OBI’s TRACK RECORD
By Pieray Awele Odor
Mr. Perter Obi has been described earlier by the author of this piece and many other authors as a phenomenon in Nigerian politics. This description is rooted in rational examination or critical analysis of his track record and the very audacious and unique choice of words that he employs for challenging his co-contestants for the presidency and for inviting people to vote for him. The words are “No shishi”, “Character”, “Track record”, “Trust”, “Compassion”, “competence”, and “commitment”. These unique campaign words establish Mr. Peter Obi as a nationalist and put him on the acme of political morality in Nigeria. I shall explain how by presenting his track record.
In my previous contributions to public assessment of the three acknowledged real or most significant contenders for the position of president in the election that will be conducted on 25 February 2023 throughout the country, I discussed moral character, what basis should found your voting for one of them, “No Shishi” as a political contractual offer to Nigerians, and character; in this order. In this fourth and final contribution, I have discussed Mr. Obi’s track record. This covers SOME of his actions as the governor of Anambra State for eight years and just three testimonies. I believe the information will be sufficient for you to convince yourself to trust that when you vote for him he will be the best president Nigeria has ever had, by his deeds, not words.
The office of President is the most
powerful, most dignified, most noble, most privileged, most revered, most
desired, and most fought for position in the structure of governance in
Nigeria. This is true all over the world. Based on this fact, I will show that
the two categorical assertions that I have made about Mr. Peter Obi — as a
phenomenon and a politician who has attained the acme of morality in politics —
are not based on nonsensical sentiment or any other nonsensical consideration.
Rather, they are based on the essence, nature and value of his track record and
his five unique campaign words with which he challenged his co-contenders and asks
Nigerians to assess his qualification to be the next president of Nigeria
I wrote in support of President Buhari
and against former President, Dr. Goodluck Jonathan, in 2015 as a participant in
internet discuss during the presidential campaign of 2015. You may refer to
Tell magazine, 23 March 2015, p. 75, hard copy or online. Its title is My Case Against PDP, Jonathan. Unfortunately,
Buhari became the worst president of Nigeria that I know having scored a
categorical and compounded failure, by my analyses. These are based on
corruption rate during his presidency while in his campaign he emphasised
fighting and winning corruption, which persuaded me to campaign and vote for
him, his pardon of two governors imprisoned for corruption, increase of
deprivations and hardship, and his refusal to get Leah Sheribu released by Boko
Haram. Would he not have released her daughter in a matter of minutes if she
were kidnapped by the terrorists?
I will not accept one million British
pounds a second to be the president of Nigeria or of any other country. But
nothing in recent time has provided me the value which politicians put on being
president more elaborately and clearly than what Donald Trump did and caused to
be done on 6 January 2021 at the US Capitol and the very emotional and regretful
words of Mr Boris Johnson for losing the position of the Prime Minister
Britain. He said; “I am sad to lose the most important job in the land”. Seating
tight by presidents and prime ministers corroborate the value of being a
president to politicians.
Now to Mr. Peter Obi. The former
President of the USA, Barak Obama, wrote a book which he titled The Audacity of Hope. I have not read
that book yet. However because its title has a bearing with the phenomenon that
this piece is about, I shall adapt it as the audacity of the track record of
Mr. Peter Obi. In order to establish the essence of the audacity, it is noted
that Mr. Obi relied on his track record to have the audacity to tell Nigerians
that he will not give anyone shishi, six
pence, contextually, one naira as bribe in order to vote for him. Take note
that the other two contenders are not audacious because they bribe with
bullions van loaded with money of different currencies and very large Ghana
must go bags each of which is carried by two people.
The essence — immutable and
indestructible — source of this audacity is Mr. Obi’s moral character. In this
regards, I wrote an article which the ThisDay newspaper published on Friday, 15
July, 2022, p. 18. I must note, disappointedly, that the superlative and
unreasonable title used by the newspaper was not my title. My title was Election 2023: Moral Character is Everything!
The change was embarrassing. I shall provide evidence of Mr. Obi’s track
record, hence, his moral character, as the close of this piece.
Not even in the politics of the USA or
any other developed country have I heard a person speak with so very infectious
audacity because politics is not about morality and character is about
morality. It may include spirituality. How do I situate Mr. Obi’s morality in
the context of his track record? In order to do this, I define morality as
dedication and commitment to the good of other people in the same community
with you, the people of your state, your fellow citizens, and any group of
people anywhere in the world who seek, desire, beg for or cry for any form of
help whether to redress hardship, suffering or agony, or to ameliorate whichever
applies to them.
I
will not be able to provide all the evidence that I have been able to gather
from different sources about the man who is emerging as the David coming to war
against the Goliath of our
political history with only one weapon: moral character. Take note that my
definition of “moral character” is inclusive and not exclusive; it is global
and not limited to Nigeria, Igbo people or Christians; and it demonstrates
utter altruism and not the characteristic utter selfishness of Nigerian
politicians which his two closest co-contestants are unfortunately guilty of.
Take note that the meaning of
“altruism” is inclusive or without boundary or limitation. It is applied to
every tribe or ethnic group, religion, language and geography. Take note also
that the two closest contenders with Mr. Obi have violated both moral character
and altruism: the one by insisting on a man who is of the same religious
conviction, and practice and morals or values as him, and financial corruption,
and the other by insisting on his wish and not the wish of other key members of
his party on the provision of the constitution concerning the chairmanship of
the party and also financial corruption.
