Keyamo, Momodu Raise Bar for Political Mudsliging, Throttling

Emameh Gabriel writes that although name-calling has been used on the campaign trail to label, define and control the public’s perception of political rivals, 2023 presidential campaign is widely viewed as unparalleled in the degree and regularity of the put-downs by political parties’ spokespersons

This is not the first presidential election where candidates and their spokespersons have engaged in name-calling and put-downs, but the 2023 general elections campaigns will go down in history as the time campaign of mudsliging and name-calling reached an alarming degree in the country.

Chairman of the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), Prof Mamood Yakubu, recently raised concern over the growing resort to incendiary comments and increasing violence at campaign rallies barely four weeks after signing a Peace Accord by political parties. 

Yakubu who raised the concern at a training recently organised by the Commission, promised to summon key party stakeholders to address the development and further warned parties and their supporters to focus on issues and steer clear of attacks on one another.

However, it is not certain whether the odds side in the game will end any time soon as spokespersons of the two major political parties, the APC and the PDP continue to engage in what many believe to be against the rules of engagement set as standard by the Independent National Electoral Commission. 

The ongoing throttling between the Minister of State for Labour and Employment and Director of Public Affairs and Chief Spokesperson, Tinubu/Shettima Presidential Campaign Council, Festus Keyamo  and former presidential aspirant and Director of Strategic Communications of the People’s Democratic Party Presidential Campaign Council, Chief Dele Momodu, seems clearly to have taken attention away from the real issues that will shape the outcome of the 2023 polls.

Analysts have warned that voters may become frustrated when politicians focus their time and energy attacking their opponents instead of promoting their own policies. The electorate are seeing politicians invoke name-calling and nasty teasing on a grand scale in tweets, speeches, press statements and interviews.  

Although political parties see this as strategy for propaganda, observers believe that it is unwise and untimely to engage in rhetorics at a time when the country is in a fix currently threatening every fabric of its existence.

Both the APC and the PDP have engaged no less than four spokespersons each for their presidential campaigns for this purpose. This is a clear indication of resolve by both parties to outwit each other in scheming during this period. 

The list of the spokespersons are made up of a blend of accomplished journalists and communication strategists, lawyers, former lawmakers and politicians of note.

In the PDP, there are the likes of Daniel Bwala, Dino Melaye, Charles Aniagwu as well as Kola Ologbodinya as spokespersons for the campaign. While in the APC, Festus Keyamo, Femi Fani- Kayode, Kasim Afegbua, Fredrick Nwabufo and a host of others are to lead the party’s pack of megaphones. 

The renewed battle between the PDP and the APC started last week when Dele Momodu accused the APC presidential candidate, Bola Ahmed Tinubu, of plagiarising late MKO Abiola’s Hope ‘93 political manifesto. Momodu, in an article published last week, which was titled, “APC: Renewed hope or forlorn hope?,” described Tinubu’s manifesto, tagged Renewed Hope as duplication of Abiola’s manifesto.

Momodu alleged that the manifesto was lifted from the Hope 93 manifesto of the presidential candidate of the defunct Social Democratic Party and presumed winner of the June 12, 1993, presidential election, Bashorun Moshood Kashimawo Abiola.

The publisher of Ovation International magazine further described the manifesto as “an insult to the sensibility and needs of Nigerians” and accused the authors of “copy and paste”.

Keyamo, in a swift response however lambasted Momodu saying he lacked the mental capacity to critique a policy statement.

In another statement, Keyamo described as laughable Momodu’s response to the salient points he had earlier raised, challenging him to point out specific areas of plagiarism in Tinubu’s action plan, saying he was playing into Atiku Abubakar’s pocket.

The APC spokesperson was also quick to remind Momodu whom he described as turncoat how he had once praised Tinubu’s administrative acumen as governor of Lagos State.

According to Keyamo: “Dele Momodu should have rather stayed in his accustomed lane of praise-singing socialites and the likes instead of dabbling in the more demanding job of critiquing policy statements. It is clearly not his forte! The quality of his recent write-up is a testament that his team is not made up of experts in governance and policy formulation. He must have gathered his team of photographers and video editors to read through a document that is far beyond their tabloid-centred minds.

“One would have expected Dele Momodu to make clear comparative analyses between the Hope ‘93 campaign document of MKO Abiola and the Renewed Hope document of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu. He goofed miserably. He was just huffing and puffing without substance. A write-up that was intended to be a critique of a document on its supposed lack of details ended up as an empty shell.

“We are surprised that Dele Momodu could ask what our candidate is known for. Since he has asked either out of self-denial or selective amnesia, we will answer him with his exact words from the past.

“Dele Momodu has lived in Lagos for more than three decades. He surely knows the state of Lagos pre and post-1999. He has praised, on many occasions and at different fora, the imperishable legacies and monumental milestones of Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu in Lagos. In the same piece, Momodu narrated how Asiwaju Tinubu began the “systematic and robust increase of Lagos’ Internally Generated Revenue, making the state one of the richest self-sustaining governments in Africa”, and how “he singlehandedly (sic) revived and revamped Local Governments in Lagos and brought developments to practically every part of the state.

“Hear him in another portion of the aforementioned article: “Tinubu assembled a fantastic team of technocrats and created the gargantuan master plan for modern Lagos”, Keyamo reminded Momodu.

In his reaction, Momodu described Kayemo as a busybody and attention seeking lawyer. He said he was compelled to respond to Keyamo’s diatribe.

He said: “You and I never interacted much other than on occasions when you needed free publicity as always and would do anything for attention

“You will recall that you practically photo-bombed yourself into our picture the day I walked into Major General Muhammadu Buhari’s apartment in London, because it was an opportunity for you to trend. You’re a media creation and we supplied you the oxygen regularly.

 “Let me note that unlike you, I was not desperate for any appointment and so did not join APC, when I humbly supported Buhari. There was never a time I discussed APC with you, when I had direct access to your bosses. I discovered the rudderlessness of APC government early enough and promptly, and publicly, apologised to Nigerians for my past support.

“I noticed your rapid deterioration since you took on this job of junior minister in a ministry bedevilled with so much confusion. You need urgent deliverance from your present giddiness and I would gladly oblige you the services of an exorcist”, he lashed out at Keyamo”.