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Why 2021 campaign songs fell flat
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THE PILGRIM, Friday, December 10, 2021*
In the run-up to the 2021 general elections, I wrote about the strategic use of political entertainment as a medium for effective campaigns, with the admonition that “[it’s] either politicians exploit the music or underrate it at their own peril.”
As
alternative media, music tends to “mediatise” politics in its own way, insofar
as setting discursive parameters for political debate is concerned.
But
beyond its influence on dialogue, music also mobilises, educates and stimulates
people, in powerful ways that can dramatically determine what contours a
particular election takes.
So
because of these characteristics of music, its use in Zambia’s political world has
become popular, and established in many other parts of the world.
The
former ruling party, the Patriotic Front (PF), had set a strong precedent for
this phenomenon in 2011, just as a climax though because the party was already
in the habit of exploiting songs, starting with Nathan Nyirenda’s Mwe Makufi (My knees) in 2006 and later
Hamoba’s Icintu Cintu Tumwene (What
matters is what we’ve seen).
And
with the Donchi Kubeba (Don’t tell
them) song in 2011, PF, under its founder Michael Sata, proved that much of its
political success could be explained by music.
But
clearly in the last election, the PF did not fit the foregoing narrative,
despite their relatively massive investment in political music.
Their
virtual rallies incorporated the music with pomp and pageantry, but it did not
seem to achieve the intended effect because the party humiliatingly lost the
election at presidential level.
So
where did they go wrong and what lessons can be gleaned from PF’s wide use of
music in the polls?
Well,
it appears that mere correlation between music and political success doesn’t always
mean causation. There’s more to it than meets the eye.
Beyond
the thrills of good music, there were other variables that would determine who
becomes president, and that’s the point the PF missed.
The
state of the economy was the overriding variable.
But
the PF had stuck to the infrastructural development narrative and tried to sear
it into the Zambian psyche as hard as they could.
However,
with the cost of living becoming unbearable, voters looked into a different
direction, in search of political promises centred on economic recovery.
It
was President Hakainde Hichilema’s United Party for National Development (UPND)
that provided that much-needed alternative.
The
last elections were thus a matter of issue voting, with the odds tilting in
favour of leaders who took advantage of the trend.
It
wasn’t just about showbiz. So music without substance had its usual feel-good
feeling, but it ended up, to use pertinent Biblical phrases, as merely
resounding gong or clanging cymbal.
As
such, did the PF suffer from a failure of perception? It looks more like it.
As
researcher Paul Goren states, “if representative democracies are to function
properly, elected officials must address the policy concerns of the public and
wield government power to solve these problems. Public officials who respond
effectively to these concerns should be rewarded with election to office, and
those who fail to do so should be denied office. This responsiveness depends in
turn on the clarity of the policy signals articulated by the electorate. In
this regard, voters perform reasonably well in presidential elections.”
Accordingly,
it’s either the PF never read the policy signals from the public well, or they
arrogantly imposed what they thought to be important issues on people.
For
example, President Edgar Lungu himself, in a Facebook post, once said "let
us all, therefore, understand that infrastructure is the foundation and core
'input' for all other 'output' or productivity activity in the economy."
But
though the economy was in distress, the PF went on to promote infrastructure as
a major political issue even in their songs, typically in Rich Bizzy’s hit
track called Alebwelelapo.
To
illustrate, one line in the song says, “Ba
Lungu, ba Lungu, tata mwabombeni. Nemisebo tatwakwete nomba natukwata. (Mr
Lungu, Mr Lungu, congratulations on working hard. We didn’t have roads earlier,
but now we do).”
For
many Zambians, so long as they could not afford food under the former
government, roads, bridges and other infrastructure were not sound indices of
economic development. What Zambians wanted were jobs, lower taxes and
affordable food.
The
PF’s music was thus a mismatch.
It
thus follows that while music is a powerful electioneering tool, if its content
doesn’t address the salient issues of the day in an election, its use becomes a
futile exercise. This is because the voters, who are the intended consumers,
won’t identify with it.
For
President Hichilema, he picked the policy signals and couched his message thus:
“The country, now more than ever before, needs visionary leadership and
economic management skills. If elected to office the United Party for National
Development (UPND) commits to working tirelessly on behalf of all Zambians to
deliver. We will create jobs, put food on your plate, cut corruption, provide
better services and restore freedom of speech.”
The
UPND political song itself, Tatwafola
by musician Cavman, highlighted this point, with lyrics such as “civil servant walifola eh? Tatwafola,
tatwafola ukepushe tu PF (Civil servant, have you been paid? No, No, ask
the PF).”
With
such a context, the UPND’s political music and message resonated far more
easily with the people, and thus propelled them to an astounding victory at
presidential level.
Going
forward, political parties, prior to making investment in political
entertainment, should ensure that their perception is correct about what issues
people on the ground are grappling with.
If
they don’t do that, production of music for the mere fun of it would be disastrous.
*This column is published every Friday in Zambia's best-selling newspaper, the Zambia Daily Mail
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