Last Monday, Labour Party Presidential Candidate, Peter Obi, was guest at the Editors’ Forum. The Forum is an interactive programme of the Nigerian Guild of Editors (NGE). Mustapha Isah, president of the Guild, was chief host. About 100 Nigerian editors were present to grill Mr. Obi.
Obi was not the first political actor to appear at the forum. INEC Chairman, Professor Mahmood Yakubu, opened the floor. Then, came Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Senator Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP). Both Atiku and Kwankwaso showed a great deal of knowledge of the existential problems dogging the nation. Atiku wheeled his political machine towards restructuring of a behemoth Federal Government to devolve power to the federating units. Kwankwaso shot at the nexus of insecurity, promising to deal decisively with the incubus threatening our very existence. Both also rolled their plowshares on economic revival, infrastructure, education, among others.
Atiku could only take four questions. He was on his way to the airport. A whistle stop it was. Kwankwaso endured more grilling and took on as many questions pelted at him. Many editors were encountering him for the first time in flesh and blood. He acquitted himself.
So, when Peter Obi popped in on Monday, editors were already on a familiar turf. But Obi is no stranger to media engagements. Among all the presidential aspirants, he has had more local and international engagements with the media and sundry focus groups. Obi’s opening remark was brief, even sketchy, because, as he said, the show belongs to the editors. And he added a caveat: feel free to ask any question. A blank cheque. And trust editors to maximise the moment. They asked every and any question. Did Peter Obi offer Kwankwaso N40 billion to step down? For a man who does not give shishi, that notion seemed most improbable.
If elected, can he find the political will to truly wear the epaulet of Commander-in-Chief of the Armed Forces? How will he rebuild a badly broken nation, both structurally and economically? What will be his priority areas as he rallies his team to reset Nigeria? Can Obi power and protect the nation? What are his chances of winning the presidential election? Will he and his teeming supporters accept the result if another candidate emerges the winner? A swirl of questions.
To every question, the trader and the calm temper in Obi pop out. He spent more time with the editors. He was asked more questions than any candidate. Some irritating, some germane and some damn right whimsical. Calmly, he took on every question. Thoroughly, he provided answers with clarity of thought. Obi was a delight to listen to. He coursed from Nigeria to north Africa, to Europe and his favourite continent, Asia, as he advanced reasons why Nigeria should be a great nation.
He appears the ready man, a hands-on chief executive officer. He showed scholarship. He evinced character and integrity and was not shy of saying to Nigerians: hire me, I have the competence, capacity, ability, commitment and integrity to do the job. He likened Nigeria to a corporate entity looking to hire a CEO. He was urbane and upbeat. His ideas were cerebral. Answers were lucid. He said, just as it is with hiring an employee especially a CEO, the hirers look out for certain qualities including fitness of the applicant. He assured editors of his fitness, emotional temperance, global exposure, pedigree of astute management of men and resources, and zero tolerance for corruption.
Obi flaunts his pedigree as his asset. A pedigree of growing small businesses into conglomerates, a history of unassailable public service burnished in the finest grades of transparency, accountability and pragmatism with proven deliverables in all aspects of human development and urban renewal.
Obi insists, for the umpteenth time, that he’s the right fit for the job. He understands, just like any other applicant for the job of Nigeria CEO, that unemployment, poverty, criminality and insecurity are top on the log of problems ravaging the country.
On these, he says: “We cannot have that number of people living in poverty and not have criminality, banditry and so on. We must remove sharing formula and replace it with production formula.”
He said that Nigeria had fertile lands and the population to do well in agriculture. “The hope of this country is the vast uncultivated land, not that oil we are seeing. My commitment is to put Nigeria into production. It is not acceptable that we cannot feed ourselves. We must get the country to work; all it requires is the leadership that understands and can drive the process. I can do that.”
But is he merely grandstanding? Can a Peter Obi stand up to the garrison of retired and untired politicians frustrating reforms in Nigeria? Can Obi deal with the forex cabal, the oil subsidy syndicate of crooks with their international collaborators? How would he tame the bogey of corruption and its many cousins? To these, he affirms his avowal. He promised to lead by example; to show that probity in public service is neither magic nor a mirage. It’s a lifestyle, a cultured practice that has been instituted in the Western world and in Asia.
Obi says he would prioritise matters of the rule of law, law and order, education development and other intangible assets to attract investors. He queried the concept of Nigerian leaders chasing after so-called foreign investors when back home, there is no culture of the rule of law. His prescription: institute a culture of law and order, the rule of law and investors would come. No investor puts money where the rule of law is not guaranteed. Obi is a businessman, a trader, as he calls himself. His business tentacle stretches from Europe through Asia to Africa. He should know. He pledged to beget a new order where the rule of law, not rule of impunity, is the norm.
And for those who clamour for more women in government, Obi shares same space with you: “We are going to involve women and youths if I have the opportunity to serve, because that 50 per cent of our population must come into productive use.”
Overall, Obi demonstrated knowhow, comportment, intellect, humility, empathy and a good dose of emotional intelligence. He seems primed to lead in the 21st century. He cut the motif of a foreman who knows the demands of his job. He showed a roadmap for delivering power, for ensuring food security through deliberate investment and attraction of fresh investors into the agriculture value chain. He sees Nigeria’svast arable land as the new oil.
The profundity of Obi’s ideas, the clarity of his vision and the ease of communicating and connecting with the editors throw him up as a modern era leader. The spontaneous applause that greeted his exit from the hot seat and the microphone attest to an applicant who has more than impressed the interview panel of editors. But editors alone cannot a president make. The power and privilege to recruit is with the electorate. Obi should seek more engagement with the voters.
