But he knows pretty well the hurdles that lie a head of his quest. For example he knows that he needs to spend over Ksh1,000,000 for posters, campaign trucks, goons and security.
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| Babu Owino in recent SONU Campaigns |
Grassroot Support
First things first, you need to get a good number of first year students talking
about you. Since most freshmen at the University of Nairobi reside
in Hall 5 (Elgon) and PREFABS, you need to pay them a visit on a regular basis
especially after classes.
Of course, it would be inappropriate to visit them empty-handed. So, remember to carry some liquor or milk with you as a “gift” to them.
Of course, it would be inappropriate to visit them empty-handed. So, remember to carry some liquor or milk with you as a “gift” to them.
Once you register your presence in these two hot-spots (Hall 5 and
PREFABS), the next important thing to do is to establish yourself as an
authority in social media.
Get a group of students to talk about you on “Comrades Forum” and “New Comrades Forum”. Once this is done successfully, you’re 20% sure of winning your chosen seat.
Get a group of students to talk about you on “Comrades Forum” and “New Comrades Forum”. Once this is done successfully, you’re 20% sure of winning your chosen seat.
Hefty Budget
You cannot win SONU politics on a shoe-string budget.
Therefore, you need to mobilize all your assets towards this course. You may
want to sweet-talk some politicians to fund your campaign. Besides that, you
can ask your friends to help you raise funds.
Whichever the case, don’t and again I say, don’t borrow a loan to vie. No matter how assured of winning you are, you’ll want to seek other methods of funding but not a bank loan. Click here to discover some other ways to raise money.
Whichever the case, don’t and again I say, don’t borrow a loan to vie. No matter how assured of winning you are, you’ll want to seek other methods of funding but not a bank loan. Click here to discover some other ways to raise money.
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| Akatch Jim's Campaign Machinery |
To
succeed as a chairman you need 1.5+ million Ksh. Secretary Generals need 1+
million. Below is a breakdown of a typical SONU aspirant’s budget.
- Goons and Campus Entrance Fee – Ksh200000
- Trucks and Car Hire – Ksh200000
- Campaign Posters and Fliers – Ksh200000
- Liquor and “Gifts” – Ksh100000
- Miscellaneous – Ksh100000
That adds up to a total of Ksh 1.2 million. And that is just
a blind estimate.
Macho Men (Goons)
Goons are not bad men per sey. They are here to protect you
and guard your posters. But you first need to gain their acceptance – and this is
not gotten empty handedly. So you need to talk to the right pack of goons,
convince them about your aspirations and of course give them a “gift”. Each campus has its fair
share of goons.
You won’t be able to campaign in a single campus if you don’t
talk to the goons manning that campus first. Likewise, you’ll not be able to
pin your posters if you don’t talk to the goons (sometimes known as wisemen)
first. So, how do you get a good number of goons to become part of your
campaign machinery?
(a)Meet with the pack-leaders and talk to them “nicely”
(b)Don’t be arrogant to them no matter how rich or well
connected you are
(c)Hire a minimum of 5 goons to be part of your security
detail.
High Quality Posters
They say a picture is worth 1000 words. And yes a SONU poster
is worth 1000+ words. Make sure you have your campaign poster designed and
printed well. Don’t take shortcuts with this. Even if it means importing some
supplies from as far as China to get high quality posters made for you, nothing
beats a good poster in SONU politics.
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| Captain Denno's High Quality Posters |
Also, be sure to take a nice photo to
complement the quality of your poster. Photoshop and a bit of make-up will come
in handy in this case.
Like I know of a good number of female aspirants who have made it to SONU just because they looked gorgeous on their posters (though some are not as good looking in reality).
Like I know of a good number of female aspirants who have made it to SONU just because they looked gorgeous on their posters (though some are not as good looking in reality).
Trucks and Savvy Cars
Lastly, you need to have an arsenal of motor vehicles to
spread the “good word” from campus to campus. As you can see in the picture
next to this post, one of the aspirants in the recently concluded SONU elections
used a Toyota Prado to campaign.
Note that, you need several vehilces (not just
one); a 10-wheeler truck, 5 saloon cars and 1 SUV. And as you know, where there
are good cars, there are nice ladies as well…so don’t forget to get a team of
gorgeous looking ladies wearing your t-shirts to grace your motorcade.
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| Display Of Might |
That is it for today guys. Kindly click here to share this article with your buddies who would like to
vie for SONU positions come April 2015.
In the meantime here is the list of some students who used this formula to win SONU seats in 2014:
In the meantime here is the list of some students who used this formula to win SONU seats in 2014:
Babu Owino – Chairman
Irene Kendi – Vice Chairman
Akatch Jim – Secretary General
Linda Guantai – Secretary Finance
Captain Denno - Sports and Entertainment
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