadables and fence sitters who have an open mind and can be converted to Buharis cause, confirming for them some of the narratives being deliberately and mischievously spread by Jonathans hardcore supporters.~ Professor Moses Ochonu
Posted on: Tue, 23 Dec 2014 16:22:23 +0000

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