Here is how you can help your family, friends or your favorite politician who is running for office.

Since I made it known to the public that I am running for the position of the President of Nigeria, I have received a lot of messages from people, asking me how they could help out. Most of the time, I am lost for what to say, because this aspiration comes with a lot of responsibilities and pressures. It's hard for me to quickly figure out which of the responsibilities are available to just dump on people when they ask. So I had thought about it in general and I wanted to write this out to help us understand how we could help a politician or anyone who is running for a public office in a democratic setting.

Here are three simple ways to help a politician who is running for office;

1. Show up - The number 1 help you can do for someone who is into politics or running for office is to show up for them when you can; especially when you are in the constituency they are in. You are to show up for meetings when one is announced; to consciously arrange to meet them up in their office or home to show support or look out for what you could help fix for them. It would surprise you how much of relief you could bring to their journey by just being there. If you are not there, you would leave the politician alone with sycophants - we are never in short supply of sycophants in politics anyway. And that's why our people should try to show up every time. Also, the place to be, for you to know how best you can help is on the field with him or her. Don't be that person that only support with word of mouth. Let's learn to show up because that is the basis of the little things that count.
2. Volunteer - The next thing would be to volunteer to do something. Active politicians always have something to do. There is always flyers to distribute, posters to make, designs to make and push out, media houses to visit, engagement on social. There is usually a lot to do. In this case, it's not enough to ask them what you can volunteer on, you could go a step further by looking out for any vacuum you see that you could help fill. For instance, if you notice the person isn't doing well on social media and you know you could help - just offer to help. It helps more when you look out for something you could help with and then offer to help on it.
3. Donate money - running for office comes with a huge financial burden that shouldn't be borne by just the candidate. Usually, it is an opportunity for friends and associates to show support by contributing whatever they can to the purse of the campaign. And like I said earlier, this is also not a place to brake the bank. No one should put themselves in any financial pressure for the purpose of politics. So, there is no small or big donations - it is the heart behind it that matters. When you give 1k naira for instance to my campaign, it means you believe in my candidacy and it assures me that when it's time, you would make the effort to vote for me. I encourage people to donate according to what they have and they should also encourage others to donate. One may only have 2k to donate but still have 5 friends one could influence to donate more. Tiny drops of water can make a ocean.

In conclusion, politics is not something one can do alone. And while it's not all of us that would ever get the mandate to run for office, we can all come together to support those among us who are stepping out to serve right now.

The three areas I mentioned above are critical for anyone who would succeed in politics. Success in politics requires you to have people who love you enough to show up for you, people who believe in you enough to volunteer to work for you and people who are kind enough to support you with their donations. 

I hope I can find all these in you!

First, let me say that I'm excited to announce my birthday to you, my friends. I try to do this every year so I could keep myself accountable and share my growth to inspire everyone around me.  

Someone might ask, Ayoola, why do you do this? Well, I write first to document my thoughts, then to assess my clarity and then to share knowledge. Meanwhile, I discovered that I write now also because it's become a habit. I know not everyone will care to read, but also, not everyone is my audience (as regards my writings).  

Back to the reason for writing - today marks the 34th year I was born. Born in a very humble background to some remarkable parents; I owe everything I am today to my parents - my father and mother - super great people who God has used to help me be most of the good that people get to admire about me today. 

You see, I've grown to appreciate that every man has got a fine spirit that God has deposited in them at creation - but we all need people around us to help us harness the spirit and to help us grow into being the person we ought to be. I appreciate the input of my close friends and family in my life in this regard. 

Last year, I mentioned to you that I was going into politics for real. Well, true to my words, I am now a full-blown politician. Since my earliest consciousness, I have known that I would one day get involved in governance. And since 2019, I began to sense the need for urgency, as though it is time to come out and do something tangible with that talent God has deposited in me for my people. 

So, in the past few days I have shared it in my inner circle and Political Think Tank group that I am beginning to take active steps for 2023 and that I would like to declare my real intentions in the next couple of weeks. I have received mixed reactions and I am glad that we have great ideas to share for good. I want to be known as someone who exhausted all his talents in the best way possible. I want to leave it to God as to what outcomes I have. At this time, I am certain about my ability to lead a team of great minds to position our country for greatness. I also have the sense of the timing being perfect to take a bold step in the direction of purpose.  

Therefore, I am seeking your support as I take this step of faith. I know this journey will bring the best results for all of us. My goal actually, is to raise at least 100 of my friends to pledge a donation of 1000, 10k, 100k, 1m, etc. I am seeking this kind of support because that is a way to get everyone involved. It is a good thing to get people involved in what we are doing as our success would mean everyone's success. Selfless projects need not be personally funded. Infact, we are measuring our impact as well by the number of people that we are able to get involved in our cause. I look forward to you partnering with us on this jouney. 

