The refrain in town today is, anywhere Peter Obi goes, we will follow him. Another one says, “As it stands now in Nigeria, we have APC, PDP and PETER OBI. We have tried PDP, tried APC. It’s time to try PETER OBI.”
These statements have great import. They mean that many Nigerians are tired of our cash-and-carry democracy. They show that people are weary of our leadership deficit. They want a genuine, positive change in the dwindling fortunes of the country. And they believe a Peter Obi presidency will engender all that. 
Until last Wednesday, Obi, former governor of Anambra State, was a leading presidential aspirant of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). He shocked Nigerians when he announced his resignation from the party and withdrawal from the presidential race. Initially, I felt uncomfortable with this move. But with hindsight, I think he took a wise decision.
It had become obvious to Obi and many others that the PDP was bent on giving its presidential ticket to the highest bidder. The party has a subsisting rotation arrangement in its constitution. But it ditched it for pecuniary interests. Many of the aspirants moved round, doling out humongous amounts of money to delegates.
It was also dollar rain at the primary election of the party held last Saturday in Abuja. Top spenders reportedly include former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar; Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike; Sokoto State Governor, Aminu Tambuwal; and former Senate President, Bukola Saraki. Each of the delegates was said to have smiled home with at least, $50,000. At the end, it would seem the highest bidder, Atiku, emerged the winner after defeating 12 other candidates. He polled 371 votes, while his closest challenger, Wike of Rivers State, polled 237 votes. Former Senate president, Bukola Saraki, got 70 votes to emerge third. Tambuwal had stepped down for Atiku a few hours before voting. As it stands now, Wike may likely emerge as Atiku’s running mate.
Millions of Nigerians are disillusioned with this type of politics. They fear for the future of our children, the future of Nigeria. Currently, the situation of the country is dire. It requires redemption. Yesterday, being May 29, 2022, Nigeria marked 23 years of unbroken civilian rule. Our major achievement is that the military has not disrupted our transition from one civilian government to the other. Outside that, we have continued to move progressively down the ladder of democracy.
In the area of security, we have failed woefully. Kidnapping has become a very lucrative business. Travellers are usually the major victims. Weeks after the abduction of some passengers from the Abuja-Kaduna train, many of them are still in captivity and risk being killed soon. The terrorists made certain demands from the government and the government is yet to meet them.
On May 15, 2022, a serving lawmaker representing Aguata II Constituency in the Anambra State House of Assembly, Hon. Okey Okoye, and his aide, Mr. Ulaevuchukwu Chiegboka, were abducted and slaughtered like goats. A sad Governor Chukwuma Soludo imposed curfew on eight local government areas and placed a N10 million bounty on the head of the killers. This has not stopped the gunmen from their murderous activities. There are many other examples of heinous crime in Nigeria. Simply put, life has become meaningless and valueless in the country.
In the area of the economy, we have not fared better as well. Do we talk about the debt trap, which has progressively risen from N21.725 trillion in 2017 to N39.55 trillion as at December 2021? The Debt Management Office (DMO) says the debt will likely get to N45 trillion in 2022. Do we talk about rising inflation, unemployment and poverty? Almost on a daily basis, prices of essential commodities keep rising. A 12.5kg cylinder of cooking gas, which sold for between N3,000 and N4,000 a few years ago, now sells for between N9,000 and N10,000. Prices of staples like rice have gone beyond the reach of average Nigerians. A 50kg bag of rice, which sold for between N7,000 and N8,000 in 2015, now sells for between N25,000 and N30,000. And this is in a country where the minimum wage is N30,000. Do we talk about the exchange rate, which has gone from about N199 to a dollar in May 2015 to about N600 to a dollar today?
Do we talk about worsening electric power supply? These days, what the electricity distribution companies do is to flash light to consumers. In many parts of Lagos where I live, electricity does not last beyond five minutes most times. Many companies, which depend on diesel to power their machinery, are closing shop because the cost of that commodity is something else. The cost of aviation fuel is threatening the business of the airlines.
Do we talk about corruption? Rather than improve on our fight against the monster, we have continued to score low marks on corruption perception index. Recently, the Accountant-General of the Federation, Ahmed Idris, was arrested for alleged N80 billion fraud. The trending news a few days ago was that the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission (EFCC) has declared the Accountant-General of Rivers State, Fubara Siminayi, and 58 others wanted for N435 billion fraud. Surprisingly, this same Fubara has just emerged the PDP governorship candidate for Rivers State.
It is quite disturbing that we have moved on as if nothing is amiss. Now that the PDP has had its presidential primary election, let’s see how that of the ruling party, the All Progressives Congress (APC), will turn out on June 6. The APC charged N100 million for the nomination and expression of interest forms for this position. The PDP charged N40 million. What this means is that many sound, credible candidates will never make it. I don’t know many Nigerians who can afford this money from their legitimate earnings.
