Labour Party's illusion and politics of deceit

• Published date: 03 February 2023
• Publication title: Nigeria - The Nation

SIR: 'There are only ever two ad strategies in an election,' says Lord Tim Bell, Margaret Thatcher's favourite adman. 'It's either the opposition saying - 'Time for a change', or the government saying - 'Britain's great again, don't let the other lot muck it up. The rest is just details.'

And he's right. But while the strategies stay the same, the executions can vary wildly. When the Saatchis released their infamous Labour Isn't Working poster in 1978, an incredulous Denis Healey publicly accused the Tories of selling themselves like soap powder. This is not so different from the characteristics of 'Andrew Liver Salt' as described by Senator Shehu Sani and the delusional audacity of 'Nah we bi d structure' a phrase used deceitfully in exposing the vulnerability and gullibility of the unsuspecting masses.

In its original form, the British Labour Party constituted a new type of cadre party, forming an intermediate link with the mass-based parties. It was formed with the support of trade unions and left-wing intellectuals. At the base, each local organization sent representatives to a district labour committee, which was in turn represented at the national congress.

We should pay close attention to the interactions between politics, economics, and other realms particularly as we prepare for the February 25 presidential/National Assembly (NASS) elections and the March 11 governorship/states assemblies elections.

No doubt, using disinformation, religion/ethnicity and divisive rhetoric to curry sympathy votes from unsuspecting Nigerians is clearly off point. A man who relates with others only on the basis of religion, race or ethnicity is mentally deficient and emotionally unintelligent. Therefore, issues of religion and ethnicity cannot continue to dominate our political space. Nigerians say they want issue-based campaigns, but they rarely vote on issues. Elections in this country are...