To sign up now to join our political partners group, click this link - http://ayoo.la/2023/partner, make a pledge and be on a look out in the next few days for a big announcement.  

Story story... Once upon a time, oops! actually, it was last night. I was going home and I came to a T junction near my house... That junction is notorious for heavy traffic and I've got cause to volunteer to control traffic there once in a while. So I decided to stop again to help out - traffic was building up already, I could see. The situation is always better when someone is in charge to control it. 

I thought as usual, everything would be resolved in 1 hour or less. But see me see trouble o, I was there for almost 4 hours. I don't know where all those vehicles were coming from, the traffic was just mad. But then, I was determined to see to the end of the problem. I knew I was doing the right thing - helping people get home on time. I was literally helping my fellow citizens cut down the useless and unproductive time they would have spent in traffic. 

But then after the first hour, the next three or so hours was so inconvenient - my back was already aching seriously. Every parts of my body from my legs to my feet were literally begging me to find somewhere to sit. I wish there was someone that could take over while I take some time to rest. I kept on. 

While I was fighting to keep my body in check, I encountered many inpatient drivers and bike riders who won't stop when I begged them to. I encountered those raining abuses and other things. Meanwhile, I also encountered some people who were appreciative of my service - someone even tried to give me money on the road. That actually made me smile for real. 

I did everything with a smile though. I tried to keep a smiley and calm face. I know I wasn't doing it for anyone. I just found myself in a situation where I can dedicate time to serve and I did and I will continue to do it for as long as I can. 

Meanwhile, while I was doing this, I realised this truth that - no job is easy.  So, next time we pass by someone working diligently, let us try not to abuse them - let us treat them with gratitude and respect. You never know what pains they go through to deliver that service you don't seem to appreciate.

Thanks for reading my story!

Do we really need a tutorial on how to help a friend? Well, let's go through this and see if it helps us become more friendly and also beneficial to people around us.

1. Make a list of your friends and keep it up to date
   
   Why is this important? Well, I don't have much explanation - I just know there are cases where it comes handy. Can you imagine even God has a list of His friends - He called it The Book of Life. Call it whatever name you like, but everyone needs a list of names they would give priorities too when it matters.
    
2. Be in touch with them often
   
   Spend quality time with them whether through telephone, chat or by physical visits and hang outs. Depression is real and you never know what they are going through - your genuine and friendly contact may be the only inspiration they could get at some point. When you are doing this, ensure you are not using the contact opportunity to put a pressure on them. Don't be that friend that calls or visit only when you need help.
    
3. Do valuable things for them
   
   Give them things - money and other things they value. People can forget anyone; but things you do for people further impress you in their hearts. I'm not talking about buying alcohol for them, or showing off your financial capacity by bankrolling what they do not need. Can you give about 2 mins to think deeply about what a friend need? Can you go out of your way to them do it for them?
    
4. Constantly assure them they can rely on you
   
   Tell them if they need "2k urgently", you got them. Tell them if they get arrested, they could call you to bail them out. Tell them if they need someone to talk to, you would be there and not judge them. You will be surprised how many of those you say are your besties go through some deep problems and they couldn't relate with you because they don't know what to expect from you.
    
5. Recommend them for a job
   
   There's definitely something your friend is good at that can earn him more. There's also someone you know that can give some benefits to your friend. There's always an advantage you have that your friend can benefit from. Spend your recommendation currency on your friends - else you are wasting away precious resources God gave you. When you help a friend this way, you have passively helped yourself by strengthening your network and also empowered someone in your circle. The more empowered people in your circle are, the more empowered you are.
    
6. Help share their message
   
   Reach and social proof are now a very expensive resource. Social media have become a business arena serving just a few. The giants determines who you can reach and how far your views can go. When you help share a message originating from your friend, you have shared your social power with your friend and trust me, it's worth more than you can imagine. So, react to their post, share a friendly comment (also a way of reaching out to them), and don't forget to share their message with your network.
    
7. Pray for your friends
   
   Well, this doesn't have to be elaborate to be effective. You don't have to go to the mountain on their matter. When they cross your mind, why not just say a word of prayer for them? If your friend is going through a difficulty and you are aware, why not take some time to pray for them? It works. Jesus prayed for Peter. That was the only thing that redeem him from an impending destruction.

Was this helpful? Did you learn something from this post? Then share with your true friends. You may also add other things you feel can be done for friends in the comment section. 

I was featured earlier today on New Frontiers Television to share on Government Ban on Twitter. 

If you missed it live, watch the recording here: