“I have a message to our Prime Minister. On behalf of every young person in our nation… Boris Johnson, SHUSH!”
The Future London Mayor??
The quadrennial London Mayor elections were originally meant to happen on 7 May 2020. However, the world had other plans. In late March, we quickly realized that instead of a normal year with normal elections, the world’s developments would be put to an abrupt halt. Unfortunately, this also meant that the 2020 London Mayoral Elections would be postponed. Since then, scientists have come up with COVID precautionary measures and regular events such as the London Mayoral Elections are running once again. On 31 March, the 20 candidates were revealed. Of course, the big names such as Shaun Bailey, Sian Berry and Sadiq Khan were included in the list. But what got people’s heads scratching was when they saw the name of popular YouTube Prankster, Niko Omilana.
2 Years of Planning
It is unclear when Niko first had the idea to run for London Mayor, but we can assume it was mid-2019. This is due to the fact that in a YouTube video in August 2019, he put the words, “NDL x LDN” in the background of one of his videos, thus teasing his campaign. The NDL stands for Niko Defence League and was inspired by Tommy Robinson’s EDL. After EDL supporters were racially abusing Niko online, Niko trolled them and made a parody known from then on as the NDL. In a recent video titled, “I PRANKED THE NEWS,” Niko revealed that NDL backwards was LDN (London), so him running for London Mayor was “written in the stars.”
Along with this subtle tease, Niko also created “NDL” Merchandise which further teased his campaign and he teased his slogan, “Coming In Hot!” during one of his pranks on popular British YouTube Group, The Sidemen. Unfortunately, due to the pandemic, he couldn’t run in 2020. However, he has managed to successfully become a candidate in 2021.
His Campaign
Niko first announced on twitter his campaign to become Mayor of London. “There is no greater leader in this country… than me! So please, my friends, Vote Niko for Mayor of London on May 6th… or your breath stinks!” Upon hearing this, many popular influencers expressed their support for Niko using the hashtag, #NikoForMayor. But Niko wasn’t done. He wanted an interview with the BBC and, as a result, spent a day outside the BBC Office trying to get an interview. He held a sign saying, “From one BBC to another!” After his attempts to get an interview failed, he took to twitter and demanded an interview from the BBC. This succeeded and soon, Niko found himself being interviewed by BBC Interviewer, Sam Francis.
When asked what the biggest threat to London was, Niko promptly responded with the words, “The biggest threat to London is our Prime Minister, Boris Johnson. If a man who can’t even comb his hair properly is running our nation, then we truly have no hope. But a London under me will have equal opportunities. If a young BBC like myself can make it to the actual BBC, then that’s what I want for all the young BBCs out there. To have their voices be heard.”
And when asked to give a 25 second pitch as to why he should be the next London Mayor, he responded with, “Should I be London Mayor?” Without waiting for an answer, he passionately stated, “What a stupid question, of course I should. The system is broken for young people and I am the only man to fix it. We aren’t taken seriously and it makes me sick. I have more Knowledge, Strength and Integrity than any other candidate,” This is a reference to popular British YouTuber, KSI. “-and more social media followers than all of them combined - The Jokemen. The people who run this country are unserious, and that’s coming from someone wearing children’s glasses.” Throughout Niko’s entire campaign, he has been sporting children’s glasses and, in the case of this interview, he had been wearing more than one pair. “I am taking action now. I have a message to our Prime Minister. On behalf of every young person in our nation…” He then proceeded to take a very long, dramatic pause. “Boris Johnson… SHUSH!”
Along with his chucklesome interview, he also hired a London Bus, put a 5-star restaurant on it and yelled through a megaphone at different people in the street to vote for him, all of which can be seen on his YouTube Channel. While some of his remarks might sound unconventional for a seasoned politician, these statements appeal to the youth. He is predicted to get 5% of all the votes and has become the highest-ranked Independent Candidate but still has a long way to go if he wants to win. So, if you are over 18 and eligible to vote, make sure to exercise your right to vote on May 6th for the next Mayor of London.
References
Omilana, N. (2021). I PRANKED THE NEWS. Staffordshire: YouTube.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NjwQzJuHG4I
BBC. (2021). London mayoral race 2021: The candidates standing in this year's election. London: BBC.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-london-55748037
Omilana, N. (2021). I Opened A 5 Star Restaurant On A London Bus. Staffordshire: YouTube.
ComRes, S. (2021). ITV London, Mayoral Poll – April 2021. London: Savanta ComRes, Table 4.
https://comresglobal.com/polls/itv-london-mayoral-poll-april-2021/
