Thumb Up For Tinubu As He Eschewed Gibberish Communication Style At Chattam House -By Isaac Asabor

There is no denying the fact that the ads, the speeches, the tweets, and the rhetoric have begun since September 25 when the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) blew the whistle for the commencement of electioneering ahead of the presidential and general election scheduled for February 2023.

Without a doubt, presidential campaigns provide a near-continuous dialogue on the nation’s political, social, and economic future. While these issues are important, communication skills remain integral for a successful presidential campaign, according to political communication and media experts.

In fact, communication is at the core of every political campaign, where aspiring politicians tell their audiences what they will do and how they would address certain issues like the economy and foreign policy matter when given the opportunity to lead. But the way candidates convey their ideas to the voters through clear or unclear communication matters. Without any iota of exaggeration, it is expedient to say that the success of a candidate hinges on his or her ability to communicate messages effectively to the electorate. That’s why political campaigners spend most of their campaign money on crafting messages and communicating them to voters.

Against the foregoing backdrop, it is expedient to say that rhetoric in presidential campaigns not only serves strategic purposes but is also valuable for democracy. While many voters are turned off by the negativity in political campaigns, campaign messages are the primary means for voters to learn about candidates and their priorities, as well as the concerns of their country. So, the very act of crafting effective campaign messages forces candidates to consider the needs of the public and to speak to those needs in forthcoming ways. As a result, rhetoric in political campaigns connects voters with their nation’s leaders and fellow citizens.

With the development of mass media and the rise of candidate-centered politics, campaign rhetoric has been increasingly important. Political parties no longer determine the election. In modern presidential elections, candidates must appeal to the voters directly and with greater frequency. The increased amount of candidate-to-voter interaction and millions of competing messages and advertisements create the necessity of ensuring a distinct voice for candidates.

In fact, presidential aspirants, particularly as the 2023 presidential election is fast approaching must know how to sell themselves amid a cacophony of competing messages that are trying to grab people’s attention. Crafting an effective message and delivering an effective speech can cut through the clutter.

Without resorting to a campaign of calumny in this context, it is expedient to say that virtually all the campaign efforts made by Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), prior to going to Chattam House, were somewhat marred by gaffes, particularly whenever he went off script, and not a few reporters complained of not being able to transcribe his speech. For instance, his “Balabloo-blu-Bulava” misspeak which one of his spokesmen, Keyamo claimed was a sense of humor suffices to buttress the foregoing view in this milieu.

It was observed that when he is speaking off the cuff, his rambling remarks can be full of digressions and hard-to-follow tangents, even as he often jumps to an entirely new thought before finishing his previous one.

Not only was he observed to be speaking off the cuff, his speeches were also noted to be full of non-sequiturs, and considered to be completely different style from nearly any other politician like Peter Obi who is reputed to speak clearly and understandably.
Against the foregoing backdrop, not a few people have faulted him for prattling in his electioneering ahead of the 2023 presidential election. Without a doubt, Tinubu on Monday surprised his critics who expected ‘glitches’ from him during his conversational engagement at Chatham House.

Given his relatively eloquent performance at the Chattam House, it was not surprising that the leadership of the All Progressives Congress (APC) applauded his performance, saying he disappointed those expecting “glitches” from his engagement at the event.

It would be recalled that at the London-based policy institute that Tinubu discussed some of his plans in the areas of defence, economy, education, and technology, among others.

Irrespective of the fact that mixed reactions trailed his appearance at the world-leading policy institute with many criticizing him for delegating some of his allies including serving governors and lawmakers to answer questions posed by participants, his eloquent performance cannot be pooh-poohed.

As the APC’s Deputy Director, Media, and Publicity, Ali Ali said at a media parley, “I would say he did very well as expected, maybe to the surprise of his traducers who thought as usual, there would be one or two glitches and they would latch unto that and make a feast out of it,” he said.

“But you can see that he spoke well and, of course, naturally, people react differently. Some would applaud and some would naturally condemn. Such is the enigma called Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

“A lot of people say his cognitive abilities are on the decline and they make a feast out of it. You see all kinds of memes on social media. But occasionally, it happens to people, senior moments, they call it, I think, in medical terms. It happens to the best of people.”

Ali queried the rationale for arguments that Tinubu’s cognitive abilities were on the decline and that the APC stalwart played it safe by redirecting questions addressed to him.

To my view, as Nigeria keeps engaging and observing all presidential aspirants in electioneering discussions ahead of the 2023 election, it is pragmatic that any of the candidates who showed improvement in his interaction with the electorates need to be applauded. Against the foregoing backdrop, it is expedient to thumb up for Tinubu as he convincingly eschewed a gibberish communication style at Chattam House.