By Valentine Obienyem
It is no longer news that Mr. Peter Obi is the number one news in Nigeria. His popularity is indeed beyond compare. It is evident everywhere, especially when he travelled to the states of America such that any person who seeks to deny that fact is being untruthful to himself. I was with him in his last trip to the USA and observed his phenomenon at close range. He is the only candidate that enjoys spontaneous support from Nigerians, both old and young, men and women, across the known world.
By what concourse of factors did he achieve such follower-ship that no other person in recent Nigerian history could possible boast of? Is it through his inclination to political sanctity? Is it because of his manifest vast knowledge of the economy? Is it because of his comparative knowledge of the countries of the world? Is he imbued with political magnetism? Why?
The Obi phenomenon is the creation of Nigeria’s history of consistent pursuit of bad governance. Bad governance flourished because the citizens of the country were complacent and supported it. It is only in Nigeria that public servants are expected to get everything possible from the state they are expected to serve. The few that come back empty-handed are regarded as stupid for trying to behave like citizens in Plato’s Republic rather than those in this real world where corruption and other vices rule like an unchecked despot. Nigeria is largely seen as an object that could be exploited at will.
Until the
contrary is proven in 2023, it is indeed those that work in INEC, security
forces and other citizens employed as ad-hoc staff that politicians readily
suborn to rig elections. It is suffering Nigerians that are given millions to
share during elections to subjugate the will of the people. The unfortunate
consequence is that while countries that want genuine progress for themselves
were busy reforming their leadership, Nigerians felt it did not matter and
things steadily went out of hand until it reached the boiling point, where it
presently simmers to the discomfort of everybody.
Today, when one talks of
degeneracy, Nigeria is at the forefront. In the
early eighties, we witnessed austerity and other measures and cried Today when
we look back, those time seemed like heaven on earth when we compare what is
happening now. Things
have got so bad that most Nigerians are now compelled to think inwards about
the trajectory of their country.
Today, the hard times in the
country have even affected those that were immune to it in the past. How many
wealthy Nigerians travel to the countryside? Who enjoys peace of mind in the
Nigeria of today? How many farmers still confidently go to their farms?
Examining the roll of victims of kidnappings, are Generals and other elite not
amply represented? These are
necessary questions that should agitate us today. We have
suddenly realized that if we continue the way it used to be, Nigeria would
become another Somalia. We are already on the road to that but urgently need a
leader to stop that deadly slide.
Now, having involuntarily
agreed among ourselves that the old order needs to be brought down for Nigeria
to start anew, the next task is whose shoulders are sturdy enough to carry the
stress and storms of the needed peaceful revolution. It pays to look at the
people’s antecedents. Who among the candidates has remained married to virtues
with adamantine consistency? Who among
the contestants can be trusted to deliver the goods for the country?
Who among them enjoys the
health of body and spirit to lead this journey? It is being untruthful to
ourselves to deny, as some people do, that physical health matters only but a little
as the task of governance is not a wrestling bout. Who told them? Governing the Nigeria of today can be compared to the “pankration“
games, because the leader we need now should be able to wrestle with ideas,
principalities, known and unknown forces, in order to set Nigeria back on her
feet.
After thorough and painstaking
comparison, it is obvious no other contestant comes near Obi in terms of
integrity, hard-work, commitment and detection of the fire of reforms burning
glowingly in him. He is a solid family man, untouched with any scandal of
gallantry or intrigue or liaison Like many
Nigerians determined it was about time they took back their country, Obi is
exasperated about the condition of Nigeria and he voices it out at every
opportunity.
You measure a man’s interest in
the affairs of his country by how he consistently, in season and out of season,
shows interest by proffering solutions, condemning bad policies, analyzing the
economy and offering advice.
Patriotism cannot be defined in
terms of seasonal noise as we witness from some quarters. Obi today is the only
candidate that genuinely
describes subsidies as an
“organized crime”, because
he does not benefit from it. Today, Obi shouts the fact of stealing
of oil from the roof-tops because he is not part of the syndicate.
