By ANIEBO NWAMU*
In the runup to the 2023 general election, a wave of hope driven mainly by the integrity and popularity of Peter Obi swept across Nigeria. Obi’s message of moving the country from consumption to production as well as his promise to abolish a culture of corruption and criminality resonated with especially the youth and the disillusioned who yearned for a new kind of leadership rooted in competence, accountability and genuine concern for the suffering of the ordinary citizen. Almost every enlightened Nigerian who was not encumbered by the politically contrived burden of tribe, religion, party or unearned wealth aligned with the “Obi wave” generated by the “Obidient Movement”.
The elections came with the enthusiasm of especially young voters, but a corrupt INEC leadership introduced a “technical glitch” used to rob Obi of victory. Corrupt judges completed the heist by turning Nigerian law upside down just to make Bola Tinubu president. And from May 29, 2023, Nigeria continued going downhill. The unprepared president proclaimed (outside a written speech) that “the subsidy is gone for good” and triggered unprecedented inflation and misery in the country. From that day, also, the cabal in Aso Villa started plotting to deny Obi the ticket of any political party in 2027, apparently because it knew the rightful winner of the 2023 presidential election
To the glory of God, Peter Obi has been able to escape the several traps laid on his path. And, today, he has become the sole presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC). His running mate is certain to be Dr Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, a former governor of Kano State who also participated in the 2023 polls.
A battle line has been drawn. 2027 will witness a battle between good and evil, between the downtrodden and the oppressors, and between Nigeria’s builders and Nigeria’s destroyers.
As we consider on which side to fight, I invite all Nigerians to consider, once more, the eligibility of Mr Peter Obi and the need for power shift to a competent candidate from the South-East. Nobody from that geopolitical zone has occupied the seat of governance as president or vice president since 1983. The people of the South-East deserve to be given a sense of belonging. Nigeria was founded on a tripod — the three regions existing at independence in 1960 — but one region has been grossly marginalised. The South-West, with almost equal population with the South-East, has produced three presidents and four vice presidents since 1975. Going by the zoning arrangement of the then ruling PDP, it was the South-East’s turn to occupy Aso Villa in 2023, but Tinubu had to “snatch it, grab it and run with it”. Where is the justice? Why do we waste almost a trillion taxpayers’ naira on elections only to let election thieves have their way?
Peter Obi has promised to do only one term, obviously because he knows that one term has been snatched from the South-East through the heist of 2023, and, in 2031, it shall be the turn of the North. Nothing will make Obi renege on that promise. He won’t even if he could.
The choice before us now is between life and death, between justice and injustice, and between prosperity and doom. They’ve removed all subsidies and yet borrowed and borrowed funds from all sources. While poverty and depression have increased, Nigeria now owes nearly $200bn. The future has been mortgaged already!
The threat of insecurity is real. We can’t keep multiplying in population, churning out school leavers, killing jobs meant for them and still expect to feel safe and secure.
An Obi presidency will be decisive in tackling those problems for which the present regime has no answer. That’s why I’ve chosen to support Peter Obi and the NDC. For Nigeria faces an existential threat! I implore fellow compatriots from North or South to think deeply and make the right choice in 2027.
*Connect with Aniebo: +234-8054100220
