Peter Obi is a presidential candidate, one of the three leading men seeking to lead Nigeria in 2023. Obi touts himself, and is touted by his supporters, as a unique Nigerian politician who does not give money to voters to get voted into power. Bribing voters is a criminal offense, but as far as I can tell, neither givers nor takers of money-for-votes have ever been prosecuted. It is a practice that permeates every aspect of running for office in Nigeria. Every politician does it, except Peter Obi, of course.

Obi couches his refusal to give money to voters on two grounds. First, according to Obi, those who bribe voters do not bribe voters with their own personal fortunes. They use money stolen from the public treasury to do so. In other words, they steal our money, give us a pitiance from what they have stolen in order to get elected so they can steal even more money than what they had stolen earlier. Put prosaically this way, money-for-votes is even more sordid than it appears to be. As voters, we are given a little of what belongs to us so we can grant licenses to those who give us a pitiance of what belongs to us to steal all they can steal.

Obi’s second reason for refusing to give money to voters is that he is not desperate to become our president. Those who bribe voters do so because they are desperate to steal more from the voters. To be sure, Obi said that he was desperate to save Nigeria, but he is not desperate to want to savage the country by stealing its money. Obi is desperate, but he is not desperate to steal. He is merely desperate to save Nigeria from rapacious money-for-votes politicians. This is a principled stand that ought to be applauded by all patriotic Nigerians.

I think we should go beyond the principled stand of one man against bribing voters to get elected. We need to interrogate Obi for him to reveal the secrets of his successes. Obi was twice elected governor of Anambra State. If his principle held when he twice ran for the office, he did not give anyone a single Naira to win his party’s nominations and to go on to win the governorship. Twice. Voters presumably just looked at Obi, heard his high-pitched voice and concluded that this billionaire was different from other politicians. Obi would not give them money, but they trusted him enough to vote for him, anyway. His sincerity must have shown brighter than the sun. Are Anambra voters different from their other Nigerian counterparts? Are Anambra voters people who are willing to forgo a few thousand Naira in their pockets for the greater glory of more schools, prompt payment of salaries, jobs, roads and hospitals? Are the Anambra electorates more enlightened than other Nigerian voters?

In his condemnation of politicians who give money to voters to get elected, did Peter Obi exempt Atiku Abubakar from this seedy and slimy behavior? If he did, I must have missed that. Obi ran as Atiku’s vice-presidential candidate in 2019. Was Atiku privy to the Obi dictum of no money for votes? Did Atiku refused then to give anyone money because Obi would have frowned at it? If Atiku did his thing, did Obi go along with whatever Atiku was presumably doing because Atiku was the presidential candidate and Obi was merely Atiku’s running mate? Obi needs to educate us on how he ran his vice-presidential campaign without making party leaders happy and satiated with Naira.

The calculus of money-for-votes is a very simple one. Voters are convinced that despite whatever politicians may say, their sole intent in seeking public office is to use it as an instrument for the private capital accumulation. Voters therefore serve as tollbooth collection agents. They collect the tolls to allow the politician-motorists to get through the tollbooth. Voters recognize that they are not going to be carried along to the kleptocratic kingdom of the politicians. They are aware that after passing through the electoral gates, the politicians will become inaccessible and untouchable. Therefore, from the voters’ thinking, it is better to get some now than nothing later. The 1000 Naira bird at hand is worth hundreds of thousands of Naira birds in the bush.

Money-for-votes takes place within a context of uncertain futures for voters. If the future was certain, a voter would be patient to reap the dividends of democracy through good governance, but if the future looks dark, gloomy and foreboding, voters would calculate that a one thousand Naira note at hand today is worth more than pious hopes of a million Naira tomorrow. If tomorrow is uncertain, nothing about it can be certain.

Money-for-votes is equally prevalent in an environment of mutual distrust between candidates and the electorates. Neither trust the other. Added to this is political apathy. Ironically, money-for-votes accentuates the scope and the magnitude of political apathy.

How then has Peter Obi overcome all these obstacles to be trusted with votes without giving money to voters and to party officials? If Obi reveals to us the secret or secrets that allowed him to successfully run twice as a gubernatorial candidate and once unsuccessfully as a vice-presidential candidate without giving shishi to anyone, even if he does not win the presidency next year, he would have accomplished his primary objective of seeking to save Nigeria. I am not Obidiently waiting, but I am eager to hear of Obi’s secret charm that seals the mouths of Nigerian voters and compels them not to stretch out their arms to demand money in return for their votes whenever Peter Obi’s name is on the ballot.

Obi got to power through ikemba popularity and Obasanjo calculus.

Ask them what he achieved in anambra aside dividing Christians in the state

Used the Catholic Church against Anglican and Protestants

Obi first introduced religion in anmabra politcs. .. he only campaigned in Catholic Churches

Remember his vist o st Jude porthacout Road onitsha back in 2007 and the gibberish he vomited in the church

If not for roads .. and changing the face of upper iweka after 8 years

What’s OBi achievement in anambra state

Igbos won’t tell you anything because there’s nothing to say
Ask them a billion times

Obi secret is using the igbo Catholics Roman Catholics church to play politics

Frigga13:
Obi got to power through ikemba popularity and Obasanjo calculus.

Ask them what he achieved in anambra aside dividing Christians in the state

Used the Catholic Church against Anglican and Protestants

Obi first introduced religion in anmabra politcs. .. he only campaigned in Catholic Churches

Remember his vist o st Jude porthacout Road onitsha back in 2007 and the gibberish he vomited in the church

If not for roads .. and changing the face of upper iweka after 8 years

What’s OBi achievement in anambra state

Igbos won’t tell you anything because there’s nothing to say
Ask them a billion times

Obi secret is using the igbo Catholics Roman Catholics church to play politics

From a bittered urchin chased out of business

Naijanascam:





From a bittered urchin chased out of
business

What’s Obi secret.. not yapping from one side of reasoning

If Peter obi does not become president, you will not be able to afford data to write this long trash.

The country is borrowing to pay salary, 90% of income is used to service debt.

The country is crashing if you don't know.

Nigeria needs obi more than he needs Nigeria.

Frigga13:


What’s Obi secret.. not yapping from one side of reasoning

Is as the same as asking what's the secret of your iberiberism?

BMC 30k at work.

Frigga13:
Obi got to power through ikemba popularity and Obasanjo calculus.

Ask them what he achieved in anambra aside dividing Christians in the state

Used the Catholic Church against Anglican and Protestants

Obi first introduced religion in anmabra politcs. .. he only campaigned in Catholic Churches

Remember his vist o st Jude porthacout Road onitsha back in 2007 and the gibberish he vomited in the church

If not for roads .. and changing the face of upper iweka after 8 years

What’s OBi achievement in anambra state

Igbos won’t tell you anything because there’s nothing to say
Ask them a billion times

Obi secret is using the igbo Catholics Roman Catholics church to play politics

I know how painful you still feel.
But you forgot to add something at the end, please modify and do so, let me remind you �
Power to the people
North 2023

Obi is the 16th president of Nigeria. You can not dent him with corruption cos your baba Chicago and Oga Atiku are two of the most corrupt Africans alive.

You can’t dent him with age, your Ogas are as old as methuselah.

You can’t dent him with tribalism. You can’t dent him with nepotism, you can’t dent him with adultery, you can’t dent him with bullion van on election eve, you can’t dent him with desperation. Lol

Any youth who doesn’t vote obi is condemned already and cannot be helped ever!!