Human rights activist and social commentator, Segun Awosanya, popularly known as Segalink, has said President Bola Tinubu does not need to physically visit all 36 states of the federation to campaign ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
Awosanya argued that the President could adopt alternative means of reaching voters, including televised addresses and mobilisation through his campaign council, rather than relying solely on physical campaign visits.
He made the remarks during an interview on Vanguard’s Politics Hub while discussing the president’s campaign strategy and the need to communicate directly with Nigerians ahead of the next general election.
According to him, there is no rule requiring a presidential candidate to visit every state before an election, provided other effective mechanisms are deployed to communicate the candidate’s message and mobilise support.
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“It is not left for him to say 12 states is enough for me, while I can now adopt other mechanisms. There are so many things the President does that he doesn’t do directly,” he said.
Awosanya explained that Tinubu could delegate grassroots mobilisation and campaign activities to his campaign council while personally engaging Nigerians through other communication channels.
He likened the approach to the evolution of communication methods, arguing that people should not be restricted to outdated procedures when more convenient alternatives are available.
“Just like when they write a rule that you must use a donkey to transfer one document from point A to point B. This time around, we don’t use donkeys any longer. Will you say if I mail it, if I email it, or if I send it as a WhatsApp message attachment or so, have I not communicated? So that’s the same thing,” he added.
The activist further argued that presidential campaigns should be judged by their ability to connect with voters and communicate policy messages rather than the number of states a candidate physically visits.
He said the objective should be to reach the people, win their confidence and secure support in states considered critical to the candidate’s electoral chances.
“It’s not just about the performative optics if he has gone to all the states. It’s about reaching the people there, it’s about getting his message across to the people.
“It’s about ensuring that he wins hearts and minds in those states, and those ones that are critical to his winning the elections,” Awosanya said.
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He maintained that a presidential candidate could combine physical appearances with delegated campaign activities and televised engagements to reach a wider audience without personally travelling across the country.
