By Lateef Adegbite
More facts have emerged why former President Olusegun Obasanjo endorsed Peter Obi, a one –time governor of Anambra state and Presidential Candidate of the Labour Party, LP, for the which appears to have become a household name among the Youth population in Nigeria for the 2023 general elections.
The Ogun state born politician who could not hide his feelings had said that the former Anambra state governor has an edge over the other Political parties Presidential Candidates that were registered by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, under the Chairmanship of Prof. Mahmood Yakubu jostling to take over from President Buhari of the ruling All Progressive Congress after he 2023, general elections.
In making assessment of all the Presidential Candidate to give Nigerian electorates opportunity to make their choice on February 25, 2023, during the Presidential and National Assembly elections, he had said hat they are not ‘’saints’’. He had said that ‘’none of the contestants, including Aswaju Bola Tinubu, a former governor of Lagos state and Atiku Abubakar, a former Nigerian Vice President, and candidate of the APC and the Opposition People’s Democratic Party, PDP, respectively do not have the character, antecedent, understanding,knowledge, discipline and vitality that can bring to bear and the great efforts required to stay focused on the job’’
Giving the poor state of the nation where the economy has under performed over the last seven years under the the Katsina state born Nigerian President and the experience on the job as a former governor of a state, Obasanjo believes that Obi, the LP Flag bearer has an edge over other Candidates to do the job.
Describing the former Anambra state governor as ‘’the needle with thread attached to it from the north and south , he may not be lost’’, noting that he has ‘’people who can pull his ears ,if and when necessary’’ to whip him to shape. He may have capped the qualities of Obi , for the top Nigerian job when he said that he said that he has an able running mate with a clean track record in both public and private life’’ in the person of Senator Datti Baba-Ahmed, which many had described a perfect match to lift Nigeria out of the wood for now.
Festus Keyamo, a Legal luminary and minister of state, Labour and Employment and spokesperson of the Tinubu /Shettima, Presidential Campaign Council, PCC, will not take it. An aggrieved Keyamo did not see the former President’s assessment of the all the Political parties Presidential Candidates as being fair, insisting that Obi, the LP , Candidate is no match to Tinubu, who has all that it takes to be Nigeria’s next President. The minister maintained that Obasanjo endorsement of Obi for the 2023, general elections won’t impact negatively on the ruling APC Candidate in any way. Bayo Onanuga, Director, Media and Publicity of the APC , PCC, had said that Tinubu will beat his close rivals including Obi with wide margin in the elections.
He may have shocked Nigerians when he tweeted on Sunday, December1, 2023, that the OBJ’s endorsement of Obi, the LP Candidate , is bad to the Opposition PDP, IN two ways as he has proved that Atiku, his Vice President for eight years in office does not deserve to be President of Nigeria this time around . He recalled that the former Nigerian President gave Aiku, who is incidentally the PDP, Presidential Candi date support in 2019, but they failed.
Close Associates of the former Nigerian Vice President had aid that this may not true as the elder Stesman has never supported Atiku’s bid to rule Nigeria. They had alluded to the fact that the only time he has supported a PDP Candidate was in 2011, when former President Gooluck Jonathan contested against the incumbent President and won before resigning from partisan politics to play the role of Adviser to politicians who seek his advice. It was not surprising why he has thrown his weight on Obi, the LP Candidate.
Fears are been expressed in both official and official circles the reaction of the Tinubu’s Camp to Obsanjo’s endorsement of Obi a his preferred Candidate for the 2023 general elections is an invitation to trouble if he loses out. Adeye Enitan Ogunwusi, the Oni of Ife, in the south west of Osun, appeal to the politians, ahead of the 2023, general elections to run a peaceful Campaign that would be devoid of shedding blood speaks volume. This clearly shows that there are Candidates who had seen the elections a do or die affair and are determined to plunge the nation into crisis to achieve their dream of ruling Nigeria. This is where the security agencies have to be neutral in providing security to the INEC officials and voters during the election. .
The rvered Ife Traditional Ruler believes that solution to saving the country from being thrown into political crisis is for the Electoral umpire under the close watch of Prof. Yakubu, to conduct a free, fair and credible 2023, general elections , has urged the Commission to ensure that this is done.
The Oba was emphatic: We beseech INEC to conduct a free, fair and credible election. The Paramount Ruler, who could not hide his feelings had made it clear to Prof. Yakubu , the INEC , boss and his officials, that ‘’the will of the people must prevail by allowing them to exercise their franchise on the election day and equally allow their votes to count as they decisions in electing who controls the nation’s resources for the next four years’’.
The Leadership of INEC, had repeatedly said that that that the Commission has sufficient Bimodal Voter Accreditation Systems , BVAS, to conduct the 2023, general elections in the 176,864 polling units across the 36 states of the Federation and the Federal Capital Territory, FCT.
Festus Okoye, an INEC , National Commissioner and Chairman, Voters Education and Sensitization, had said that politicians who are against the use of the to conduct the election by going through the Court process to stop the Commission from deploying the technology and the INEC Result viewing Portal in next year’s elections will be disappointed.
Ever since the BVAS was initiated in the conduct of elections in Nigeria, Tinubu, the ruling APC, Presidential Candidate has never hidden his dislike for, insisting that it is a setback to Nigerian elections.
He had wanted the old arrangement where ballot boxes could easily be snatched from INEC adhoc staff and stuffed with stolen voters’ card and the wrong Candidate declared as the winner to remain. This is an indications that he never wanted Nigerian to advance in the use of technology in the conduct of elections like other democratic nation in the world.
In spite of Pressure on the Nigerian President to thinker with the BVASA s technology and uploading of results in the INEC viewing Portal, he may have remained hesitant to do so. Buhari had repeatedly said that he was encouraged to bequeath a robust electoral institution that would ensure the emergence of credible Leaders because he has watched at ‘’’’close quarters the pains, anguish and disappointment of being a ‘’victim of ‘’unfair electoral process ‘ in the past and thus was encouraged bequeath an electoral system and processes that would would guarantee selection of credible Leaders by voters when he has the opportunity to do so.
This may have informed why he had said that the conduct of the 2023 general elections, described a ‘’ year of Wonder’’ by Pastor Enock Adejae Adeboye, the General Overseer of the Redeemed Christian Church of God, RCCG would be ‘’free, fair and credible’’. He had said that the 2023, general elections would rank the best in Nigeria since the return of Democracy in 1999.
