Africa
The new movement being driven by the youths, whose today and future have been badly wasted and plundered by decades of misrule by the duo of the PDP and APC and judging by their determination to rescue their nation from the stranglehold of these undemocratic parties, their vision for 2023 polls will likely find expression in Peter Obi and the Labour Party
By Kennedy Nnamani
AS the 2023 general elections draw near, all aspirants and supporters keep intensifying their efforts to dig out facts and evidences to either hallow or nail the prides of their choice candidates.
The youths of Nigeria, who have been largely neglected and their interests ignored for decades by the old politicians, appear to have resolved to stop sitting on the fence and join the progressive forces in the country to rescue the nation from its slide to anarchy.
This new resolve has been demonstrated in the level of mobilization by the youths and the current drive to register and collect their Private Voters Cards, PVCs, ahead of the 2023 polls. Presently, the social media is awash with political messages, choices of political parties and their presidential candidates. These political activities have taken off despite the fact the Independent National Electoral Commission has not announced that political campaigns for the 2023 general elections can start.
Meanwhile, some of the youths have not hidden their interests in Peter Obi, a former governor of Anambra State and the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, LP. According to some of the youths, the past records of Obi, his progressive programmes and his desire and willingness to offer selfless service to the country and above all, his interest in joining forces to rescue the country from the stranglehold of old Nigerian politicians in the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, and the All Progressives Congress, APC, have endeared them to Obi and the political jingles of the youths on the social media have attested to their choice.
Meanwhile, the name “Peter Obi” or simply “Obi” is fast becoming even more popular than the social media itself. Celebrities, skit makers, Tiktokers, Youtube and Facebook users have now converted their various social media pages to a campaign ground for politicians with Obi brazing the trail and leading pack so far.
For instance, Peter Obi, the cause of the “#OBI-dient movement” has continued to pull crowds both in the country and abroad and there are several messages on the Social media linked to Obi and the 2023 polls. These messages include #OBI-dient movement which is derived from his name “Obi” to express support for his candidacy.
P.O.S – Point of Sale has now been named Peter Obi Service or Peter Obi’s Supporters
PDP – the former party of Obi has been renamed as Peter Deserves the Presidency
APC – has been changed to Actualization of Peter’s Conquest
LP – is rebranded as Leveraging on Peter
APGA – changed to Alliance with Peter Gives Assurance
NNPP – is changed to Nigeria Needs Peter as President
Subsequently, the phrases “Go and verify” and “From consumption to production nation” have also taken over the “OBI-dient” people. Another is: “We are OBI-diently Yusuful”, referring to Obi and Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed, his running mate.
Although some Nigerians are of the view that Obi’s popularity on Social media may not translate to victory in the general elections, while others are quick to point out that the same youths who are the drivers of the movement are in the majority and above all, that they are bitter and hungry for a change from the deceit of the old and undemocratic politicians.
Reacting to the popularity of Obi and the movement, Yakubu Murtala Ajaka, Deputy National Publicity Secretary of the APC, said: “Just like Kwankwanso, Peter Obi is only enjoying sectional sympathy, but a real presidential candidate needs to enjoy acceptability from all parts of the country.
“Peter Obi should enjoy his social media frenzy for now before the real campaign starts very soon,” he said.
But a Daily Post report quoted a source within the Anambra PDP saying: “If you ask me, the best thing that has happened this year is the acceptance of Mr Peter Obi to run for president, and as if that is not enough, he quietly exited the PDP and moved to a less known party when it became obvious that PDP was bent on frustrating him. I’m a supporter of Peter Obi, and there is no way people can tell me that the kind of cult-following he is enjoying today cannot translate to positive support during the elections.
“Let me tell you, the people that are not happy are people that are in the ruling political party, APC. If you are someone who uses Facebook, Twitter, Instagram or even WhatsApp, you will see the kind of comment people are making about the personality of Obi. In 2015, APC and its candidate, Muhammadu Buhari had the same kind of acceptance in the social media, but the only difference was that while the APC and their propaganda arm induced people to make post that were positive about Buhari, the case of Peter Obi is that after visiting a lot of places on the platform of the PDP and also presenting his case and arguing on television, people today see him as the man who cuts the shape of the kind of president that can bring hope to this country.
“Have you not seen Peter Obi being mobbed at airports and other public places? Don’t you see the kind of support people are showing to him? The good thing is that unlike the APC, which stage-managed the kind of Buhari they wanted us to believe in, especially through social media influencers who they paid, the case of Obi is that genuinely, people are making positive videos, comments and posts about him because they are convinced about what they want.”
On his own part, Godwin Obaseki, the governor of Edo state noted in a video that the youths may abandon the two major political parties for alternatives.
“The future of our politics in this country is changing; I don’t know if you are closely watching what is going on with the level of disenchantment with the existing parties. I am sure, in all our homes here we have so many people now who call themselves obedient. I don’t know whether you have them in your house. Just ask them, all those children; which party are you? And they will say Obedient.
“They don’t want us. They are not talking about APC or PDP. They are looking for alternatives, and they are many, queuing for their PVCs now. They are not looking the direction of PDP or APC.”
In addition, tongues wagged when the popular pop stars P-Square were spotted in France wearing the T-shirts they made in solidarity with the LP’s presidential aspirant. Also, there were reactions on Facebook when the news came up on the platform of Peter Obi Presidential Movement reading: 2023: Without shishi Northern youth groups kick-off door to door campaign for Peter Obi, distribute branded mats to Muslims. There were also reactions from people following the video of a lady who, “Without Shishi” produced and distributed Peter Obi bags to market women.
Some may argue that this sudden shift in interest of the youths is as a result of the outcome of the 2020 #EndSars protest staged by the youths to decry the decadence in governance by the present administration. Others may attribute this hunger for inclusiveness to the fact that new strong forces have emerged to contend with the “big elephants” in the political game of the country.
However, be it as an outcome of the 2020 #EndSars protest or as a hunger for inclusiveness, the self-realization of the youths is making a huge impact on the political atmosphere of the country and it should be appreciated.
Perhaps, Obi’s reasons for leaving the PDP may have contributed to the increasing number of followers to his desire to rescue the nation. According to Obi, the “recent developments within our party, PDP, make it practically impossible to continue participating and making such constructive contributions. “Our national challenges are deep-seated and require that we each make profound sacrifices towards rescuing our country. My commitment to rescuing Nigeria remains firm, even if the route differs.”
Meanwhile, the admirers of the Labour Party presidential aspirant have continued to invent names, derivatives, slogans with the name of the onetime chairman of the southeast Governors forum which they diffuse on the social media to pledge allegiance to Obi. However, Obi’s acceptance is not just a “social media frenzy”, especially if the mammoth crowd that identified with him during his visit to Osun state during the just concluded governorship election in the state is a clear evidence.
Generally, 2023 still remains an era of decision making by Nigerian electorates to decide, who should pilot the affairs of the nation that has been a victim of misrule and poor governance for decades.
KN
Tags: APC Kwankwanso Labour Party Peter Obi Yakubu Murtala Ajaka Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed
