2023 Election: The Peter Obi Phenomenon
Nigerian politics is dominated by dangerous leaders. A dangerous
leader is a man or woman whose desire for power is motivated not by
the public good and commitment to serve, but greed, personal gains and
clique interests. The excesses of these dangerous political operators
was made manifest in that, even, an important and solemn event as the
election of a presidential nominee by party delegates was reduced to
selling and buying of votes. The sordid convergence of untrammeled
selfish ambitions and craven opportunism striped a party convention of
gravitas, and reduce it to the banality of street market haggling and
trading, with party delegates selling their votes to the highest
bidders.
Consequently, it was the wealthiest of the political contenders, with
the greatest willingness to pay for votes from delegates that emerged
the presidential candidate. So, it was not qualification for
leadership that dictated the emergence of the presidential candidate,
but the depth of a profligate big spender’s pocket. This nauseating
political modus operandi facilitated the emergence of the
muddled-headed, crooked, and shady as presidential candidate. It has,
over the years, foisted on the country at different levels of
government plutocrats of questionable character and sources of wealth.
Refreshingly, in a bold and punchy swipe at this outrageous political
method, the presidential candidate of the Labor Party, Peter Obi,
declared, “I will not give anybody shishi”. It was a defiant, gutsy
and iconoclastic declaration that dramatized resolve and will to
repudiate the status quo; and chart a new course. It smacked squarely
in the face of business as usual and the amoral methods of the evil
oligarch that has, for long, retained a stranglehold on Nigeria.
The evil oligarch is personified in the two other major presidential
candidates, Bola Tinubu and AtikuAbubakar. They are inextricable parts
of the oligarchy that has, for long, held the country in the throes of
economic misery, social injustice, lawlessness, and insecurity.
Nigerians are deeply troubled by the horrifying prospect of either men
being elected president because, as many political observers have
rightly pointed out, the choice between them is essentially a choice
between Otapiapia and Sniper. Both are potent, lethal poisons.
It is not only about Peter Obi’s defiance of the status quo and
determination to chart a new course. It is also about his proven
competence and indisputable qualification to be the president of
Nigeria. Nigerians have been impressed by his knowledge, versatility
and incisive mind. We are impressed by his credibility, and the
verifiability of every aspect and detail of his life. With a blend of
admiration and astonishment, we doffed our hats for the humility, and
refined and disciplined sensibility of this former governor, who
carries his own bag flies economy class and refused to be paid pension
as a former governor. We are awed by the integrity and incorruptible
uprightness of the two-term governor that left office without a
scandal or any question to answer from the Economic and Financial
Crime Commission (EFCC).
The bewildering complexities of our national problems demand novel and
iconoclastic solutions. And Nigeria is in a desperate need for a
revolution – not the sanguinary and anarchistic revolution of
murderous fanaticism and frenzied zealotry – but a revolution within
the confines of the law; anchored on democratic tenets and principles.
Obi’s illustrious performance as a servant-leader in Anambra State
exemplified novelty and iconoclasm in cracking entrenched and seemly
intractable problems, and revolution within conventional confines.
The Peter Obi phenomenon resonates with the generality of Nigerian,
especially, the youths. The for long dispossessed and disregarded, and
for long patient Nigerian youths, in the #End SARS protest, were
saying, “Enough is Enough”. In that protest, the youths spoke for the
generality of Nigerians as they sought an end to police brutality and
a reformation of the entire political system. The Peter Obi phenomenon
and this earlier youth rally for change – transformational change –
are the expressions of the same impulse for a democratic revolution.
The youth are inspired by Obi’s presidential candidacy. They see him
as personifying their awaken aspiration for a more equitable and just
Nigeria; the right man in the cockpit of the revolution. Not
surprisingly, in unison that straddled tribal, religious,
socio-economic and zonal fault lines, and with the moral courage to do
what is right, irrespective of personal consequences, the youths are
coalescing around his presidential campaign. Also rallying to his
standard are the downtrodden masses of Nigerians aware that they have
been denied a fair share of the enormous wealth and opportunities of
their country by a political elite unsurpassed in its scornfully
indifference to the legitimate aspirations of the people and their
worsening economic plight.
These include the poor consumed by the drudgery for daily survival;
the forgotten at the bottom of the economic ladder consigned to
homelessness, hunger, ignorance, unemployment and desperate, gateless
poverty; university students longing for education but forced to
remain indefinitely out of school due to the insensitivity and
misplaced priorities of the Buhari administration; Nigerians
displaced, terrified, afflicted and traumatized by the murderous
rampages of bandits, terrorists and other criminal predators due to
the failure of the federal government to uphold its constitutional
responsibility of protecting lives and property. And the list goes on.
Collectively, we are orchestrating a massive, momentous movement that
will inundate and sweep away the evil oligarchy.
About The Author