These very sharp and clear differences certainly,
categorically, clearly and convincingly — beyond reasonable or malicious doubt —
show that Mr. Peter Obi has achieved the acme of political morality and is,
therefore, most qualified to be the next president of Nigeria. I do not see how
we can avoid autocracy if any of the two men becomes the president, or avoid
the incessant killings in the hundreds that is perpetrated by two people of the
same religion in Kaduna state leissez faire, or avoid more criminal
privatisation of our common economic infrastructure, or looting and embezzling
of public funds.
Finally on the track record of Mr.
Peter Obi. Nothing testifies more convincingly than action and the testimony of
a third party. Therefore, to defend the moral character of Mr. Obi I present few
of his actions and the testimonies of three people.
One of the significant co-contenders
with Mr. Obi imposed through the fiat, the characteristic conduct of all
autocrats, the payment of not less than nine billion naira to him monthly by the
state that he governed, a revelation made by Mr. Bode George, and tied to justified
the crime by asserting that he earned very much more for the state as
internally generated revenue. Another stole incredibly much and privatising to
himself what were intended for all Nigerians. Both men have financial
corruption as the only constant in their conducts. There is nowhere in Nigeria’s
constitution that governors are asked, encouraged, or required to save some of
the billions of dollar that they receive for different reasons, some very
spurious reasons. In contradistinction, Mr. Obi left behind for his successor
as governor of Anambra State as saving N75 billion and investment that was
worth not less than $12.24 billion
While governors went to Dubai to
celebrate their birthdays and the birthdays of their girlfriends Mr. Obi went
to Haiti to help rebuild schools and residence after an earthquake there with
the approval of then President Obasanjo. He visited Nigerian Internally
Displaced People (IDP) in Abegena, Benue State camp and gave them N 3 million.
He spent his Christmas and New Year with them. He also visited the IDP camp in
Wassa, Abuja and gave them foods items worth several millions in naira and N1.5
million cash. Alhaji Atiku chose Mr, Obi
as his moral booster during 2019 presidential campaign because he did not have,
and does not have, any records of corruption with the EFCC. Mr. Obi was accused
of being “stingy” even by a Catholic priest because he is insatiable and an
ingrate. Take note that prudence is NOT stinginess. As Mr. Obi said during an
interview, “Public money MUST be managed for public good”; NOT given to Fr.
Mbaka in order to be called a generous man!
Testimonies
A spontaneous testimony concerning the security of Anambra state by Maj. Gen. John
Enenche (Rtd) who was the commanding office of the Nigerian Army in Onicha
while Mr. Obi was the governor of the state was: “Before he came to Onicha take
over from Dr. Chris Ngige, during the time of Chris Ngige there was no
operation MESSA in the whole of Anambra State for reasons best known to them
then. But when he came he took over, he drove straight into the barrack and
asked, and when we briefed him he now went back and operation MESSA was
restored a week later or thereabout. As at that time it was like no man’s land
in Onicha. Three, three you cannot go. Ogbaru you cannot go. Then talk les of
the other areas.
When it was restored, I was the officer
in charge of the internal security operations. I was located in artillery
regiment but as a commanding officer, a Lieutenant Connell, I was in charge or
operations. Believe me, within two weeks or thereabout everything was tackled,
Onicha became free. (Prior to this time) you couldn’t go out, the police was
sacked. And that was why I believed that after about six months to one year,
the police actually acknowledged that Anambra was the most peaceful state in
the country, as at that time. So that was where I knew him and I saw the
character of integrity; in short for me, I was calling him Commissioner of
Defence. Because he was in command and in control. He had the interest and I
said this man.
He does not allow the resources that
comes to the military or whatever to Ezu to pass through anybody. Straight! Our
challenge was patrol vehicles, no mobility. In a sweep, when he said “What is
the problem”, he provided it immediately, Following his record from research:
never convicted of corruption, of stealing. Integrity; is it reaching to
people. Is it international relations and all whatever, economic knowledge and
all that; competence, capability; and before long I saw him trotting almost all
over the whole, in short you will see him. At a point I asked somebody is this
man a spirit? ,
Recently the governor of Benue State,
Mr. Samuel Ortom, was quoted to have said to Mr. Obi when he was in his state
and visited the two monarchs of the state: “If Nigerians are given the chance
to make a choice, you are one of the finest candidates that we have in this
country”. This evaluation is very significant. It is very significant because
other members of the party to which he belongs taunt the Labour Party as “A
party without structures”. Governor Ortom also made reference to John 3: 23.
The verses of this chapter is considered.
Verse 23 of the chapter is about John
baptising at Aeron, near Salim. This has relation to Nigeria and Nigerians
because it expresses the need for the baptism of Nigeria. Because baptism gives
the person that is baptised a new life (in Christ), it means that Nigeria and
Nigerians will experience a new life, reformation, transformation and
rededication. This baptism is absolutely necessary for Nigerians in order that
our economy, finance and currency value will improve very much during the
presidency of Mr. Obi. Nigerians will experience economic growth, our trade
with western, eastern and Asian countries and our development will be
significant and have visible benefits to Nigerians.
The baptism for renewal,
transformation, reformation and rededication is necessary in order to unite
Nigerians as one people and terminate ethnicity, nepotism, tribalism, and
interpersonal hatred or animosity; all of which have been centrifugal forces
and militating against the expression of the best of each of us for the good of
all of all of us as a nation. Vote for Mr. Peter Obi.
May God bless Nigeria, May God bless
you.
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