NLC And The Big ‘War’ Ahead

 By Ochereome Nnanna

The Nigeria Labour Congress, NLC, is saddled with three mandates. The first is the classical or labour mandate – fighting for the interests of the working class. The second is the social mandate – protecting the interests of the masses in an environment where the ruling elite have increasingly become more selfish, corrupt and incompetent than ever.

It was under the presidency of Comrade Adams Oshiomhole that NLC assumed the social mandate on behalf of Nigerians who were subjected to series of fuel price hikes by the Olusegun Obasanjo government. These measures affected the workers and the general public equally, so Oshiomhole led Labour to bravely tackle the Obasanjo government. From that moment on, the people started looking up to Labour to deploy for them whenever government introduced policies that stoked hardship.

The Hullabaloo Of ‘All Eyes On The Judiciary’

 By Sola Ebiseni

The powers that be in the country seem enamoured of an unimaginable propensity to create problems where none ought to exist or act on impulse to unwittingly add to and magnify a problem in finding solutions thereto. It all has to do with the paternalistic psychology of l’etait cest moi (I am the state) attributed to Louis XIV of France on April 13, 1665, before the Parliament of Paris in his perception and exercise of absolute state powers.

It is such idols that propelled such an off-the-cuff monumental declaration of the removal of fuel subsidy, obviously without rumination or genuine consultations resulting in debilitating socioeconomic problems the nation is not likely to be relieved of soon. It was with the same disdain for the citizens and their representatives that an unprovoked war was declared virtually on our soil before seeking the concurrence of parliament.

Nigeria: What Is The Future Of Our Democracy?

 By Dan Onwukwe

This is where our leaders miss it all: A President does not shape a new and personal vision of his country. He collects it from the scattered hopes of the citizens, past and present. This has guided nations that practice democracy every step of the way. It sustains every elected President. However, the question is: why is it that what has guided other democratic nations, and has sustained their democracies failed in Nigeria, and instead, has produced politics of hate and personal interest? 

The answer partly can be found in the fact that every nation is its own laboratory of democracy. As French political philosopher , Tocqueville said, “democratic men are more apt to complete a number of undertakings in rapidity than to raise lasting monuments of their achievements…; they go after success rather fame”. 

Peter Obi @ 62: A Consistency In Charity

 By Ike Abonyi 

Yesterday, Wednesday, July 19, 2023, the former Governor of Anambra state and the Presidential Candidate of the Labour Party in the February 25, 2023 election, Peter Obi was 62 years old. On Monday he alerted his friends and well-wishers of the date and reminded them how his birthday is usually celebrated, devoid of owambe, but a time to think about the poor, the less, and the underprivileged in our society. 

*Peter Obi 

According to him in his reminder message “Wednesday 19th July 2023, marks my 62nd Birthday. While I remain immensely grateful to God for His infinite mercies, I still maintain my decision of over 20 years, that I will not celebrate my birthdays in today’s Nigeria, with the current deplorable state of the nation. 

Odds Against N500bn Palliatives By Government

 By Onyemaechi Eze

The removal of fuel subsidy by President Bola Ahmed Tinubu on the first day of assumption of office was ill-timed, out-rightly ill-advised and uncalled for. The president with his team was in a better position to understand that without an enabling environment, a team on ground to drive policies, decisions made without right thoughts are always counter-productive. Nigeria is unfortunately a nation where government does not function as expected even when a team is in place, let alone when there is none.

The decision had upon announcement immediately jolted the foundation of market forces and sent shock waves through the fabrics of the general economy. Consequently, the people were exposed to unimaginable hardships. Everyone is sad, pained and disenchanted as cost of goods and services increased exponentially and still increasing. The exchange rate along with inflationary trend leaves everyone dazed. Even the rich and politicians are crying!

Peter Obi Is Not A god

 By Chuks Iloegbunam 

(Chuks Iloegbunam uses the birthday of the Labour Party’s presidential candidate to celebrate him and the Obidient Movement) 

*Peter Obi

Yes! There’s nothing they haven’t said of Peter Obi. They have charged that he is not a god. They have said he is no more than a political opportunist. They have ridiculed his promise to change Nigeria from consumer to producer. They pooh-poohed as unfounded the statistics the man churned out on successes abroad that could be replicated back home. But the traducers wouldn’t reckon with reality. The subject of their insistent lambasting never ascribed divinity to himself. He did not circle his head with sanctity’s hallo. In the league of politicians, he didn’t claim to be more human. He only asked for the chance to lift a comatose country. 

PETER OBI: P. O. Box 2023, Freetown

 By Emeka Obasi

There must be something about Labour Party anchorman, Peter Obi, that continues to confound those who stand in his way. What they pretend not see is just what makes him a celebrity within and without. Sierra Leone is trending.

*Peter Obi

While Obi was busy at the Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal in Abuja, his name was all Sierra Leoneans heard as they prepared for their own elections. Chairman of that country’s Political Parties Regulation Committee (PPRC) Abdulahi Bangura implored presidential candidates to adopt the Obi Formula.

