With the conclusion of the presidential primaries, most Igbo people have concluded that they would vote Mr. Peter Obi who’s the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) for the 2023 general elections. They have predicted their reason for such a decision on the fact that Peter Obi is about the only credible Igbo man among the presidential candidates for the next year presidential election.
Their second reason is that Peter Obi is a Christian. Tenable or plausible as their reasons for their choice of candidate might be, the gospel truth is that Peter Obi contesting the election under the platform of a relatively unknown party like the Labour Party can never defeat Alhaji Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC).
Peter Obi is definitely a competent candidate for a presidential position. He could even be the most competent among the presidential candidates but can he win the election under the platform of the Labour Party?
Most Igbo people have vowed to vote Peter Obi even if he does not eventually win, they have elected to waste their votes instead of voting either Atiku or Tinubu of the PDP and APC respectively. Peter Obi’s popularity has soared in the South-East and some parts of the South-South, but is that enough to make him a President?
Before President Buhari became elected as President in 2015, his popularity among northerners was far higher or greater than whatever popularity Peter Obi has generally in the South-East at the moment.
However despite Buhari’s cult – follower ship and god-like popularity in the North he could not win the presidential election on three previous occasions before 2015. President Buhari couldn’t win the Presidency on those failed attempts because he was only popular in the North, but the reverse was the case in the whole of the South which comprises 17 States.
It took massive votes from the North and the South-West for Buhari to win in 2015, defeating an incumbent President Jonathan. Now, is Peter Obi popular in the North and the South-West at the moment?
The emergence of Atiku as the presidential candidate of the PDP and Tinubu of the APC means that Peter Obi can never win or even get substantial votes from both the North and the South West to win the presidential contest. The South-South voters may not even vote for him, South-East votes alone cannot make him a president.
From the foregoing background, it has become imperative for Ndigbo to vote for Atiku’s and not waste their votes on Peter Obi. Atiku’s presidency will favour Ndigbo far better than Tinubu’s presidency.
In my previous article, I had recommended Governor Ifeanyi Okowa of Delta State as the suitable running mate for Atiku. Governor Okowa is a bonafide Igbo man by all ramifications regardless of the structural or physical boundary between Delta State and the South-East. Okowa has never denied his Igbo identity. He speaks Igbo, and looks Igbo. Okowa, as Vice President of Nigeria means that an Igbo man is the second citizen of Nigeria.
The 2019 presidential ticket of Atiku/Obi garnered a massive vote of almost 12 million votes. Since Peter Obi had resigned from the PDP just before the primary election, I would advocate that Obi’s Labour Party merge with Atiku for the 2023 general election. If a merger is no longer possible, Peter Obi could still withdraw from the contest and direct his massive supporters to vote Atiku for the presidential contest.
When Atiku eventually becomes the President of Nigeria, he should appoint Peter Obi as the Secretary to the Government of the Federation. Atiku’s presidency means that the presidency will return to Ndigbo in 2031. Tinubu’s presidency means that the Igbo man could only taste the seat, if at all, in 2039. If Tinubu finishes his eight years in 2031, power will definitely return to the North because there’s no way Tinubu would finish his tenure and hand over power to a fellow southerner.
Tinubu’s presidency from 2023 is detrimental to Ndigbo’s aspiration in many ways. The only position that could be extended to Ndigbo is the position of the Senate President if the APC continues to rule Nigeria beyond 2023. Okowa as Atiku’s Vice President and Peter Obi as SGF including other strategic appointments in the PDP-led government would be better for Ndigbo than Tinubu’s presidency.
It bears repeating to state that Peter Obi can never win the presidency under the platform of the Labour Party. If Atiku at 75 and Tinubu at 70 could be the presidential candidates of the two major political parties in Nigeria, who says that Peter Obi can never aspire for the presidency in 2031, God willing? If Peter Obi insists on going ahead with the contest and Ndigbo waste their votes on him Tinubu will get the bloc votes from the South-West and the North to win the presidential race.
Ndigbo must never waste their votes on Peter Obi. Let us vote en bloc for Atiku who will return power to us. Only the attainment of the presidency of Nigeria could give Ndigbo a sense of belonging in this country and that can only be realized through the PDP. Ndigbo must realize that Peter Obi can never be more popular than late Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe, yet Zik couldn’t win the presidency of Nigeria without collaboration with the North. Atiku has promised to do just one tenure of four years but even if he decides to exhaust his full tenure of two terms as president, his presidency remains the easiest and shortest route for Ndigbo to have one of us preside over the affairs of Nigeria in 2031. Let’s wear our thinking cap.
Maduako writes from Owerri, Imo state via [email protected],08061562735
