Why I’ll vote for Peter Obi despite being a card-carrying member of APC for five years
On March 11, 2021, as the United State House of Representatives voted on the Bipartisan Background Checks Act of 2021, many were amused by how the vote was on party lines. All Republicans except eight voted against the bill even though there were over 45,000 gun-related deaths in 2020. It again raised the question of when one should draw the line between party interest and national interest. Is gun control not a sane policy in a society with a long history of gun violence? A society where gun violence has surpassed car accidents as the most likely way an American from age 18 downwards might die.
When involved with party politics, the line between party interest and national interest can be blurringly thin, not just in Nigeria with an evolving democracy, but also in developed countries with advanced democracy. When do we shun bias and see the greater picture that the decision of the party we belong to will endanger the nation?
I was caught up on this question on the night of June 8, 2022, during the presidential primaries of my party, the All Progressives Congress (APC). As the votes were being counted, it became obvious that Bola Ahmed Tinubu was going to clinch the party’s nomination with ease. On that day, competence, and soundness of mind, among other qualities that I choose to describe Vice President Prof Yemi Osinbajo, were jettisoned as what any sane person would consider when choosing a leader, instead, an aspirant with a fat pocket and fame was chosen despite his questionable past.
I joined APC in August 2018, partly because I believed in the policies of President Muhammadu Buhari, whose fight against corruption, and infrastructure initiations (like the railway and the second Niger bridge), to me, were ticking the right boxes. Unsatisfied with the administration of ex-president Goodluck Jonathan, who, despite having inherited a relatively thriving economy with a Gross Domestic Product that averaged 7.98% (between 2008 – 2010), plunged Nigeria into ₦12 trillion debt, surging insecurity and more than reduced the GDP by half. In retrospect, I was not entirely swayed by some of the ‘far-fetched’ campaign promises of Buhari, but his promise to restore peace in Northern Nigeria, to me, bearing in mind his military background, was what many Nigerians wished for in the face of an alarming suicide bombing in Mosques and Churches. Moreso, I was also moved by the economic stagnation of my state, Abia State, which has been led by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) for nearly 10 years and wished for a change that would salvage the situation of the state.
However, with the current political terrain, the insecurity plaguing the nation, poverty and the rising cost of living, it will be a deliberate callous action against the Nigerian people if I choose to cast my vote on party loyalty, bearing in mind that Bola Tinubu lacks the mental strength and physical alertness to turn around the situation of the country.
The words of Osinbajo “you cannot wish the country well and vote for someone you do not believe in,” during the party’s National Convention, convinced me that it will be a disservice to vote for someone I do not believe in.
In light of the many troubles of Nigeria, what does Tinubu have to offer the nation? From unanswered allegations of drug-related past to deteriorating health and a weak psychic, the job of the Commander in Chief of the Federal Republic of Nigeria can not be entrusted, at this critical time when 133 million lives in multidimensional poverty, into the hands of a man with these ‘qualities.’
Since the APC delegates decided to present a man whose age is not satisfactorily known, whose source of wealth remains shrouded in mystery, who questioned why peaceful protesters were seated at the Lekki Toll gate on the night of October 20, 2020. A man who ignored the increasing religious tension and peculiarity of Nigerian society and chose to settle for a Muslim running mate, I believe the presidency of Bola Tinubu will divide the nation than unite it. For the sake of equity, and fairness, marched with credibility and dignity, I will be voting for Peter Gregory Obi, whose pro-market friendly initiatives, and well-balanced ethnic-religious ticket, is what the country needs at this time.
The country, for lack of a more befitting phrase, is on autopilot and has, for more than 13 years, covered lots of ground in the wrong direction. Without apportioning blame to past administrations, crediting or discrediting Buhari’s administration, the nation urgently needs to be rescued from total collapse.
My choice of Peter Gregory Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, is not swayed by his now exalted sainthood or the incorruptible personality that many in the OBIdent movement have ascribed to him. I am also not moved by the fact that he is the youngest among the three major candidates nor by the delusion by most of his ardent followers that he has a full understanding of Nigerian society, and its complex economy and has a fix-all remedy for the many troubles of Nigeria.
But if we must look beyond the inherent shortcomings of humans, Obi’s achievement, while he was Governor of Anambra State, offers us the window to foresee, using the known, that his presidency will offer Nigeria a quicker path to recovery. It is easy to ignore the fact that while he was governor of Anambra State, Peter Gregory Obi never borrowed but paid salaries and pensions on time, embarked on various projects, revamped the State’s educational system and left billions of naira for the State treasury at the end of his tenure.
This, no matter what political actors will have you believe, is a challenging feat. As of September 2022, all 36 States, including FCT Abuja, are debtors, with Lagos, Delta and Ogun having the highest debts. How did Obi manage the economy of Anambra State for eight years without the need to borrow?
Many financial experts and economists in Nigeria, including Kalu Ajah, and Alex Otii, have argued that Nigeria’s problem is not hinged on the country’s inability to generate enough revenue but on expenses. For context, the National Assembly increased its 2023 budget to ₦228.1 billion, more than twice the ₦103.28 allocated for Universal Basic Education (UBE). Signed by President Muhammadu Buhari on January 3, 2023, the ₦21.83 trillion budget has a deficit of ₦11.34 trillion which will be financed through additional borrowings. What is perhaps most worrisome on Nigeria’s expenditure for 2023 is that in the ₦228.1 allocated for running the National Assembly, ₦30.1 billion was mapped out for ‘Severance/inauguration of outgoing and incoming lawmakers and legislative aides.’ This amount is just ₦11.9 billion less than the amount allocated for power in a country where 85 million people are not connected to the national grid.
It is crucial to ask and answer this question: Among the three major candidates, whose credentials portray the candidate that can better manage Nigeria’s resources and cut down on government costs?
While Nigeria seeks ways to properly diversify the economy and increase non-crude oil exports, the need to review Nigeria’s unsustainable cost of governance is central to achieving a thriving economy. As we hope to turn on Agriculture, telecommunications, trade and commerce to create more revenue, government expenditure must be check-mated, and no candidate among the three front-runners, including market-pro Atiku Abubakar, is more qualified to achieve this much-needed feat than Peter Gregory Obi.
In all that has been said about the personality of Peter Obi, his disdain for nepotism is admirable. A politician who many agree, even his detractors, that he has no political godson or godfather, who never gave political positions to his immediate family members, is the breed of personality Nigeria urgently deserves. Could we say such of Bola Tinubu, the fame-maker and the political groomer? Won’t ministerial positions be shared among loyal inept godsons when Tinubu becomes President?