Urban Legend And Durable Insecurity In South-East Nigeria

 By Chidi Anselm Odinkalu

On July 17, 2012, Peter Obi, then Governor of Anambra State, swore in five new commissioners. One of them was Chike Okoli, whom he assigned to the Ministry of Science and Technology where he would serve as commissioner until the expiration of Mr. Obi’s governorship tenure in March 2014. Two months later, around May 21, 2014, Chike set out from the state capital in Awka to Nanka, his village in Orumba South Local Government Area (LGA) of the state. He never got there.

Somewhere in Agulu, not far from Nanka, Chike’s car was reportedly intercepted by men in a Sports Utility Vehicle (SUV), who abducted him. Despite having much of their ransom demand of N16 million met, Chike has not been seen or heard from since then. It was widely reported at the time that Chike was “abducted by unknown gunmen.”

Beware: My Impersonators On Rampage! – Peter Obi

 By Peter Obi

My duplicates are still on the rampage, they now mimic my voice and call people. There is no limit that people cannot go to cause mischief on their target. I have been a target both locally and internationally.  

*Obi and his wife 

The latest incident happened in Abuja yesterday, 17th May at the Court of Appeal premises of the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal venue, where my attention was drawn to what was going on outside the courtroom. 

A report came to me while I was seated in court that one Prince Mustapha Audu, son of the late Governor of Kogi state, held the OBIdient's Chief Spokesman, Dr Yunusa Tanko and some others spellbound – castigating and talking down on me, describing me as an ethnic and religious bigot.  

G-5: The Fallacy Of Wike’s ‘Contribution’ To Tinubu’s ‘Victory’

 By Olu Fasan

Last week, Nyesom Wike, the outgoing governor of Rivers State, gave Bola Tinubu, Nigeria’s putative next president, extravagant welcome to Port Harcourt, the state capital. Tinubu was in Port Harcourt to open a Magistrate’s Court complex that Wike named after his wife. Wike declared a public holiday and closed down shops so that Rivers people could turn out to welcome Tinubu. He later hosted Tinubu to a grand reception, a lavish banquet! Surely, those acts were an extraordinary abuse of power.

*Wike welcomes Tinubu to Port Harcourt

How would you explain a sitting governor naming a monument, built with state resources, after his wife? How would you explain a state governor declaring a public holiday, closing businesses, thereby crippling commercial activities, so that someone could “open” the monument? And would any responsible would-be president be part of such abuse of office and waste of state resources?

Inaugurating A New President On May 29 Is Not Absolute

By Aloy Ejimakor

Yesterday (May 4, 2023), I tweeted on my Twitter handle that “Given that the FINALITY of election result is decided by the Court, except where the INEC-declared result is uncontested, it’s unconstitutional to swear-in a winner whose victory has not been affirmed by the Court. Where’s the law that says such a winner must be sworn-in? None!”

Nigeria: From ‘Go To Court’ To ‘Withdraw From Court’

 By Promise Adiele

A new strand of neurosis seems to pervade Nigeria’s political sphere compelling victims to embrace bipolar conditions with relish. Indeed, political exchanges before and after the recently concluded general elections convey a degree of rational deficiency among some observers, especially those sympathetic to power desperado’s inclination to State Capture. 

*Peter Obi 

These developments force one to ask the all-important question reminiscent of Sunny Okosun’s timeless song - Which Way Nigeria? The current election season has exposed many people, hitherto perceived as sensible, in their stark, irreconcilable idiocy which calls to question public perception of individuals. For some Nigerians, the meaning of politics is distilled in shamelessness, dishonour, debauchery, and the subtle inauguration of treacherous culture across the country. 

You Cannot Swear-In A President Twice

 By Obi Nwakanma

“If you do not know where to put your hand, rest it on the knee” – Igbo proverb.

The inauguration of the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria into office is a pretty serious constitutional event. It transfers power definitively to an individual who is then expected to embody the moral, philosophical, visionary, and constitutional ideals of the nation, and direct the executive function of state. The Constitution establishes the power of Nigeria in three institutions of state: the National Assembly, the Supreme Court, and the President. The National Assembly makes the laws.

The Supreme Court interprets those laws, including the permanent laws established by the Constitution. The President, as the Head of the executive branch of the three arms, executes the laws. These three powers together make up the Federal Government. They operate separately, and each is granted the power to oversee the other in order to create a balance of power, and prevent the misuse of authority. For instance, the National Assembly, which is actually the most powerful institution of state in a democratic republic, controls the Treasury of Nigeria, by law. Not the President.

Afenifere: Truth Is Constant

 By Sola Ebiseni

From the wisdom-pool of ancient Yoruba philosophy is the eternal word of admonition that “a ò rí irú eléyi ri, a fi nderu ba olórò ni”, which may simply translate that no occurrence no matter how bizarre it may seem or exaggerated to frighten a victim can be deemed as never seen or happened before. In the similar words of the Teacher, son of David, king in Jerusalem: “What has been will be again, what has been done will be done again; there is nothing new under the sun”.

