Alhaji Bola Ahmed Tinubu has been sworn into office as the president of Nigeria – Congratulations!

Some of our guys in NPP seem not to understand that, since we are going to elect a candidate to be sold in a market, the most important thing to consider first when strategizing to win the 2024 election, is the market.

It is the market that will help you to determine the right candidate to produce for it. So, market analysis comes first before candidate analysis.

Knowing, for instance, that a market is dominated by Jews or Muslims, is what will help you to know that producing pork steak, bacon and ham to sell in the market will make you lose the market to someone selling cow or goat meat.

If you want to know how good cassava is, what do you do? You put it on fire! In the same vein, if you want to know how good a candidate is, what do you do? You juxtapose him with the market. It is that simple!

As I have always pointed out, marketability of a product depends more on the nature of the market in which it would be sold than even the quality of the product itself.

I know some of you feel jittery whenever the issue of market analysis comes up because it makes your candidate appear very weak in this Christian-dominated political market of ours.

But, how can we rightly analyse the chances of any candidate without situating the analysis in the context of the political market in which he or she would be sold?

When I predicted that the former Nigerian Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo, was going to be rejected by APC delegates, I was aware of his background as a knowledgeable Professor of law. But I knew his credentials meant nothing to the market.

My analysis of his chances was purely in respect of the nature and recent dynamics of the Nigerian political market, which is dominated by the Muslim community.

I’m a Christian all right, but I predicted strongly that Alhaji Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the new President, was going to win against the then-Christian Vice President, who was the former President’s preferred choice.

Not only that, I also predicted his win over Obi, another Christian, when he made the APC ticket Muslim-Muslim ticket. I knew that was going to give them the numbers to win. You see, objectivity has no religious creed. My numbers-based analysis and predictions were spot on because that’s the reality. You ignore the reality at your own peril.

So, when, on the basis of the Ghanaian Christian-dominated political market analysis, I postulate that it would be politically imprudent and suicidal to present a non-Christian candidate against a formidable Christian opponent in a very competitive election in a country of about 72% Christians, it isn’t because I’m a religious bigot. No!

Again, when I argue that having a candidate like Alan Kyerematen against John Mahama, would help the party to maximise its advantage in the Akan regions, particularly in Ashanti Region, to have the numbers to win, it doesn’t also make me a tribal bigot. No!

It wasn’t a coincidence that Alhaji Tinubu, a Yoruba man, won in all the Yoruba dominated States in Nigeria, except Lagos. APC broke the 8 because they were market-conscious. They didn’t give room to political pettiness. That’s why the Christians in APC didn’t complain when the ticket was made a Muslim-Muslim ticket. Market-based strategy is the way to go!

We must go the APC way to break the 8. When PDP picked Alhaji Atiku from the North, they picked Alhaji Tinubu from the South to avoid PDP having any religious advantage over them.

Alan Kyerematen is our best bet if we want to win the majority of the Christian and Akan votes to break the 8. I suggest we maintain our Christian-Muslim ticket though!

Shalom shalom!