By Daniel Kanu
After months of political voyage, drama, suspense and high-wire politicking, all the political parties have concluded their special conventions and primaries, and now have presidential standard bearers that will represent them at the 2023 polls.
Also, going by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) deadline which was Friday, June 17, all vice presidential candidates’ nominations have been completed by all the political parties.
No doubt, the past one month has been an endless season of tension, permutations, political deceit and intrigues, but the coast is now clearer on what to expect.
Political commentators agree that the drama that brought the two presidential candidates of the ruling party, All Progressives Congress (APC) and that of the main opposition party, Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to victory was captivating, pulsating, and thought-provoking and needs to be reflected upon.
The PDP finally settled for a Northern candidate, the former Vice President, Atiku Abubakar, as they diplomatically shunned all the push for zoning the presidency to the South and Southeast in particular.
The argument of the party was that they are desperately focused on winning the 2023 presidential election and did not think that a southern candidate would help achieve that aspiration.
The APC, from the beginning left no one in doubt that it was looking southwards for a successor for President Muhammadu Buhari.
It was perhaps the reason an army of southern aspirants, including those “bought as spoilers” from other political regions filed out to vie for the exalted office of president of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
APC finally settled for Asiwaju Bola Tinubu. The symbolism of their candidature is not lost on Nigerians. It is the triumph of the political godfathers, the super-rich.
In all, the Southeast lost out on both fronts as neither the PDP nor the APC was sincere in their crusade that power must shift to the South.
Most political watchers believe that it was more of an open robbery, strategically contrived and well-executed.
Part of the excuse was that power is never served ala carte, but some critics say such defence seems to be out of place as it cannot be justified in this case.
Dr Phillips Ntoh, a former commissioner for finance, Abia State told Sunday Sun that if the PDP and APC were sincere in their commitment to ensure that there must be genuine power shift to the South and by extension the Southeast, both parties should have zoned their presidential slot to the Southeast, bearing in mind that both the South-south and the Southwest zones have produced Nigerian presidents in the past except the Southeast.
The presidential primaries of the two major parties, particularly, that of the APC and the PDP were one that the profiles, service records, programmes and manifesto speeches of the aspirants never counted much for the delegates who decided the presidential nominations.
Expectedly, there were no apparent upsets given the skewed recruitment process as the two presidential candidates from APC and PDP are political heavyweights and represent the culmination of what Nigerian politics have always been in the past two decades.
In all the special conventions of the two major political parties, it was clear, going by reports that delegates did not vote for aspirants based on the issues of interest to the people they were supposed to represent.
The welfare, interest and progress of the ordinary persons never mattered as everything was purely a transactional enterprise.
Of course, similar things happened in the fringe parties, but on a smaller scale.
As Dr Donatus Kwandu, a political observer told Sunday Sun that : “It was an extremely dollarized primary”.
Most Nigerians, particularly the youths, going by their reactions, seem to be disappointed with the process and those thrown up because for them the needed rescue mission for Nigeria may be difficult to be realised with those candidates at the driving seat.
It was the twisted process of the PDP presidential primary that forced Peter Obi, a former governor of Anambra State, out of the party and made him join the Labour Party (LP).
That exit of Obi, a candidate perceived in many quarters as, perhaps, the face of change that the country needs seems to have elicited an unprecedented movement that have changed the political game from a two-horse race between the APC’s Tinubu and PDP’s Atiku.
At the moment, there is massive passionate appeal from well-meaning Nigerians across the country, including top celebrities drumming support for Peter Obi.
In the Southeast, and beyond the Peter Obi frenzy has caught up like a hurricane as both the young and old, have bought into what they call the “OBI-dient” crusade.
The crusade is geared towards changing the political dynamics of the country and putting it into the hand of a leader that would provide the vision for the paradigm shift which would be for the benefit of all Nigerians rather than on few privileged individuals.
Dr Florence Edwards, a civil servant told Sunday Sun that the support for Peter Obi is not an Igbo cause, but beyond the Southeast.
He said that Obi since he was wrongly denied opportunity on the PDP platform has received support from the majority of Nigerian populace because he is not only capable, but can be trusted given his antecedents in leadership.
Edwards said that those who understand the Southeast political sentiment know that they will vote for an outsider rather than their kinsman if they don’t believe in the vision the person carries or if the outsider has greater capacity.
His words: “Anybody thinking that the support for Peter Obi is the support for the realization of Igbo presidency is still dreaming and not in tune with reality because the call and massive support for Obi from all parts of the country, men, women and particularly youths that are poised to vote this time around are unprecedented.
“I think that the time has come for Nigerians to really take back their country and destiny is simply beckoning on Obi as a recipe for that Nigeria’s change. The appeal Obi is commanding goes beyond region; it is a pan-Nigerian appeal.”
Most Nigerian music giants, accomplished actors, comedians, and influencers, among them: PSquare brothers (Peter and Paul Okoye), Falz, Teni, Rapa Erigga, Actor Chidi Mokeme, Ruggedman, Okey Bakassi, Kate Henshew, Flavour, Bovi, Whiz Kid, Olamide, KIzz Daniel, Phyno, Zoro, Burna Boy, Aisha Yesufu in league and individually are urging Nigerian youths to support Obi’s presidency and they are indeed keying into the vision.
The “Operation show your PVC” concert which took place in Lagos recently was a huge success that has equally raised the political consciousness of Nigerian youths and they have vowed to make a statement with their PVC in the 2023 elections.
Chief Victor Umeh, former national chairman, All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) who has shifted his political base to the LP said, “the majority of Nigerians are disenchanted with the leadership in the land and they have embraced the Labour Party and its presidential candidate, Peter Obi to provide the right type of leadership that will salvage the country.”
Prof Pat Utomi, who stepped down for Peter Obi told Sunday Sun that “Nigeria cannot afford the calamity of falling from frying pan to fire”.
Utomi said that the country is in a position where death stares it in the face, stressing that the actions of the leading politicians and political parties would remain an invitation to death if Nigerians refuse to change the leadership status quo.
According to Utomi, when he appeared on Arise TV recently, “choosing between the APC and PDP is not an option, between the devil and the deep blue sea. There are options between APC and PDP and the challenge is how to make Nigerians recognise those options are real.
“This is a liberation struggle. The people want to be liberated and if they become part of the movement that liberates them they would be able to shout one day ‘viva viva,’ viva is liberation and the liberation has started.
“Culture matters, values shape human progress. If the culture in these two political parties is about sharing, about transactions, it is not likely to be able to produce an outcome that is different from where we are today”.
What cannot be denied or perhaps be ignored today is that Obi’s candidacy has aroused greater political consciousness going by what Nigerians are witnessing.
With the revolution being brought in by the Peter Obi’s LP, the political scenario will be that the major segments of Nigeria, the North, South East and the Southwest are going to square up in the race.
As observed by Dr Amanze Obi, columnist and media entrepreneur: “This scenario reflects what used to be in Nigerian politics when the North, the East and the West always presented formidable presidential candidates at elections”.
That old order has returned, but it’s possible outcome may not be correctly predicted for now until the 2023 presidential election is over.
What is obvious is that the theatre of presidential politics that has played out offers Nigerians the rare opportunity to reflect on her politics, its stunted development, and above all the future of the country.