“Do not judge a book by its cover”. In this instance, I did, and I’m glad I did. The book title and cover looked and sounded so catchy, I just had to. Love does not Win Elections, Ayisha Osori’s recounting of her journey to run for one constituency in Abuja (the Federal Capital Territory), was a hilarious, painful and eye-opening tale.
My book review of Love Does Not Win Elections is different. I convinced myself it is not laziness but rather spicing up display content. I captured my initial reflections in a Tweetstorm and thought to share them here.
Post Map
Unrolling my tweets- a book review of Love Does Not Win Elections
Truly Incredible account by @Naijavote detailing her time ‘in the ring.’ Such a GOOD read.
I huffed and puffed, laughed, gasped and on few occasions sat the book down to shout « it’s a lie!» 😂
A few of the many things I liked:
Her humour, a lot of which she had to keep to herself so the big men and women will not feel slighted. Your wit is a necessary companion.
The idea that sometimes it’s good to confirm your suspicions. It’s good for bolstering your intuitive skills and in her case, a tad humbling too. (If you know me, humbling and vulnerable experiences are embraced. Check it out!)
The political process and its actors are incessant on maintaining the status quo. If the people who can make the most change are adamant, na who go change am?
Genuine Question: how do we incentivize the change we want to see? Really, how? It’s like an impossible situation…(Made me think about this piece on ex-gratia pay – visit the link)
One that requires _______ ( I wanted to say prayers but I should know better😂)
Ayisha outlined the somewhat difficult relationship that exists between politicians, the people they pay and the neglect that follows after ‘elections’.
I’ve always found that to be an impossible position to be in. Easily allows greedy folks to claim they’ve paid their dues.
“Be ready to practice being foolish”. I need not add more. Laugh, cry but still engage. Do the polite dance and we meeuuve 😂
At “Money is the microphone…”!!! I was clapping at this point. Terrible but a truism nonetheless.
Concluding my thoughts
Honestly, I’m exhausted because I went through this processes with her (through the book) and I’m tired, stunned but also not surprised and yet shocked. Yes, Those emotions can all hold space, please.
La fin: I enjoyed the read, what it points out, its fearlessness, its complexity and its simplicity.
Well done @Naijavote and thank you for bringing me along on this exhausting, exhilarating, painful and a tad rambunctious journey.
Oh, the reality is terrifying especially for someone like me looking to find, and create, answers to some of the biggest challenges that hinder our development on this side of the world. My desire to engage with the policy side is shaky but try we must. Wishing myself Godspeed.
Originally tweeted by Marie-Noelle Obj (@marienoelleobj) on March 25, 2021.
Did that feel choppy? That’s because those are tweets but I hope you got an idea of what the book is about and why you should read it too.
I still think the screenshots look cooler so here you go!
The end: gathering myself after reading Ayisha Osiri’s Love Does Not Win Elections
Summary of the book by Ayisha herself.
Love Does Not Win Elections is a story about what it takes to win or loose political party primaries in Nigeria through the experiences of a female, first-time aspirant and outsider. Ayisha answers a call from within to contest the primaries on the platform of Nigeria’s ruling party – the Peoples Democratic Party – she is dissatisfied with the quality of representation – both from the men and women in office and after years advising on and working to get more women into leadership positions, curious about what it would take to contest and win.
Can and does she do all that is required of her as an aspirant or does she pick and choose and what impact did this have on the results? Was there ever a chance that she could have won? Go through the journey of midnight meetings, tracking the first lady and trying to get President Jonathan to realise the damage that was being done to the party with the automatic ticket policy that all incumbents wanted and find out what does it take to win (or lose) the primaries of a major political party in Nigeria.
My take-away from the book Love Does Not Win Elections
The book is written for a Nigerian audience but could very well be set in a number of other African countries.
I like to think Ghana’s political space is a little more diplomatic than this but still, if you don’t have money and access to the gatekeepers, you can forget it. That, by the way, is one area we need to democratise. We must develop innovative ways to finance the types of candidates we actually desire…get them over the hump. With critical mass, we can change the norm.
Until we are willing to prioritise economic growth over political preservation and tomfoolery, ‘Africa is poor’ may be a phrase we battle with for much longer, especially when commodity prices are low. So yes, Africa can be rich, but Africa is poor today.
By Yours truly, me, July 2020. See AFRICA CAN BE RICH, BUT AFRICA IS POOR TODAY.
The LSE site has a pretty good review too!
PS: I promise I know the difference between “its” and “it’s”, autocorrect and my failure to review my Tweets did that to me.
Noelle Wonders
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Oooooh. Thanks for the review. This sounds like a book I should definitely give a read. I could pick up some pointers for my own political ambitions !!!! Nice one Noelle.
Haha. I should mention you gifted the book to me, against my will! Thanks again