My first encounter with political violence and intimidation came during my involvement in campus politics as an undergraduate. When I first contested for the position of President of the Student Union, someone I deeply respected asked me to step down in favour of one of my opponents. I refused.
Without hesitation, he warned me that if I didn’t withdraw, they would kidnap me and hold me until the election was over. From that moment on, I had to be extremely cautious. I never slept in the same place two nights in a row, and only a few trusted friends knew my whereabouts. Ultimately, I lost that election.
During my second attempt, which I eventually won convincingly, I faced an even greater challenge—threats from campus secret cults. To protect myself, my team organized a security formation composed of students skilled in martial arts, including taekwondo and judo. These individuals accompanied me everywhere and discreetly positioned themselves in crowds whenever I addressed rallies.
One day, we received intelligence that a group was planning to throw stones at me during the manifesto. My team positioned themselves right beside the arrowheads of that plan and whispered to them that if they attempted it, that would be their last.
To their chagrin, they were told they wanted to ‘spend money for me’ by stoning me with coins. Thanks to our proactive intelligence gathering, we stayed ahead of the threats and neutralized them before they could materialize.
The night before the election, my security team took extra precautions. Without informing my campaign team, they escorted me to a waiting vehicle and drove toward a location called Takie in Ogbomoso. I later realized this was a decoy. As soon as we arrived, I was placed in a bus headed for Ilorin, accompanied by two trusted aides. I didn’t ask any question. I slept in a house in Ilorin that night without any member of my campaign team knowing that I was out of Ogbomoso.
Obviously, my team got wind of an impending attack that night. I left Ilorin by 6 am the following morning in readiness for the election, which I won.
The streets don’t respect weakness, and neither does politics. Know your terrain, build your team, and win with strategy. Share on XThe use of violence to intimidate contestants to offices and the citizens is not new in Nigerian politics, and anyone who wants to participate in the electoral process should be prepared for this. Thuggery is as old as Nigerian politics.
This also includes the use of juju and voodoo. Please do not discount this—it is real. A man who was a security guard at a hostel once reached out to me that he wanted to help me.
He told me if I wanted to win the election, I should follow him to a public cemetery where he would do certain things for me. I thanked him and walked away. I was informed about an opponent who took my name to a ‘Babalawo’ during that period.
Many politicians depend on voodoo to fortify themselves. The candidate you see spewing Queen’s English during the day sits inside a pot of herbs at night. Those are the kind of people you will be tackling.
They have their machinery for violence well-oiled and ready to be deployed at short notice.
I gave this background information for you to understand that if you’re going to eat the kernel seeds, you must get ready to crush the palm kernel.
I still remember the iconic viral picture of that Agege thug who was initially charging at the peaceful protesters with a machete in his hand but who later fled with a huge stone on his heels. That’s the secret right there. Most electoral violence thrives on intimidation.
If they, however, encounter resistance and see they are outnumbered, the thugs will retreat. The secret, therefore, is in numbers. Ensure a huge turnout of people at all rallies and even at polling booths. Let them stay even after the voting to defend their votes.
With the huge number around, it’s almost impossible for ballot boxes to be snatched. Anyone who attempts to do so risks being lynched by the mob.
You must have your own security formation, as you cannot depend on the conventional security provided. Engage the services of private security companies and bodyguards (bouncers) and practitioners of martial arts. Let them openly display at rallies and campaign venues.
The security guards should have body cams on them. Engage the services of a security consultant who should be a retired Assistant Commissioner of Police in charge of Operations at the minimum. Such a person will understand how to strategize with regard to security.
He/she will most likely also know the identity of the major thugs in that area. When the opponent sees that you have the capacity to counter violence with violence, that is when you will have peace. The kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force.
Use technology too. Drones should be deployed at rallies with the capacity to locate trouble spots and give an advance warning. Intelligence gathering is key, too. The more you know ahead, the better you can plan ahead.
Intimidation is a tool of the weak. When you stand your ground with technology, intelligence, and numbers, political thuggery loses its grip. Share on XIdentify flashpoints and mobilize intelligently for those areas. Encourage people at your campaigns and rallies to record with their phones. That will help to capture any scene of violence and deploy such videos in prosecuting the offenders.
Recording is a big deterrent to violence, especially if they are reported in real time. Offenders and their sponsors now know they will face visa ban in some countries.
To recap: deploy the power of numbers at all rallies and campaign venues, including the polling booths. Engage private security companies and martial artists. Use the service of an experienced security consultant.
Deploy technology. Use intelligence gathering. Record with your phones and send videos online and to TV stations. You can neutralize political thugs. Yes, you can. The street credibility strategy stands on the pivot of numbers and technology.