Today, Obi is the only
candidate talking about corruption because he is the only one that is
manifestly not corrupt. Obi is the only candidate that talks about how to
create wealth, improve the economy because he is the only one that has created
wealth from the strength and astuteness of his intellect-driven private
businesses. Obi does not speak through spokespersons because he always has
something to say which mirrors his intellectual and experiential pedigree.
Beyond
all the fore-going, Obi also represents the new face of purposeful leadership
that has taken flight from our dear country and many other African countries.
We easily know this from the leadership revolution he unleashed in Anambra
State. Today, the skyline of the State is dotted with his trade-marks. After the showmanship of his successor, every
reference to good leadership is circumscribed to what he did. Shall we sample
some? Perhaps let us do so by way of summary.
After being acknowledged as the
best Governor in all developmental indices of the Millennium Development Goals
(MDGs), having improved the schools, the health system, ease of doing business
beyond compare, the environment, pulling people out of poverty, he also left
over 75 billion Naira in the coffers of the State. He left surplus when others
were leaving debts. If one thinks it is an ordinary achievement, one should
juxtapose it with what his successor left.
Nigerians know Obi through his
deeds much as they know his opponents through their corrupt deeds. They know Obi as a man inflamed with a patriotic resolve to
rebuild the country. No wonder Nigerians are united in seeking his
intervention. He is indeed a revolutionary force that has changed the nation’s
political landscape. He exemplifies belief in the capacity of Nigeria to become
a better governed country.
Lest we circumscribe him to
Nigeria, his fame has extended across the world. While right-thinking Nigerians
are eulogizing him, some corrupt ones, feeling threatened at what becomes of
them if he ascends to power, present him as a purveyor of hopelessness. Every
day, you hear people asking to see those he mentored. But what is more to
mentoring than teaching the people positive values? Rev. Fr.
Cosmas Ebebe wrote a book on him entitled: Obi, The Teacher of Values. What
else do we gain more than a man who ennobles the society?
Other contestants mistake
mentoring as improving the fortunes of a gang of thieves, which is through
entrenchment of corruption. This is the only reason some mindless and wicked
fellows are striving so hard to impose on us a man who is evidently both
physically and mentally exhausted. They know it would only feather their nests
even when the country dies. Lest you
think of Obi as just a
fleeting Nigerian phenomenon, the observation of this writer who just returned
from the USA with Mr. Peter Obi is instructive.
Everywhere we went, he was the
cynosure of all eyes as the new face of the continental Africa. He is no more a
free man, because he is “suffering” the merit of his character. He can no
longer move freely as you and I do. I
personally witnessed over 10 blacks that came to great him, took pictures with
him and assured him that he has inspired a quiet revolution on the Continent.
Shall we name their countries? One introduced himself as a Sierra Leonean; the
other came from Mail; one was from Uganda; another from Togo, among others.
They were all happy that Africa is today agitated by his actions.
While in the USA, he met with over eight groups in two days. Surprisingly, all the groups are conversant with “Obidients” and analyse it so perfectly as the prospect of good governance threatening entrenched old order of corruption and bad leadership. This is why the attraction is continental. In the 1960s, we talked about African nationalists that snatched freedom from the jaws of colonialism. African countries thought that with freedom, Africa would develop in sync with the rest of the world.
Alas, corruption and bad leadership became our woes.
Today, African is witnessing another renaissance of leadership led by one man. That which most Nigerians describe as a movement is already self-propelling. As we prepare to go to the polls, let us remind ourselves that the hope of Nigerians now lie on Obi’s presidency. Evidently, there is nothing in Nigeria today more startling in the history of governance in Nigeria than the sustained rise of Obi, or more comforting than the thought of his becoming the next President.
As for the reckless fringe striving to take us
back to Babylon, may I remind them as I have often done that Obi is an eagle
whose wings are grown; we cannot keep him in the nest or hinder his flight that
will assuredly unite a nation mercilessly weakened by division.
*Obienyem is a commentator on public issues
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