Reputation

Goodluck Jonathan

One way your opponent will try to tarnish your image or reputation is to cast doubt in the minds of people.

Your opponent will craft and promote rumours and insinuations against you or people close to you.

He or she may also use satire and ridicule.

This worked perfectly against former president Goodluck Jonathan of Nigeria, during the 2015 Nigeria presidential election campaign.

Videos and memes that appear to make caricature of the president and his wife went viral on the internet, which the opposition leveraged on, and contributed to the former president's loss of his re-election bid.

Use satire and ridicule to weaken your opponent and his supporters. Make caricature of your competitor’s strengths and habits.

The hysteria you create at his expense will cause the public to doubt his competency.

The public will begin to see you as the alternative, and this will increase the confidence of your supporters and the momentum in your camp.

Obasanjo and Yar'Adua

During the presidential election campaign of 2007 in Nigeria, words spread that the Peoples Democratic Party presidential nominee Umaru Yar’Adua had been flown abroad for medical treatment and had died or was in coma in a hospital in Germany.

Yar’Adua, whose health had been a major issue of the election, had suddenly disappeared from his campaign rallies, barely days to the election.

Nigerians thought something was fishy.

But rather than focus on what they cannot control—the rumours and the conspiracy theories about Yar’Adua’s sudden absence—, his handlers, especially president Olusegun Obasanjo allowed the rumours to spread, while focusing on what was within his control—what the party should tell Nigerians about Yar’Adua’s whereabouts.

During a rally in Ogun State, Obasanjo's home state, on 7th March 2007, Obasanjo, aware that Yar’Adua’s health has improved, did not debunk the rumours and conspiracy theories. He, instead, made caricature of them.

He told thousands of supporters and millions watching the campaign live on television that he was going to call Yar’Adua and put the phone on loud spearker, so Yar’Adua could speak to Nigerians.

Obasanjo did as he promised and Yar’Adua spoke to Nigerians from a Mainz hospital bed in Frankfurt, Germany.

“Umaru [Yar’Adua], are you dead?”, he said.

“I am alive”, Yar’Adua said.

“What are you doing?”

“I am laughing”.

“He is laughing ha! ha! ha!”, Obasanjo said, looking directly at the crowd.

The act Obasanjo created worked, and the rumours were dispelled. And when Yar’Adua re-appeared to join the campaign train a couple of days later, he pulled larger crowd, and was elected president.

How to Manage an Endangered Reputation

You can manage your reputation against predators. First and foremost, focus on what is within your control. In other words, consolidate on the momentum or aura your supporters already have for you—everybody has at least one fan—consolidate from there.

Second, develop a thick skin against your critics or predators: You will let the predators do their job—try to smear your reputation—you have no control over what they choose to do with you. But you will focus on what you control: working harder with your support base to make your reputation more grandee and larger than life.

The thick-skin strategy goes hand-in-hand with consistency. Thus, you have to stick to a quality people already know about you or like in you and be consistent with it—or refine or continually improve upon this quality. For Obasanjo, it was his courage, having been a military president.

In electioneering campaigns, where the timeline to make or sustain an expression is often short, the quality has to be what people already admire in you. Yet, you do not have to hold a thick skin longer than necessary, especially, if the race is a close one.

And you do not have to lash out back at your opponent—if he or she likes to embarrass you. By lashing out, you send the wrong message to the voters—that you are insecure, cannot manage pressure, or cannot control your emotions (People respect those who can control their emotions).

Utilizing the thick skin strategy does not mean that you will lay deaf always, while your critics cast dust all over you. The strategy is that you will not respond to them often, and when you do, you will not lash out or show anger—which your critics or opponent wants you to do. Instead, you will make caricature of your opponent’s tantrums against you when you respond to him or her.

The thick skin strategy can also be used to court attention—as was the case of Obasanjo and Yar’Adua—through the controversies and conspiracy theories, which many people will, of course, believe to be true.

Then find the appropriate opportunity, time, and place to respond to the rumours and conspiracy theories once and for all. And when you respond, make caricature of the allegations or rumours, or use them as rallying point on moral grounds—depending on the weight of the allegations.

And if your opponent attacks you, to create doubt on your strength or ability, prove them wrong when you have the opportunity and make caricature of your success. This will unsettle, even infuriate your opponent, and energize your supporters.

People Already Known for Bad Reputation

And if you already have established a bad public image, you can also repair it. The public could be very forgiving. Get involved in courses and activities that people love.

For example, practice generosity. Identify with a religion, nationalism, or join the military. Make sacrifices or appear to do so for the people. Or align yourself or work with someone who has a respectable reputation.

Do these perfectly and the public will begin to see you as a new creation, and will give you a second, even a third chance.

And if you should get killed in the process of re-creating yourself, the public will have sympathy for you—some might even call you a hero or martyr.

The public is always at the mercy of the person who has established a good reputation, or repented.

Remember: when your opponent attacks your reputation, focus on your strength—what’s within your control. Work with your support base to amplify this strength and to keep your momentum. And develop a thick skin, by not taking their criticisms personal. And where you have proven your critics wrong, make fun of your success.