By Chiedu Uche Okoye
Nigeria, a heterogeneous country, is buffeted on all sides by problems. She is beset by infrastructural deficit and rot. Are many state and federal roads in the country not rutted? And the country’s economy is in the doldrums, which caused the pauperization of millions of Nigerians. Those pauperized Nigerians who live below the breadline have lost their human dignity. But more worrisome is the fact that Nigeria has returned to the Hobbesian state of nature where life is short, brutish, and nasty.
As Nigeria is in a pitiable state, we have been praying fervently for the emergence of a political Messiah, who will solve our infrastructural problems, find solutions to our security challenges, unite the people(s) of Nigeria, and fix our economy, which is in perpetual tailspin. The man who is believed to have the midas touch and the magic wand with which he can solve our country’s multifarious problems is Mr. Peter Obi, however.
Today, Mr. Peter Obi is popular with millions of Nigerians, who come from diverse ethnic groups. Those Nigerians, who profess different religious faiths, belong to different age demographics. And they are fascinated by Obi’s possession of moral probity and leadership qualities and experience. Didn’t he acquit himself well in office when he was the governor of Anambra state for eight years? This is a rhetorical question.
When Mr. Obi governed Anambra state, he revamped the educational and health sectors in the state, which made them function, effectively and efficiently. And he worked, tirelessly, to keep the economy of Anambra state in a fine fettle during his leadership of the state. Besides that, he executed infrastructural projects in the state.
After his exit from office, Obi was not found guilty of stealing Anambra state’s money. It is on record that he left billions of naira in the coffers of Anambra state government for his successor , Chief Willie Obiano. The indisputable fact is that Mr. Peter Obi, who is an incorruptible man, is whistle clean. At this period in our national life, only a man, who is incorruptible and morally upright, can clean Nigeria’s Augean stable and effect moral regeneration among us. And that man is Mr. Peter Obi.
Not only is Mr. Peter Obi morally upright, he, also, possesses political and economic ideologies. Little wonder, he engages in discourses about our hydra-headed national problems and proffers solutions to them. He has been visiting other countries to study their technological and economic developmental models with a view to replicating them in Nigeria when he becomes the president of Nigeria. He acts as though he’s the president in-waiting.
So it is obvious to us that Mr. Peter Obi is well-prepared for the challenges of national leadership. And as he is familiar with the problems that beset us, he can proffer solutions to them. Obi, who has a pan Nigerian vision, is well-intentioned, too. And he ticks the boxes regarding the type of national leader we need, now.
But more importantly, if Mr. Peter Obi becomes the president of Nigeria, it will disabuse the minds of the Igbo people of the belief and sentiment that they are the unwanted people in Nigeria. His occupation of the presidential seat will re-integrate the Igbo people into our country’s political mainstream. And that will bring about the cessation of agitation for the creation of the state of Biafra. What fuels restiveness in different parts of Nigeria is the unfair treatments, which are meted out to certain groups of people in our country.
It should be noted that since the fourth republic dawned, the Igbo people, which constitute one of the legs of the tripod on which Nigeria stands, have not produced a president for Nigeria. The Yoruba people and the Hausa/Fulani people had produced Nigerian presidents of Yoruba and Hausa/Fulani extractions, respectively. And the ijaw people, who are the fourth largest ethnic group in Nigeria, had produced a president for Nigeria.
In the interest of justice, fairness, equity, and egalitarianism, the Igbo people should be helped to produce the next president of Nigeria. When people from a part of Nigeria are marginalized, politically and economically, they will feel disillusioned and disenchanted. Consequently, they will start to feel resentment against people from other ethnic groups.
When the people(s) of a country resent and antagonize one another, it will breed ethnic hatred and animosity. The existence of ethnic hatred and suspicion in a country will weaken that country’s national cohesion and unity. But peace and unity, which is a force and incentive for national development, can be guaranteed in Nigeria if equity, fairness, and egalitarianism exist in our country.
But the Peter Obi presidency, which is achievable, will be a redress for the Igbo people in Nigeria, who have suffered years of political and economic marginalization. And the Peter Obi presidency will set our country on the path of national development and peace and unity given his possession of leadership qualities and experience, moral probity, fair-mindedness, and a pan Nigerian vision.
Now, Mr. Peter Obi’s utterances and deeds are proofs that he wants Nigeria to continue to exist as one united country. Does he discriminate against other Nigerians on the grounds of their ethnic origins, religious faiths, and languages? The answer to this question is an emphatic no. He is a unifier who holds the belief that having a united Nigeria that is composed of many different ethnic groups is preferable to the dismemberment of our dear country.
Again, lastly, as a political cum economic ideologue, Mr. Obi has a pragmatic blueprint, which he will unveil, when he enters in the saddle of power, to tackle Nigeria’s economic, technological, and infrastructural problems. His hands-on approach to leadership problems, which became manifest, when he governed Anambra state state, will be replicated at the national level when he wins the presidential election.
The Peter Obi presidency will disabuse the minds of the Igbo people of the belief that they are second class citizens in Nigeria, unite the peoples of Nigeria, and set our country on the irreversible trajectory of economic and technological development.
Yours faithfully
Chiedu Uche Okoye
Uruowulu-Obosi
Anambra state
08062220654
Okoye is a poet.
