By Tochukwu Ezukanma
Nigerian politics is dominated by dangerous leaders. A dangerous leader
is a man or woman whose desire for power is motivated not by the public
good and commitment to serve, but greed, personal gains and clique
interests. The excesses of these dangerous political operators was made
manifest in that, even, an important and solemn event as the election of
a presidential nominee by party delegates was reduced to selling and
buying of votes. The sordid convergence of untrammeled selfish ambitions
and craven opportunism striped a party convention of gravitas, and
reduce it to the banality of street market haggling and trading, with
party delegates selling their votes to the highest bidders.
Consequently, it was the wealthiest of the political contenders, with
the greatest willingness to pay for votes from delegates that emerged
the presidential candidate. So, it was not qualification for leadership
that dictated the emergence of the presidential candidate, but the depth
of a profligate big spender’s pocket. This nauseating political modus
operandi facilitated the emergence of the muddled-headed, crooked, and
shady as presidential candidate. It has, over the years, foisted on the
country at different levels of government plutocrats of questionable
character and sources of wealth.
Refreshingly, in a bold and punchy swipe at this outrageous political
method, the presidential candidate of the Labor Party, Peter Obi,
declared, “I will not give anybody shishi”. It was a defiant, gutsy
and iconoclastic declaration that dramatized resolve and will to
repudiate the status quo; and chart a new course. It smacked squarely in
the face of business as usual and the amoral methods of the evil
oligarch that has, for long, retained a stranglehold on Nigeria.
The evil oligarch is personified in the two other major presidential
candidates, Bola Tinubu and Atiku Abubakar. They are inextricable parts
of the oligarchy that has, for long, held the country in the throes of
economic misery, social injustice, lawlessness, and insecurity.
Nigerians are deeply troubled by the horrifying prospect of either men
being elected president because, as many political observers have
rightly pointed out, the choice between them is essentially a choice
between Otapiapia and Sniper. Both are potent, lethal poisons.
It is not only about Peter Obi’s defiance of the status quo and
determination to chart a new course. It is also about his proven
competence and indisputable qualification to be the president of
Nigeria. Nigerians have been impressed by his knowledge, versatility and
incisive mind. We are impressed by his credibility, and the
verifiability of every aspect and detail of his life. With a blend of
admiration and astonishment, we doffed our hats for the humility, and
refined and disciplined sensibility of this former governor, who carries
his own bag flies economy class and refused to be paid pension as a
former governor. We are awed by the integrity and incorruptible
uprightness of the two-term governor that left office without a scandal
or any question to answer from the Economic and Financial Crime
Commission (EFCC).
The bewildering complexities of our national problems demand novel and
iconoclastic solutions. And Nigeria is in a desperate need for a
revolution – not the sanguinary and anarchistic revolution of murderous
fanaticism and frenzied zealotry – but a revolution within the confines
of the law; anchored on democratic tenets and principles. Obi’s
illustrious performance as a servant-leader in Anambra State exemplified
novelty and iconoclasm in cracking entrenched and seemly intractable
problems, and revolution within conventional confines.
The Peter Obi phenomenon resonates with the generality of Nigerian,
especially, the youths. The for long dispossessed and disregarded, and
for long patient Nigerian youths, in the #End SARS protest, were saying,
“Enough is Enough”. In that protest, the youths spoke for the
generality of Nigerians as they sought an end to police brutality and a
reformation of the entire political system. The Peter Obi phenomenon and
this earlier youth rally for change – transformational change – are the
expressions of the same impulse for a democratic revolution.
The youth are inspired by Obi’s presidential candidacy. They see him
as personifying their awaken aspiration for a more equitable and just
Nigeria; the right man in the cockpit of the revolution. Not
surprisingly, in unison that straddled tribal, religious, socio-economic
and zonal fault lines, and with the moral courage to do what is right,
irrespective of personal consequences, the youths are coalescing around
his presidential campaign. Also rallying to his standard are the
downtrodden masses of Nigerians aware that they have been denied a fair
share of the enormous wealth and opportunities of their country by a
political elite unsurpassed in its scornfully indifference to the
legitimate aspirations of the people and their worsening economic
plight.
These include the poor consumed by the drudgery for daily survival; the
forgotten at the bottom of the economic ladder consigned to
homelessness, hunger, ignorance, unemployment and desperate, gateless
poverty; university students longing for education but forced to remain
indefinitely out of school due to the insensitivity and misplaced
priorities of the Buhari administration; Nigerians displaced, terrified,
afflicted and traumatized by the murderous rampages of bandits,
terrorists and other criminal predators due to the failure of the
federal government to uphold its constitutional responsibility of
protecting lives and property. And the list goes on.
Collectively, we are orchestrating a massive, momentous movement that
will inundate and sweep away the evil oligarchy.
Tochukwu Ezukanma writes from Lagos, Nigeria.
