Obi and the 2023 Election  

Nigerians should vote right in 2023, urges Paul Obi  

“The collective power of the people to choose governments through the procedure of elections renders sufficient plausibility to the belief that the will of the people is the ultimate arbiter of rule“

Adam Przeworski 

OnSaturday, 29th May, 1999, Nigeria was ushered into civil rule, democratic governance and electoral democracy after years of excruciating military rule. The civilians who took over had a definite mandate: reset Nigeria, rebuild her economy and empower the people, and reposition Africa’s most populous nation to greatness. That mandate was torpedoed for the worst form of state capture and clientele politics any nation on earth has ever witnessed.

From 1999 to 2015, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) attempted resetting Nigeria during the then President Olusegun Obasanjo’s administration: the administration succeeded in bringing Nigeria back to the comity of nations, achieved debts cancellation, sustained economic growth and development and entrenched pan-Nigerian nation-state. Conversely, PDP failed woefully to tame corruption – distributive politics and naked sharing of the nation’s wealth among party cronies became the norm. During PDP era, graft was elevated to the podium of public policy. The party also postponed the restructuring of the country and promotion of democratic consolidation that would have repositioned Nigeria far better. 

After the exit of PDP from power in 2015, the All Progressives Congress (APC) that came was even worse. APC government was and is audaciously corrupt, quintessentially clueless, intellectually lazy and unfit to govern. It has baggage of tribalism, nepotism, religious bigotry and politically chaotic, and dangerously inefficient to stir the affairs of a heterogeneous nation-state. Worse still, APC has mismanaged Nigeria’s diversity. After eight years of APC’s ruinous reign, Nigeria hasbecome the poverty capital of the world. A combination of huge debt profile, economic mismanagement, unemployment and insecurity are the familiar telltales.

With such misfortune from a leadership that is unperturbed, many Nigerians saw 2023 elections as the year of redemption. Many, sensing that APC was unfit to govern, had looked up to PDP for rescue. But with the coronation of the highest bidder in its primary, that hope has been dashed. Then, entered Peter Obi, former Governor of Anambra State. Obi may not come as a regular politician, but there is something about him that sets him apart. 

Obi’s understanding of running a state as a business is a contradiction to the typical Nigerian politician who sees the state as a platform for pillaging. His focus on education, production and savings are sustainable antidotes for any nation willing to jumpstart its path to development. Obi’s resolve to empower the Nigerian youth as a critical partner in the Nigerian nation-state is geared towards filling the gap left by APC and PDP in the last 22 years. His integrity and discreet lifestyle of prudence is a departure from the wasteful years when politics is dictated by self-interest and the plundering of the national wealth.

It is on the basis that many youths and other Nigerians have now made Obi their sing-song, and his campaign, a tsunamic wave that has two options. Option one, win the 2023 presidential election, or two, cause a disruption in Nigeria’s chronic clientele state and rentier economy. So, for those who are underestimating Obi, these two variables, one is a likely outcome in the February presidential election. The main people supporting Obi’s presidential candidacy are not asking for dollars, or some sleazy deals in order to lend their support. They are genuinely doing that from personal conviction. 

Again, Obi is not running for Nigeria’s presidency on the basis of tribe or religion – for instance, this writer is a Boki man from Cross River State and has no links or lineage to Agulu, except the similarity of our surname. But there is a conviction that we should put Nigeria first and forward, not our personal interests. Hence, the glowing and growing support for Obi. Also, he (Obi) is running based on competence, ability and capacity to govern, requisite expertise and experience to manage people and resources. He has no toga of corruption, nor allegations of helping himself, his family or cronies with state coffers. There is no aura of arrogance, and disrespect for the people. Obi’s electioneering mantra is more of an invocation of the popular lyrical lines ‘Straight Outa Compton’, been there; done that; and lets do it again at the presidential level. As Adam Przeworski posited above in the opening quote, the will to reset Nigeria lies with the voters and the choices they make in the forthcoming presidential race. 

Thus, Nigerians are compelled to face, make or betray history in the February 2023 presidential election. It’s a triumvirate race among Peter Obi of Labour Party, Bola Ahmed Tinubu of APC and Atiku Abubakar of the PDP. Nigerians must choose right. Obi, represents equity, social justice, competence, has the physical and intellectual capacity to govern and stay the course, and can be trusted with public funds. For so long, Nigerians have focused on the superficial and irrelevant mantras which have dominated our leadership recruitment process and system; we must therefore go for the substantive matters of state and humanity. Gabriel S. Lenz in his book, Follow the Leader? How Voters Respond to Politicians’ Policies and Performance asked, “do voters still judge politicians on such irrelevant and superficial characteristics or do voters vote on substantive matters? With Obi, it’s a path with substantive matters. 

As Nigerians go to the polls in 2023, voters should be aware that Nigeria is facing an existential threat of hunger, of terrorists and extremists attacking churches in Southern Kaduna, Ondo, Edo, Benue, Plateau, Nasarawa, Enugu and around the country. The 2023 presidential election is very crucial: it’s either we face history, or betray it. Elections have consequences, the lessons of the Buhari’s presidency in the last seven years and still counting should be a warning to all Nigerians. Let us vote only competent persons. 

Obi is a journalist, researcher, interested in media, elections, politics and democracy