By Joshua Ocheja I salute the emotional brilliance of Peter Obi. It is unprecedented that he could play a fast one on the psyche of...

I salute the emotional brilliance of Peter Obi. It is unprecedented that he could play a fast one on the psyche of Nigerians within such a short period. He presented an elusive hope. He laced it with emotions. He targeted the language of the audience. Peppered it with a populist drivel. He sustained it. And he won it. But unfortunately, he won the wrong race.

The Obidient Movement is an ideology built on a fallacy. It is unclear, but his followers, Obidients, and a few undiscerning Nigerians believe it due to the inability to see that Peter Obi is a capitalist who intends to redirect the nation’s wealth to another bloc, and, the last I checked, the members of the anonymous masses are not in the fray.

Peter Obi is a smart guy and a businessman. His new love for the masses is suspect. The dramatic departure from the People’s Democratic Party (PDP) to the Labour Party did the magic. Whoever advised him to choose the Labour Party deserves a prize in the Hall of Fame. It was well-calculated and meant to spark emotions rather than reasoning.

The overarching strategy was to paint a picture of sainthood. Of course, he left money in the bank for the people of Anambra state, and he bequeathed a regime that spirited the funds that were saved instead of being utilized for the people. Was he as guilty? Has Anambra fared better after him? I will leave these for Anambarians to answer.

Peter Obi projected his ambition as being about the country’s future, and he wants to transform Nigeria from a consumption country to a producing country. How? Pledges and oratorical speeches? I believe Julius Malema more because he has a history of commitment and passion for the cause of South Africans, and his passion built a party from scratch.

I won’t believe a businessman who joined politics because it was convenient and left the party that brought him to power, the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), for the Peoples Democratic Party as its vice presidential candidate in the 2019 presidential elections. He dined and wined with them then, which was convenient. So what changed?

There was nothing wrong with the PDP and its long history in the development and underdevelopment of Nigeria. I agree because, for Peter Obi, any medium is a medium, including the Labour Party, whose membership, globally, is expected to be driven by a socialist or Welfarist ideology. So was Peter Obi able to switch ideology within a short period? What sort of ideology is that?

The ideology of convenience or conviction? This is what the Obidients didn’t understand. And they became averse to contrary opinions. They can only be right from their own opinion because Peter Obi became that messiah who dropped from the skies to give hope to the masses, and he presented an elusive one laced with emotions. “I will move the country from consumption to production. I will dismantle the structure. I will set Nigeria on the right path. I saved money in Anambra state. I have only one house. I have only one wristwatch. Please don’t vote for me because I am a Christian. It is for the future of the country.”

These were his hallmarks before, during, and after the elections. And the big one was captured in his policy document, which is more of a prose with good interplay of colors and design.

“We want to heal Nigeria. But to solve a problem, you must understand its pathology. To heal Nigeria, we need a good diagnosis of its problems. The problem with Nigeria is elite capture. Nigeria has been captured by an elite that has shown no commitment to development,” page 9, paragraph 2 of the referenced policy document.

Those who live in glass houses should not throw stones. In 2014, Peter Obi dumped APGA for the PDP because he wanted to be a “competitor” and not a “spectator.” “Joining a national party was not about happenings in APGA, but because of “the need to be a competitor and not a spectator” in national affairs” Peter Obi, 2014.


In 2015, Peter Obi was appointed the chairman of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in line with his vision to be a competitor, not a spectator. It didn’t matter if the PDP was good or bad at the time. All that mattered was seeking an avenue to compete and unfortunately, APGA could not provide what he wanted. And there were no issues.

This romance continued till 2019 when he was the vice presidential candidate of the PDP. In 2022, he left for the Labour Party because being a competitor was no longer possible in the PDP. This is typical of Nigeria’s political elites and businessmen. Someone asked why he didn’t return to APGA. And why the Labour Party? What is the ideology behind such a move? To advance his interest or that of the masses?

He won the race, but unfortunately, he won the wrong race, that of the President of the disgruntled on social media, who should know by now that “despair is not an option.” But commonsense should be the option.

With the Presidential Election Petition Tribunal having conclusively shredded the pipedream on which the Obidients got high to the point of hallucinating, it is now time to put their messiah, Peter Obi, to the test by asking him to render an account of his election finances, which will shed light on how much fund he raised, how much he spent and what he has done with the balance. This exercise would be a once-in-a-lifetime chance for Peter Obi and his Obidient followers to match rhetoric with action and perhaps convince some of us that he would have acted differently had his pipe-dream materialized.

Obidients are allowed to labour in vain

Hehehe

Whether Obidients or not, no Igbo man will ever rule Nigeria

A criminal call Pandora can never rule Nigeria

How many business he build in Anambra..
The funny part is him fighting for the future of Nigeria children, just as he fight for the future of Anambra children, while all of them are running to Lagos...

They are still at loss, as to how this relatively unknown man was able to defeat their god in lagos,..this will soon be studied by political scientists in universities.

accordadoga29:
Hehehe

Whether Obidients or not, no Igbo man will ever rule Nigeria

No wahala,...so long as they are free to buy the entire SW region.

helinues:
Obidients are allowed to labour in vain

I knew you'd be here.

You relish every opportunity to put your tribal shenanigans on display. Do you never get tired? How do you even feel not being known for any other thing apart from your ethnic extremism and intolerance on nairaland? You can't go an entire day without hauling slurs at Igbos or obidients or anyone else with a contrary opinion to yours.

O wrong nau!

He built his the party on the foundation of lie, falsehood, blackmail, intimidation and all sorts of evil.