By Luke Onyekakeyah
The exit of Mr. Peter Obi from the main opposition Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP) is a bold, patriotic and commendable move to save the country from imminent collapse. Peter Obi took a very wise decision to leave PDP, which has proved to be discredited and corrupt. He refused to join the Ghana-Must-Go money sharing bazaar that overwhelmed delegates at the PDP’s presidential primary election. By his decision, Peter Obi has become the first Nigerian to reject/shun the evil money for vote politics. He is also the first Nigerian politician to demonstrate true anti-corruption crusade by action.
Everybody knows that Peter Obi has his zero corruption integrity to protect. He would have been swept away by the corruption tsunami if he had remained in the PDP and that would have damaged his not-easy to earn enviable reputation. He wouldn’t have been happy to be the presidential candidate of a corrupt party that Nigerians are fed up with. What else have the two major parties got to offer Nigerians after spending sixteen and nearly twenty-four solid years in power and squandered the golden opportunity? There is no doubt that Peter Obi’s move to the Labour Party (LP) is fast gathering huge momentum for an unprecedented historic victory and turnaround in this unfortunate country.
As it
were, the battle for the 2023 presidential election has narrowed down to two
opposing sides, namely, between the two major parties on one side and the
masses of the people rallying under the Labor Party on the other side. It is
left to the people to decide whom to vote for among the two.
It is a fact that
the two parties and their candidates that have been tried before and failed
woefully on account of ravaging corruption that has been elevated to statecraft
and integrated into the system. Is the time not overdue to dislodge corruption
and set Nigeria and its people free?
Who
would be able to accomplish this onerous and patriotic task? Is it the parties
that are sharing dollars to buy delegates and voters? Where in the whole wide
world do politicians openly buy delegates with dollars in the name of choosing
party flag bearers?
That
is why Peter Obi and his Labour Party, party of the suffering masses, party of
suffering workers have emerged to save the situation. This is the point of
determination; point of decision; point of no return. Any move away from this
critical point will see Nigeria’s final collapse. There is no two ways about
it. Therefore, it is left to the masses of Nigerians to take their destiny in
their own hands by voting a clean uncorrupted Peter Obi and thereby chart a new
course for Nigeria.
Peter
Obi’s dumping of the PDP served Nigeria a useful purpose. It has exposed the
endemic and abrasive corruption rocking the system in Nigeria, which the
political elites who are the main beneficiaries introduced since 1999 and don’t
want it to end. Only the people, the sufferers, who are bearing the brunt of
corruption, can stop it. The main beneficiaries of the anomie, the politicians,
won’t stop it because it is their life wire; they swim and breathe in it.
While
the country is bleeding from endless raping spree, the people are reduced to
subhuman condition, famished and hungry. While the political leaders are
swimming in wealth and affluence, the people are starving and dying in penury,
all because the political system has been sold and bought with sacks of
dollars.
Not
until Peter Obi quit the PDP, did Nigerians realise that the political system
is reeking in corruption, which explains why leadership/or governance in the
country is good business for the politicians. In this clime, governance has
nothing to do with the welfare of the people. Politics is akin to a commercial
enterprise in which buying and selling take place and the gain goes to the
highest bidder.
Peter
Obi, who was considered one of the top contenders for the PDP’s presidential
ticket, dumped the party less than three days to its presidential primary
election. And far from pulling out of the presidential race, he joined the
Labour Party to actualise his patriotic vision to turn around the fortunes of a
collapsing Nigeria. The interest of the people, the ordinary folks is his
concern.
In a letter
addressed to the party’s national chairman, Iyorchia Ayu, entitled,
“Resignation From PDP and Withdrawal From the Presidential Contest,” Mr. Obi
noted that the nation’s challenges are deep-rooted, citing “recent
developments” in the party as his reason for leaving.
The
“recent developments” is nothing but the embarrassing money politics that
dominated the PDP’s presidential primary election. The social media is awash
with photo clips of sacks of Ghana-Must-Go stocked with bundles of dollars used
to buy delegates at the presidential primaries. What a shame and embarrassment
for Nigeria?
Expectedly,
mixed reactions have trailed the resignation of Peter Obi, a former
governor of Anambra State and presidential aspirant from the PDP to the Labour
Party.
“Peter
Obi will defeat the PDP and the APC in any party. The office of the citizens of
Nigeria is the highest office in the land. This organic support has taken off.
They can no longer stop us. Only God can. Obi is an idea whose time has come.
The gang up against him won’t stop us,” wrote one angry citizen.
“What
Peter Obi did today has just placed him on another level of political
recognition and trust. Some of us were skeptical about having PDP coming back
to government. So now that he has emancipated himself from them, we move.”
“If
Peter Obi gets another party ticket then some neutrals are going to campaign
for him. Now the opposition is going to share votes with Kwakwanso in the
north, and share votes with Obi in the South East. This isn’t looking good for
the opposition that is trying to get back to power.”
“Peter
Obi has seen the light that when it comes to buying Delegates, he can’t stand
some aspirants and if he tries to go that route, it will stain his
“uprightness.”
Those criticizing
the overwhelming support Peter Obi is receiving by thinking that it is only
online don’t understand the power of online media platforms such as Facebook and
Twitter. The people thinking in this way don’t know contemporary history in
North Africa and the Middle East where people engineered change by employing
Internet mechanisms.
As a
matter of fact, if Peter Obi’s is pulling crowd on social media, it then means
that he is on the right track. It is only his detractors that are discrediting
the power of social media in mobilizing the masses. At the moment, Peter Obi
has no competitor.
As we
draw nearer to the point of determination in 2023, the masses of Nigerians have
the choice to vote a man who has demonstrated in no small measure his resolve
to liberate the suffering masses. University students who are languishing at
home on account of unending ASUU strike should vote for Peter Obi for a new
lease of life in the universities. Millions of unemployed graduates who are
roaming about should vote Peter Obi for a productive economy that would create
employment.
Retired workers in their thousands who are suffering untold hardship due to non-payment of their pension and gratuity now have the opportunity to vote for a virile corruption-free Nigeria, where their pensions would not be stolen. Parents, mommies and daddies who are going through untold hardship to train their children have opportunity to change the tide by supporting the Labour Party led by Peter Obi.
Every single Nigerian has one burden or another foisted on
him/her by a mismanaged economy, which can now be changed by electing Peter
Obi. This is the first time since 1999 when Nigerians have a genuine individual
who sincerely wants to rescue Nigeria for Nigerians.
*Dr. Onyekakeyah is a commentator on public issues
No comments:
Post a Comment