PDP And The Vote For Social Media

Metuh: the social media man

 

PDP And The Vote For Social Media

“I don’t even have any good skills… You know, like nunchuk skills, bow hunting skills, computer hacking skills… Girls only want boyfriends who have great skills.”

- Napoleon Dynamite

 

The ruling Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) came into the body polity learning the ropes after Nigeria was weaned from long years of the military mingling with our governance. A weaning period is a transition period where the young would confront a path unknown and would device how to make way.

So it could be said that the transition continued after the military receded from governance. Then the party in power no doubt inherited the task of disposing the military garbage, which no matter the school of thought is a herculean task by any standard. So Nigerians would marvel at the speed with which the country moved from obsolesce. Within a short time a transformation in technology became enormous and amazing.

Not least the GSM tech which itself is now nearly overtaken by neo catchwords of the new age. The minister of information Labaran Maku was recently lambasted by a section of Nigeria for the claim that President Jonathan administration brought about the Facebook era. Maku would no doubt have his reasons for what he said but I daresay that countries abound where most information age tools are either not allowed, or most of their features disabled. A trip to Iran for example would speak more to you on this.

PDP has had its fair share of criticism, and would even deservedly get more for being saddled with the task of taking Nigeria to the Promised Land. Uneasy must at all times lie the head that wears the crown; or it may get sleepy and drive us to perdition.

The rise of a new crop of youthful leaders in the party has shown impactful affinity with the government of the day. The national chairman of PDP is not a young man and he knows it. For him, leadership it is to offer direction and moderation as the youth find their way.

In the cream of his leadership include the Anambra-born lawyer, Chief Olisa Metuh who is the National Publicity Secretary of the party. He did not become the publicity secretary by any accident, but as a man who has a way with the media and information dissemination system.

Keying in to the utmost propensity of the Nigerian youth he has puts the PDP on the social media map, driving them as veritable tools of connecting to one of the party’s most important constituency – the Nigerian youth.

When he announced renowned words craftsman Chinua Achebe as the Nigerian Patriot, Metuh was echoing the result of the online voting championed by the Nigerian youth who used the PDP platform on Facebook to nominate and vote Achebe as the Nigerian Patriot. Runners up as nominated by diverse young men and women included Gen. Yakubu Gowon; General Theophilus Danjuma and General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, Pastor Enoch Adeboye.

Achebe: the Nigeria Patriot

 

The process for Metuh has highlighted advancement towards an online system of voting as practiced in some developed democracies of the world where the hassles of Election Day voting in almost always absent. Metuh is of the view that our electoral system would advance to the extent that people could one day vote and monitor their votes from the comfort of their offices and homes, or ‘on the move’, instead of under the burning heat of the traditional polling booths.

Metuh presents winnerof PDP Facebook Promo Destiny Young to the National Chairman Bamanga Tukur

 

He would opine that party politics should at all times seek to benefit the economy of the nation in its entirety. Deep in the new media practice, Metuh’s view like that of the party chairman is that everybody, not just the youth should tap into this area to maximize the potentials of the nation.

Metuh would note that since about 70 per cent of businesses lack skilled-employees to realize their social media potentials, personal and national investment in the area would drastically increase self-employment and job creation.