*Adebanjo 

In all occurrences in our land, after a deep introspection rooted in humanity in general and more particularly delineated by the history of our country and its unforgettable heroes, I have, like Balam, chosen to live by and for the truth that I may die the death of the righteous and my end might like his be.

Obidient Movement As A Fascist Group

 By Promise Adiele

For the sake of peace in Nigeria, let us unanimously agree that the Obidient Movement is a fascist group. (Make peace for reign, abi?) But if we must subscribe to that spiteful narrative, let us innovatively, redefine and explicate fascism. Although generally understood as an authoritarian rule that abhors opposition, fascism must acquire a new identity for a better understanding in Nigeria since it is associated with the famous, radical Obidient Movement. 

*Peter Obi mobbed by a crowd of admirers...

In Nigeria, the brand of fascism associated with the Obidient Movement means rejecting all forms of official criminality and conspiracy in governance. It means the revolutionary denunciation of all manipulative tendencies which invidiously compromise the architecture of equitable, democratic representation. It means all efforts to uproot the edifice of deception, outrageous villainy, and the entrenchment of illegitimate power outposts in Nigeria. It means the attack against all forms of venal forces that have kept the country in the doldrums. 

Why Obi Should Stay The Course

 By Chiedu Uche Okoye

Mr. Peter Obi’s quest to become the president of Nigeria is the emblematization of the dreams and yearnings of young Nigerians, who want a better and new Nigeria. It cannot be disputed that millions of young Nigerians have lost hope in the Nigerian project.

*Peter Obi and his wife, Margaret, after casting their votes during the February presidential election 

Decades of oppressive military regimes and years of decadent political administrations have eroded their hope and trust in the Nigerian political leaders. The End SARS protest, which turned violent, offered them the rare opportunity to express their disgust, frustration, and dissatisfaction with Nigeria’s bad economic and political situation.  

Soyinka, Chimamanda And Other Burning Issues

 By Valentine Obienyem

The last election in Nigeria was the worst in its electoral history. Have you asked yourself why it was only APC and Sen. Ahmed Bola Tinubu that failed to condemn non-transmission of results from the polling booths to the central server even before the results were announced? The election has created  deep divisions among Nigerians, who belong to diverse ethnic and religious groups because Tinubu charged his supporters to secure victory for him by any means possible. Alas, we have seen how his followers used the ethnic and religious card, Ayo masquerade festival, guns, cudgels, threats, and psychological warfare to secure unmerited victory for him.

*Soyinka and Chimamanda 

 

The unconscionable  action of Tinubu was a clear example of his readiness to bring Nigeria down owing to his vaulting  political ambition. The practical disfranchisement of Nigerians had removed the mental stimulus that comes from free political activity and a widespread sense of liberty and power.

Soyinka, Chimamanda And Obi-Dients: When Does Opinion Cross The Line?

 By Jideofor Adibe

In recent weeks Nobel laureate Wole Soyinka, multiple award winning writer, Chimamanda Adichie, and supporters of Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the February 25, 2023 presidential election  (otherwise known as Obidients), have been trending. The backgrounds were an interview granted by Datti Baba Ahmed in which he was quoted as saying that whoever “swears in Mr. Tinubu has ended democracy in Nigeria”. Elsewhere, Dr. Datti Baba- Ahmed was also quoted as saying that Nigeria does not have a President-elect.  

*Chimamanda and Soyinka 

The conversation took a different turn when Soyinka criticised the comments by Dr. Datti Baba-Ahmed, saying: “I have never heard anyone threaten the judiciary on television the way Datti did I heard the kind of menacing, blackmailing language that we were treated to by Datti. That kind of do-or-die attitude and provocation is not what I think we have all been struggling for.”

The Nigeria Train Did Not Take The Off-Ramp

 By Hamilton Odunze

Early in my career as a writer, I made it clear to my readers that I do not write sequels unless necessary. It has been more than a month since the presidential election. Events of the past few weeks have made it essential to write a follow-up on my publication in Vanguard. And I must do it before the dust settles. 

*Peter Obi 

If you did not read that article, let me briefly summarise it. I wrote on Vanguard that Peter Obi was an off-ramp for a Nigeria train headed to disaster. In my article, I argued that Peter Obi is nature’s providence for Nigeria to avoid a catastrophe. 

Between Fascism And Constitutionalism

 By Pieray Awele Odor

The 13 Colonies of present USA issued a Declaration of Independence to the British government on 4 July 1776. They presented why they wanted independence in accordance with “the laws of Nature and Nature’s God”.

*Peter Obi mobbed by excited OBIdients

OBIdients have presented to ALL Nigerians and to the federal and state governments why we want to dissolve the political and economic bond which we have had with corrupt, incorrigible and criminal politicians in accordance with our constitutional right, the right contained in the Universal Declarations on Human rights and freedom, the laws of God, morality and reason.