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"Winnowing the Chaff off the Wheat: Proper Perspectives to the "Obidient"
By Reuben Onyishi
(Ugoachataberu)
Nigeria has certainly begun a journey on the route to what appears like inexorable political upheaval principally occasioned by the misrule of the APC-led administration which has turned Nigeria into a place that could be compared to Nazareth of old where nothing good was expected to emanate from. Nigerians are fed up with the terrible state of affairs into which the present regime has plunged the country. There is absolutely nothing to hold on to and from which to take a respite in the country. It is a terrible parlous state of affairs akin to anarchy. Our economy is in a bit of a shambles; the security situation is perilous and the fate of the nation( if a nation it really is) hangs in the balance. Even the unity of the country is at the brinks as such a nepotistic and clannish government has put a knife on the string that loosely holds us together. Who would not be fed up when blood flows from the north down the south, when hunger and famine are all the rage? Bandits, kidnappers and terrorists are on the loose and have taken over the country while the government at the centre does nothing to ameliorate the ugly situation.
Nigerians are no longer interested in tribal politics.They have come to realise that where the president comes from neither puts food on the table nor saves lives. So, the people are yearning for true change; they are thirsty and yearn for even a drop of water to palliate their patched throat; the people are yearning for a new lease of life and so are very much eager to embrace anyone who even faintly offers them the new hope and prospects of change they desire.
Peter Obi seems to have raised the hopes of the people presumably from his antecedents at Anambra State where he had been a governor for 8 years. Obi, an austere technocrat, proved his mettle in unqualified good governance in Anambra State. He is selfless and prudent; he had proven to be above board. He had creditably discharged himself as a selfless leader who has interest in the welfare of the state and its people. Obi was said to have left billions of naira to his successor while he served out his second tenure, something that sounds improbable in present day Nigeria where whoever leaves a public office empties the till. Here in our clime, we believe that government is like the carcass of a dead elephant, a monument of inexhaustible bushmeat. Obi would do things differently and today, Nigerians seem to be looking in his direction for relief. Obi also has a blueprint of his agenda ready and would reel out statistics of where the country had been,where the rains started beating us, why, where and how Nigeria got itself sullied and what he would do to clean it up. And Nigerians appear to believe him.Therefore, the "Obidient" gale is gradually sweeping across the nation.
However, Peter Obi has not had it faithful ideologically. He has moved from All Grand Progressive Alliance (APGA) to the Peoples Democratic Party(PDP) and now to Labour Party. In the 2009 general election, Peter Obi was the running mate to Atiku Abubakar who is the current presidential flag bearer of the PDP. Some political watchers have argued that Obi may not be different from any other Nigerian politician who for selfish interest and political desperation migrates from one political party to another. But these pundits may not actually be right in that Obi has a credible antecedent. By implication, ideological politics does not work in Nigeria. Unfortunately for the cause Obi may represent, politics in Nigeria is ironically tied to political parties and so Obi's peripatetic political philandering seems a taint on his political white robe and somewhat lays credence to the claims of those who believe he is merely grandstanding and might not be different from the average Nigerian politician who is corrupt and selfish; the argument being that if the PDP, for instance, were as bad as the "Obidients" claim, then Obi himself has a share in it, for having not just been a member of the party but also its joint presidential flag bearer in 2019.
Howsoever it may be, Peter Obi as an individual offers the hope of good leadership to Nigeria.Obi is selfless, detribalized, disciplined, prudent and competent. He seems to embody the new image and consciousness of real change and good leadership in Nigeria. "Obidient" is not party-tied. Labour Party whose ticket Obi holds has no input in the image Obi embodies. If anything, Peter Obi is a product of the PDP. Nigerians who are hankering after Peter Obi do so not because of Labour Party but clearly because of the image of good leadership Obi epitomizes.
This is important to be noted because of the preponderance of political hawks and vultures who have subtly relocated to Labour Party. Well-known corrupt and desperate politicians have ambushed Nigerians at the Labour Party. Many of the aspirants who were rejected by the people at the primaries have ported to Labour Party where they hope to ride on Obi's back to victory. The fact remains that unless these leeches are nipped off Obi, it seems "Obidient" holds nothing different for Nigerians, for its prospects may likely be miscarried, since Peter Obi cannot rule in isolation. Peter would not be president and the governor of the 36 states at the same time. While Nigerians vote for Obi, they should also identify the Obis in other parties and vote for them as well. Nigerians should be careful not to mix the grain with the chaff. While the wheat may grow with the tares, Nigerians should be able to harvest the wheat and pull off the tares and set them ablaze. What obtains in the Labour Party presently is a mixed multitude of the lame, the deaf and the blind, strangers and slaves, derelict mortars and rotten palmnuts. Nigerians must be careful to avoid being deceived, to avoid exchanging the dog for the monkey.
For us in Enugu State, we have Peter Mbah, and Peter holds in his hand the sceptre of uncommon good leadership like Peter Obi. Peter Mbah is the governorship candidate of the PDP. Peter, like his namesake, Peter Obi, is coming from a background of excellent private sector delivery with the antecedent of bringing from the rear to the forefront a relatively unknown player in the downstream oil and gas sector. Peter Mbah has on his side youthful vivacity and the mindset for transformative leadership. He was carefully chosen by the PDP in the state for the superlative value proposition he and his running mate, Ifeanyi Ossai, offer.
When the archbishop of the Anglican Province of Enugu, Archbishop Olisa Chukwu, said that Enugu State was not "Obidient," he was obviously speaking the fact in figurative terms. What he rather meant was that here in Enugu, we have our 'Obidient' in the PDP. "Obidient" is not limited to any party. "Obidient' is the image of good leadership. It is another name for the prospect of the change of the APC government that has destroyed Nigeria. Peter Mbah in Enugu State is the image of "Obidient." In other words, Archbishop Olisa Chukwuma would advise the people to identify the Peter Obi in every party and vote for them; that we should not be deceived by the rejected corrupt and desperate politicians who have taken refuge in the Labour Party, but should rather look for those with the similar hope Peter Obi holds for Nigeria.
As the "Obidient" gale is sweeping across the country, Nigerians must be wise, and choose prudently, especially now that Labour Party carries the miasmatic weight of a mixed multitude of the good, bad and ugly. Nigerians should winnow the chaff off the wheat. Here in Enugu State, our own "Obidient" is in the PDP from the governorship to the state and national assembly levels.
Our own Peter Obi in Enugu State is Peter Mbah. Indeed, our tomorrow is here.
