By Suleiman, MA
From my rich & vantage position & experience, as a member of Four(4) presidential campaign council winning & also losing presidential elections in 2011, 2015, 2019 & 2023, one defining strategy that have seemingly been neglected and underrated with its potency in informing, educating, enlightening & mobilizing the electorate & voters is the radio.
Apart from the 2011 presidential campaign & as a strategist in Neighbour2Neighbour(N2N), we deployed the radio strategy massively as a campaign tool & a Glo network close user group(CUG) that connects us across the country.
The media directorate of any campaign organisation who wants to turn the tide must therefore deploy a radio strategy viz:
1.Map out the various radio stations in each state of the federation from Abia to-Zamfara state including the FCT.
2.Deploy public affairs analyst, professionals aligned with the partys interest and ideologies to those stations with wide listenership.
3.Project the African Democratic congress(ADC) & its presidential campaign, His Excellency Atiku Abubakar and all the partys candidates at various level based on the pecularities of the area.
4.Identify freindly callers & analyst and support them with stipends, credit & data to call in during phone in programms on radio and speak in support of the party.
5.Sponsor advert on radio where majority of nigerians tune in & have massive audience.
6.The partys situation room should have a radio analyst who will activate a monitoring & evaluation feedbacks for the guidance of the partys’ leadership, the presidential campaign council & the partys candidates from the presidential to the last person contesting for any position on any issue that requires their attention or necessary actions at any level across the states.
As we begin the 2027 presidential campaign season, the African Democratic congress(ADC) and the presidential campaign council must deploy radio strategy as a winning edge.
It has worked before and can work again if properly contextualized and deployed for maximum results.
Suleiman Musa Ahmed a strategist & member of the Narrative force writes from Abuja.
