Before Peter Gregory Obi calculatedly exited the People’s Democratic Party and pitched his tent with the Labour Party, thus sparking the polity and spearheading a political campaign that would never have been foretold, the 2023 presidential race was headed on an insipid predictable path. The ruling party had concluded their charade primaries where a candidate who had made no bones about his overtures to swivel the seat of power at Aso Rock, the soi-disant fishers of men who admitted he orchestrated the current administration to accelerate his ascension, having deluded the delegates with a deluge of cash, had emerged. Those who thought there was going to be an upset and that the party mechanism which included the sitting president will get a less cumbersome candidate with superior likability and vigour were left in the lurch. Not even the oratorical prowess of the vice president, whose tone reached a crescendo with untold urgency at times and a cadence that would make a Barack Obama impressed, could convince the caucus that dillydallied at the convention ground in Abuja that fateful night. The shadow of his benefactor had become too encumbering to dissipate. It would not matter if the hitherto kingmaker would struggle to unfurl the flag he was supposed to bear.

The People are Democratic Party, easily the poorest opposition in the world’s democracy, before then had also conducted their primaries which were also dollar-infested. The party breached the unwritten code of rotating power to other regions other than the North due to the insatiable quest of their principal, a perennial contestant in presidential elections since 1993. There were last-minute breathtaking manoeuvres which culminated in his emergence, operations that could only be matched in Machiavellian terrains. Rather than allow power to head to the South, it is the party leadership that is heading south even as a major election is looming.

The emergence of Peter Obi on the platform of the Labour Party was like a supernova with a cataclysmic effect. Many who were standoffish that the presidential race was going to be the lot of two entitled septuagenarians suddenly found a reason to believe again. From the maligned youths in Lagos to the disillusioned in Yenagoa, the weary in Onitsha to the war-stricken in Kebbi, to the neutrals who could not be dissuaded by ethnic and religious prejudices—there was an unstoppable coalition who will be dubbed the “Obidient” movement.

There is something enchanting about Obi’s candidacy that distinguishes him from the rest of the pack— whether it’s the way he correlates the land mass of countries with their economic output and juxtaposes them with the ineptitude at home and what can be possible, or the sagacity of his Math with almost infallible outcomes, the assuredness of his record as governor and a private sector doyen, giving aficionados and traducers alike the mandate to “go and verify” or maybe it’s just that impassioned voice that trails off like an itinerant prophet in the wilderness howling for the redemption of the world.

While his rhetoric speaks to the prevalent issues of the moment earning him pathways to the people’s inner recess, the establishment is dismissing him spitefully as a bubble that would inevitably burst, with a conspiracy that his enviable traction on social media was galvanized by bots or at best diasporans—which would not translate to a thumbprint on the ballot paper. They are also casting aspersions on his followers, tagging them as corrosive elements or an offshoot of a secessionist group, thereby whipping up ethnic dust.

While the two other major contenders are shielding themselves from the scrutiny of the press and when they do, circumspectly censor their channels or speak through their well-fed stooges, Obi unstintingly in a litany of footage continue to make the case for the harnessing of the human capital and natural resources of Nigeria—moving the country from consumption to production, taking people out of poverty to exterminate criminality and insecurity, state policing, lean government, investing in education and making primary education compulsory, making Nigeria a hub for ICT and capitalizing on the computer adroitness of the youths, demystifying the fuel subsidy hoax and clawing the nation away from overreliance on a diminishing asset—oil, amidst a blizzard of issues.

Despite Obi’s eloquent rhetoric and stellar record, many are leery of what Obi represents. These reluctant ilks may be subliminally struggling from ethnic and religious prejudices, or just exhibit a paranoia that stems from a “trust deficit”— a lacuna that emanated from the government’s ineptitude and botched promises over time. Some are also sceptical that the Nigerian system will stifle any patriotic gesture and efforts toward living happily ever after. Yet Obi is an experiment every patriot must be willing to make—a desideratum that is long overdue in our chequered electoral democracy.

Our democracy has been hijacked. The political elites have upturned the promises of democracy since we reversed to democracy in 1999 and have become unabashed brigands. What started as democracy has morphed into the highest bidder politics that serves an iniquitous political structure that is antithetical to the prosperity of the people. This is the raison d'être those who represent the political status quo are fighting hard to get power—touting their “structure” and shunning the people. That was what happened in 2015 when a president would emerge without going for a sole debate! That is what is playing out again. The establishment is relying on a structure of vote buying, godfatherism and the weaponization of illiteracy and poverty to consolidate their hegemonic grip on the electorate.

Giving Obi a chance in 2023 would not be largesse to the bespectacled ascetic— what is at stake transcends one man—he is just a catalyst for the new Nigeria we desire. It is more about the things his emergence would represent: that the people come first, that democracy must indeed be of the people, by the people and for the people. That anyone can emerge as president no matter what part of the country they come from or how they worship, as long as they are best suited for the job; that people with the sheer power to vote can sack the stale politicians with their shopworn ideas and toxicity.

Nigeria at this time needs a visionary, not an emperor. We must wrest ourselves from the manacles of those who have held us bound and have become entitled to our commonwealth. We must shun prejudices as we forge ahead to become a prosperous nation. We must make this Obi experiment now and turn the tide against the political elite because fortune only favours the brave. It is in our hands.

Opeyemi Philip Obisesan
Writes from Surulere, Lagos.

Obi is the best candidate as far as this election is concern.

Mirabella00:
If you vote for Peter Obi just know that you are processing but Tinubu is like starting generator without fuel

Push to start generator.

Experimented with 4.8million..... failed

Make hin come experiment with 200m?

What is NDLEA doing about the meth wey dey circulate for diz country sef?

Obi is the hope of ordinary Nigerians. That's why those rogues and criminals are jittering

Any sane Nigerian that will vote for Peter Obi is an enemy of this Country.

Peter Obi and his useless Obidient's urchins are even worse than Mc Oluomo and the wrath of the Agbero's we are experiencing here in Lagos.

A vote for Peter Obi means more Hardship, Suffering, Hunger, Depression, Killings and insecurity in Nigeria.

Peter Obi has absolutely nothing to offer except his usual Lies like the useless[b] Lai Muhammed[/b] .

We need both financial and economic growth in our Country right now and Bola Ahmed Tinubu is the best candidate for this Job.

A vote for Bola Ahmed Tinubu means Steady electricity, better education for our youths and automatic employments for our graduates, better welfare and at least our naira will regain it's strength back to 1naira per 1dollar .

Only Tinubu can make this happen not Peter Obi and his good for nothing Obidient's urchins.

Vote Wisely my brothers and sisters.