THOUGHTS OF FEMOLAD: POLITICS AND THE BANDWAGON

POLITICS AND THE BANDWAGON

"Your voices are being heard and you’re proving to our ancestors that their struggles were not in vain. Now we have one more thing we need to do to walk in our true power, and that is to vote." 

— Beyoncé, Grammy Award-winning singer and artist

A bandwagon is a wagon that carries a musical ensemble, or band, during the course of a parade, circus, or other entertainment event.

Bandwagons are often seen at festivals and carnivals. As they go along the streets and alleyways the crowd grows. A lot of people join the crowd following the Bandwagon simply because they saw people following it.

The metaphorical use of the term bandwagon effect in reference to this phenomenon began in 1848.

The phrase "jump on the bandwagon" first appeared in American politics when a famous and popular circus clown of the time, invited Zachary Taylor, a Presidential candidate, to join his circus bandwagon.

As Taylor gained more recognition and his campaign became more successful, people began saying that Taylor's political opponents ought to "jump on the bandwagon" themselves if they want to be associated with such success.

The bandwagon effect is the term used to describe the tendency for people to adopt certain behaviors, styles, or attitudes simply because others are doing so.  

The phenomenon where ideas become adopted as result of their popularity has been apparent for some time.

It is a cognitive bias by which public opinion or behaviors can alter due to particular actions and beliefs rallying amongst the public.

It is a psychological phenomenon whereby the rate of uptake of beliefs, ideas, fads and trends increases with respect to the proportion of others who have already done so.

As more people come to believe in something, others also "hop on the bandwagon" regardless of the underlying evidence.

The phenomenon is observed in various fields, such as economics, Politics, Political Science, Medicine, And Psychology. In social Psychology, this tendency of people to align their beliefs and behaviors with those of a group is also known as 'herd mentality' or 'groupthink'

In many facets of life, the bandwagon effect comes to play.

A lot of people patronise particular brands of products, not because they know of any marked advantage or superiority, but because they are popular brands. People wear particular dresses because they feel it will be unfashionable to do otherwise, even when they are uncomfortable in them.

Many young men feign football fanaticism simply because it’s the in thing.

My drift this time around is how the Bandwagon Effect relates to politics and political decisions.

In many nations the elections don’t hold the same day.

The elections are staggered with a gap of one or two weeks between ballots.

In Nigeria for example, there is a fortnight between the National elections and State elections.

Experience has shown that the voting population “JUMP ON THE BANDWAGON” of the party who won in the first round of elections. The Presidential and National Assembly elections come first. The results of these will have a bandwagon effect on the Gubernatorial and Assembly election results.

A serious party man should therefore be very concerned about winning in the first elections.

Whatever the bickering and strife in a political party, all hands must be on deck to ensure all the candidates of their party win at the first election. If the party loses at the first election a bandwagon effect may see people drifting to the winner party in subsequent election. Voting for the opponent becomes fashionable and conforming.

The BANDWAGON is round the corner.

The voter must be wary of the Bandwagon. Decisions on who or which party to vote for should not be based on group mentality. The pedigree and integrity of the candidate should be paramount.

Never vote for a candidate because that’s what others are doing or it’s the in-thing.

Elections should not be a matter of “Herd Mentality”.

Care must be taken to avoid THE BAND WAGON EFFECT.