Honestly speaking, we cannot continue to sit on the fence anymore. We need to identify credible candidates in some political parties and support them, the dollar rain in APC and PDP notwithstanding. This is what the Peter Obi movement is all about. His supporters organised a one-million-man march in different states of the federation recently to preach the Obi gospel. They also pushed him to dump the PDP and join the Labour Party to actualize this ambition.
Obi’s gospel is prudence. It is transparency. It is accountability. He proved his worth as governor of Anambra State between 2006 and 2014. He touched many areas of life, carried out many developmental projects and still left behind N75 billion for his successor. This is unprecedented in the history of this country. In sane environments, the system throws up people like him to move the society forward. But here, such people are muscled out of the scene. This is the narrative some concerned Nigerians want to change.
Whatever anybody says or believes, Nigeria needs Obi to curb profligacy in government; to move the country from consumption to production. We need him to curtail insecurity in the country; to tame corruption in high places; and to bring genuine unity among the peoples of Nigeria. Above all, if we must combat leadership deficit, which has been the bane of Nigeria, then we must be ready to follow Peter Obi anywhere he goes.
Re: Deborah…Crossing the red line of impunity
Casmir, with the latest, illegitimate killing of ‘our beloved Deborah’ on the altar of an unjustifiable claim of blasphemy, some ‘disgruntled elements’ in the North have arrogated unto themselves ‘the power of life & death’! They have now become a ‘law unto themselves’, running a ‘parallel government’. We demand that President Buhari and Governor Tambuwal should bring her killers to justice. I foresee a ‘war of Armageddon’, should government fail to nip ‘these callous acts’ in the bud. Christians are getting fed up of ‘turning the other cheek’. Why an average Muslim in the South behaves better than those in the North beats my imagination! Why is it that ‘only two people’ have been arrested till date? I have reported the matter to the ‘24 elders in heaven’. According to the Lord of Hosts, those who took part in the killing will end up like the biblical Cain. They burnt her terrestrial body but she will receive a ‘new celestial body’ when raptured. To her parents, I say take heart. God will fight for you and you will hold your peace, IJN.
-Mike, Mushin Lagos, +2348161114572
Dear Casy, religion of whatever denomination, for all I know, preaches righteousness, love, peace, harmony, humility and tolerance. Anything short of the above-mentioned and extends to taking human life, as in the case of Deborah Yakubu Samuel, amounts to taking religion from the corridor of decency into the cauldron of religious bigotry, nay religious extremism and impunity and should be treated accordingly within the ambit of the law. The killing of the poor, hapless Deborah didn’t happen in a flash. It was a mob action that took some time and must have, in the process, created some pandemonium! What did the school authority do at that point in time to save the girl’s life? Nothing! In this wise, CAN should rise beyond the razzmatazz of carrying placards and warming the streets in the name of peaceful protests and take decisive legal action against the school authority, the culprits and Sokoto State Government as joinder. This is, also, a wake-up call to Human Right lawyers!
– Steve Okoye, Awka, 08036630731
So sad indeed that one’s life can be so needlessly terminated in a society that is governed by law! Deborah’s issue and other extreme acts chronicled by you can only be carried out by the undisciplined fundamentalists whose belief is firmly founded on non-existent rewards by Allah. The saddest thing about these acts of religious intolerance is why government in spite of the recurring madness always looks the other way. Like the past experiences, the Deborah’s case after a few days of condemnation will also be consigned to the dustbin of history.
– Edet Essien Esq. 08037952470
Dear Casmir, I am a Christian but Mohammed is someone I’ve learned to admire right from my history classes in secondary School. He never killed anybody that worshiped the same God he served no matter his or her religion. He lived in peace with Christians because it was Syrian monks that spotted him a prophet. It was pagans he fought in reprisal and not as offender. Islamic leaders after him were those that launched Jihad against Christians. It’s not late to repeal. May the soul of Deborah rest in perfect peace.
– Cletus Frenchman, Enugu, +234 909 538 5215
I was in my hometown last year, a Muslim shoemaker came to the front of my father’s house, washed his legs and hands, climbed up to the main front of my senior sister’s shop and prayed. After praying, he told me thank you sir. I also thanked him too. My question is, can a Christian man or woman do that in a core northern state? The blood of Deborah will continue to haunt them; they will never know peace in their life again.
Police force should ensure that those who killed Deborah are arrested and prosecuted as deterrence to others who may engage in the same act in future.
– Gordon Chika Nnorom, Umukabia, +2348062887535