By Philip Miyawa (Correspondent with Mayienga FM in Migori County)

ODM seems to be getting their groove back. Of late, with Hassan ‘Sultan’ Joho’s resurgence, there is excitement in the air that the party could go places.

The rallies are packed to the capacity of the venues, the colour orange seems to be everywhere. And people are already basking in glory, when we are months away from general elections, that ODM is the party to beat.

But are they there yet? It is difficult, if not naïve, to think so. It should not be lost on us that where the ODM are pulling crowds are their traditional strongholds and serious people would expect nothing less.

These are ODM zones and that should make us cautious not to bolster the followers’ expectations. Though the attendance is encouraging, ODMers should not be carried away to start imagining themselves in State house.

Yet one pertinent question still lingers: why should ODM’s activities be restricted to regions of Nyanza, Western, Coast and parts of Rift Valley – the Maa and Turkana land? May be the party officials have done their arithmetic and are convinced that these regions will give them enough votes to remove Jubilee out of power.

May be they have factored in that they are dealing with an incumbency, with that is keen on holding on to power. Ordinarily, however, the party activities should be concentrated in the areas they do not have support to bring those people on board.

When will ODM be venturing in Central Kenya and the bigger Rift Valley region?

What is also lost in these activities is the mobilization efforts to make people to register for voting. Just the other day, I did a story in one of the KBC sister stations- Radio Mayienga that more than 10 000 Identity cards are lying in wait for collection in Migori County.

Yet we still expect these people to vote to reflect the huge numbers in the rallies. While Migori County is an ODM zone that prays for Baba’s win, many of them are not prepared to vote. Isn’t it crazy for them to expect Baba to win?

Most startling though is that people go to these rallies for entertainment. People would rather attend rallies that only give them hope and make them to forget their problems, albeit temporarily, than ensure they have registered and exercise their powers to drive Uhuru out of power.

In fact, as I always say, Kenyans are pre-occupied more with entertainment than with serious issues the politicians should address upon getting to power. That is why people who attend these rallies, especially we journalists, are at pains telling our audience what was said in the rallies. All we will share is that Joho is the man, all we will tell others is that there were millions and millions of people in the rallies.

Then one wonders: what is the difference between the ODM and Jubilee in terms of what they stand for if the issues are not clearly articulated in these rallies?

It is time someone impressed this upon our hearts: ODM or CORD or Baba will not go anywhere if people do not register and turn out for voting. It does not matter that millions attend rallies! It does not matter how re-energized ‘Sultan’ is – he has only one vote. ODM must move out of their comfort zones and venture into areas they are not strong to get those extra votes!

But most importantly, the ODM must come up with fresh issues. The Eurobond, NYS, corruption, ‘nyama nyama nyama’ stories are past their sell by date as people have got used to them. In any case, talking about corruption only smacks of hypocrisy.

Indeed, talking about corruption puts ODM in an awkward position since their counties are deeply engrossed in it.

If you want Baba to win, simply go and register, marshall your unregistered neighbours to do the same as you plan to vote next year. Attending the rallies without being registered is doing a huge disservice to Baba!

READ THE ORIGINAL ARTICLE HERE.