What has driven the people into the new frenzy in support of Mr. Peter Obi can be situated in the force of exemplary leadership which he provided during the eight years he served as Governor of Anambra State.
By Nick Opara-Ndudu
In the recent past, Nigeria has been in a clearly momentous epoch of its history. Suddenly, there appears to be a rekindling of hope in our capacity as a people to chart our course towards a new, prosperous and united Nigeria.
Before this time, a vast majority of our people were wallowing in despondency and utmost regret of the failed state that our incredibly endowed nation has regressed to on account of failed leadership.
When Nigeria became an independent nation in 1960, the citizens had very lofty dreams of a nation on the path to a prosperous and fulfilling future. Regrettably, all the hopes and aspirations that came with our emergence as a sovereign nation have evaporated over the years. A nation that has been blessed with abundant resources for development has failed to fulfill the manifest destiny of its people.
After nearly sixty-two (62) years, we have remained adrift, with our status as the leading light on the African continent continually paling into insignificance whilst less endowed nation states across the global arena, continue to make progress in all indices of development. In summary, Nigeria has become a classic case study in underdevelopment and how not to run the affairs of a country.
At a time when all would appear to have been lost, there is an unexpected resurgence of hope in the possibility of realizing our shared dream for a prosperous and united nation.
If anyone ever predicted that someone from Nigeria’s decadent political class could be the tonic to galvanize the people, particularly the youth, into concrete action it would have been dismissed as sheer fantasy and hallucination. And yet Nigeria is now in the firm grip of a national movement which appears determined to change our national trajectory for good.
For a nation largely characterized by failed dreams and aspirations, an army of unemployed youth, substandard healthcare and educational systems, epileptic power supply and sundry other indices of a malfunctioning system and underdevelopment, it has been a truly endearing and spectacular sight seeing an increasing majority of our people queue behind the dreams and aspirations of Mr. Peter Obi, the former Governor of Anambra State and Presidential Candidate of the Labour Party.
Significantly, this movement has defied all projections and has refused to be defined by Nigeria’s twin evil of religion and ethnicity. Suddenly, the people would appear to have come to the realization that the political class has continued to weave divisive policies and actions around them with the intention of keeping the vast majority of our people perpetually at war with each other whilst they continue with the pillaging of our commonwealth.
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We are at the threshold of a new dawn and the people appear to have come to the realization that the poor educational and health systems foisted on us by the ruling political class, the epileptic power supply system that has been an albatross to industrial growth and development, the vastly diminished opportunities for employment and productive engagement for Nigerians, the huge infrastructure deficit that has been a clog in the wheel of the nation’s development, are all traceable to a failed leadership.
More than any other time in our nation’s history, they now appreciate that hunger, poverty and lack of opportunities for personal and collective progress and development have nothing to do with ethnicity or religion.
What has driven the people into the new frenzy in support of Mr. Peter Obi can be situated in the force of exemplary leadership which he provided during the eight years he served as Governor of Anambra State. By all indices of leadership and development, Peter Obi was adjudged a performing governor whilst he was Anambra’s helmsman.
His frugal lifestyle, which ensured the reduction of waste in governance and the redirection of state resources to the pursuit of development goals, appear unbelievable particularly in a clime defined by the hemorrhaging of scarce resources in satisfying the appetite of those in authority.
In a country where the payment of pensions and gratuity to deserving pensioners has remained intractable challenges to many state governments, Peter Obi’s stewardship in Anambra State led to the settlement of arrears of pensions and gratuities to the tune of over N35 billion and regularization of payments due to such beneficiaries.
With the tremendous achievement recorded in the educational and health sectors including moving Anambra State to the frontiers of achievement in these areas, Peter Obi’s testimonies are the unique selling points in his engagement with the Nigerian people.
His simplicity, in both private and public life, has been captivating and kept him on common grounds with a vast majority of the people who now see him as one of their own. The fact that emerging accounts show that this life of simplicity predated his foray into politics and public life has reinforced the people’s belief in the integrity of the alternative proposition which he represents.
Most students of leadership and power would agree that Peter Obi has truly earned his stripes as a consequential leader in the emerging scenario that is bound to redefine the context and direction of the Nigerian state.
His exemplary lifestyle and achievements have provided the impetus for a movement which may yet usher in a new Nigeria. Significantly, and at very little personal cost comparatively, he has turned the vast army of our unemployed youth and disgruntled/dissatisfied citizens into defenders and apostles of his vision for a new Nigeria.
Whilst the proponents of the current order steeped in decadence and pervasive anomie argue that he lacks the structure to propel his vision to reality, the people are stepping forward to fill the void and propagate his dream for a better Nigeria.
With almost eight months to the presidential election, what needs to be done is to articulate a grand vision for a new Nigeria, driven by an organic, people-centered movement ready to confront the status quo and usher in a new order.
As that journey begins, it is bound to face obstacles in its trajectory, erected on the twin evil of ethnicity and religion by a decadent, selfish political class, but with perseverance, the people’s will shall prevail. This movement which looks set to offer the much needed direction to our quest for national rebirth, shall be energized by a leadership driven by proven competence, achievement and personal example which Mr. Peter Obi provides in significant measure.
In the new Nigeria that would yet emerge, it is clear that Nigerians are looking for a leader that would inspire their collective efforts towards evolving a united and prosperous Nigeria beneficial to its citizens and that would be a leading light in Africa and a global leader in its own right.
In the final analysis, what has become clear is that Nigerians are yearning for positive change and a return to values upon which a just, fair, egalitarian and prosperous nation could be built. These values include thrift, honour, integrity, simplicity, abiding love for, and commitment to the common good.
As complex and diverse as we may be, Nigerians are not difficult to govern and vast majority of our citizens are ready to queue behind a leader whose lifestyle and vision embody these basic attributes and values.
In Mr. Peter Obi they appear to have found such a leader and that, perhaps, explains the momentum driving this movement.
- Nick Opara-Ndudu, a Chartered Accountant and former Banker, was at various times the Chief Economic Adviser to Imo State Government and Honourable Commissioner. He writes from Emekuku, Owerri, Imo State.
