By Amb. Nwosu O. Felix, JP
As a Nigerian and considering my years of experience through active and consistent political participation, never have I seen any possibility of a political revolution till the advent of HE Peter Gregory Obi of the Labour Party in the last 2023 Presidential Election.
Although, there has been many of such political revolutions around the western world including some African nations but such revolutionary followership of the Obidients in 2023 became the first in recent Nigeria.
My subject of interest here is not on how Peter Obi left the PDP to the LP nor his impressive impact in that election BUT lessons learnt for a better outing tomorrow.
I am aware that Peter Obi came into politics not as a professional politician but as a professional in his field and today by his years and experiences in politics has also become a professional politician and I expect him to combine the two angles to make a more profound decision in the coming 2027 presidential election if he decides to contest
In climes where democracy works, the factors that determine who wins in every electoral contest are; the first is the political platform and the 2nd is the candidate but another factor can be added to the Nigerian system based on our peculiarity as a black nation which is the power that be that controls the coercive institutions.
I have taken an honest strategic appraisal of the outcome of Peter Obi’s 2023 outing with a good consideration of the Apex Court rulling that trashed the appeals of Peter Obi and his LP and below are my sincere suggestions…..
- On his choice of political party since there is no provision yet for independent candidacy, I suggest a more viable and grassrootly structured platform like the PDP becomes expedient where every polling unit is overseen and manned by agents of the party for vote protection and accountability.
You will agree with me that in the 2023 election, the LP was not able to field party agents to protect the votes and interest of the LP in the 176,846 polling units, though elections were only takein in 176,606 as 240 of the total figure had no registered voters according to INEC.
Let it also be noted that the majority of the obidient were and still remains the PDP members who became disgruntled by the arrogance of the leadership of the PDP after her elective convention that produced Alhaji Atiku Abubakar as her standard flag bearer against the enshrined zoning arrangements of the party. Now that the PDP has accepted justice and ready for equity, it therefore becomes the only viable platform for a Peter Obi Candidacy having zoned her ticket to the South
The PDP today is free from incumbrances of litigation which has put a check on the interferences of the rulling party and her coercive institutions.
Unlike the LP, ADC, SDP and other mushroom political platforms that are already within the judicial jurisdictional control of the rulling party and lacks the spread in both structure and control in all the polling units.
- On Candidate, of a truth either overtly or covertly, the personality Peter Obi has built has made his candidacy an acceptable flyer as a revolutionary agent with a convertible into a more formidable and aggressive fanatical followers hip.
- The combination of a viable and well structured political party platform and an acceptable tested and trusted candidacy capped with a fanatical followership can easily wade off any form of coercion from the rulling party and her coercive institutions of power.
For political correctness and exigencies of electoral victory, biases, ego and mundane political experiment must be jettisoned if a Peter Obi must happen to Nigeria. The principles of the Audacity of Now must be activated where the above analysis must be reviewed by the kitchen cabinet of Peter Obi and political party, personalities and materials required for the 2027 political revolution to be effective and result oriented.
My name is Reality because I am a REALIST.
Amb. Nwosu O. Felix, JP is a public commentator and writes from Owerri
