Op-ed: Why I Am Convinced Peter Obi Cannot Solve Nigeria’s Numerous Complex Problems – By Yusuf Omotayo
Nigeria is currently experiencing multi-dimensional problems, but the person to fix them in 2023 is not Peter Obi, as it is being touted by many young Nigerians. In fact, it has become evident that he either does not have a full grasp of the country’s problems or has ignorantly taken a simplistic approach towards them.
A cursory assessment of President Muhammadu Buhari’s administration shows that it has terribly failed. Even his most ardent supporters will prefer not to talk about his administration than to willfully defend it. A spoilt clock, they say, is right twice in a day. While he might have scored a few points in the area of infrastructure (the rail line comes to mind), that itself has been overshadowed by bigger problems (the infamous bandit attack on passengers of the Abuja-Kaduna train attack that claimed the life of Dr Chinelo Megafu and others).
If Buhari has performed woefully and will be leaving behind a lot of work for his successor, Obi of the Labour Party, despite him being the political rave of the moment and the anointed candidate of many Nigerian youths, has not demonstrated an acute understanding of the peculiarity of Nigeria’s problem and so believes a global template will automatically work in Nigeria. His simplistic summation of solutions to the country’s problems makes me wonder how disconnected he is from the country’s complex problems
When asked by Kadaria Ahmed in her 2-hour interview about how he intends to fight corruption, Obi was quick to respond – as if he had magically pulled a rabbit out of a hat – that he would make a new law from his first day in office that will punish corrupt officials. It is almost as though he has forgotten that a National Assembly, where the Labour Party will likely be a minority or not have any member at all, exists and can frustrate even the noblest of bills. Even a National Assembly led by someone from the same party as the presidency can still be hostile (Bukola Ssaraki-led Senate comes to mind).
Also in the same interview, he talked about making sure people in rich areas like Ikoyi pay more for electricity than those residing in Ajegunle as one of his solutions to the power problem in Nigeria. Of course, everyone knows that that is already the case. Ikeja Electric for example categorises customers into bands and the higher the band, the higher the tariff. Also, affluent areas continually sign agreements with power distribution companies where they agree to pay higher in exchange for quality power service. Either Peter Obi is out of touch with this development as a lot of Nigerian leaders are or simply proposing a solution that already exists.
I find it curious that Peter Obi at almost every given time talks about ‘turning the arable land in the north to Nigeria’s new oil” without specifying the HOW. Of course, the north wants to farm, the only reason they are not turning their farms into the new oil is because of a tiny problem called Boko Haram and banditry. In fact, farmers have been specifically targeted by terrorists over the years. In 2020, 45 rice farmers were killed in Maiduguri, Bornu state, In May 2022, 60 farmers were killed in the same state. In Niger state, 12 farmers were kidnapped in October 2022
Insecurity has made farming a very deadly occupation and farmers are either being killed or kidnapped or their farms razed by fire after terrorists have looted their crops. Anyone who thinks they are happy that their farms lay fallow untilled does not understand the magnitude of Nigeria’s problems. Sadly, that appears to be the case of Obi whose running mate, Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed, also asked Nigerians to trust them that they have the solution to the insecurity in their hands but said he would prefer not to disclose it but will prefer to be blindly trusted.
Peter Obi seems to have lofty ideas that would easily work in a thriving environment but Nigeria is not one. There is no fix-all remedy to all our many troubles as Obi makes it appear easy and effortless to fix. The ethnoreligious complexities are far greater than what Obi faced in a homogenous state like Anambra as governor. In Nigeria, even the best of decisions can run sway of not only the constitution but can also be heavily influenced by politics, a terrain Obi has not demonstrated he fully grasps.
