As Peter Obi shuttles 35 States +Abuja meeting PDP delegates
By Steve Osuji
THE MAN FOR THE SEASON:
He has done it again! He has simply shown class, proving beyond doubt that he’s the man for this moment; the man for the job.
Peter Obi, the leading presidential aspirant in Nigeria today has shuttled 35 states of the country and Abuja, the FCT, to meet all the DELEGATES of his party, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). He refrained from visiting Adamawa State, in deference to Atiku Abubakar, to whom he was running mate in the 2019 presidential election.
NO OTHER ASPIRANT HAS HIS ENERGY:
Peter Obi has done what no other aspirant has done or could do. No other aspirant has his energy or logistical acumen to shuttle around the whole of Nigeria in a short while.
It’s common knowledge that travelling around Nigeria today is most risky and unsafe. But Obi showed the stuff he is made of by travelling to all corners of Nigeria to meet the DELEGATES.
Braving all odds, by air, by road he reached all the corners of our currently turbulent country, Nigeria. Starting from his zone in SouthEast, Nigeria, he moved to the southsouth, southwest, northcentral, northeast and northwest.
SO LONG A JOURNEY, WITH DETOURS:
He’s a man without pretensions. For him, charity begins at home. He declared in his home state, Anambra, with the full support of Governor Chukwuma Soludo. From there, he traversed the length and breadth of the land. From Abia to Borno, Zamfara to Taraba, Oyo, Kwara, Katsina, Kogi, etc.
In Bauchi he visited the tomb of Nigeria’s first Prime Minister, Alhaji Abubakar Tafawa Balewa. In Katsina, he paid a courtesy call on Hajia Aya Yar’Adua, the mother of the Yar’Aduas. In Jigawa he was hosted by former governor Sule Lamido and in Abuja, he met with all the States women leaders of PDP.
He had detours in his trips meeting former presidents and Heads of State, like OLUSEGUN OBASANJO, IBRAHIM BABANGIDA and ABDUSALAM ABUBAKAR.
He also met elderstatesmen like Pa Edwin Clark, Pa Ayo Adebanjo, among others.
MUCH WARM RECEPTION FROM DELEGATES:
Wherever he went, he was received with much warmth and fanfare, PDP delegates listened with interest and enthusiasm. State governors like Obaseki of Edo, Okowa of Delta, Duoye of Bayelsa, Ishaku of Taraba among others laid out carpets for him. For sure, some governors, even of his party shunned him but he was undaunted. If he was dismayed by their antics, he never showed it nor said a word. He forged ahead. Obi is singleminded about creating a great Nigeria.
SIMPLE MESSAGE TO DELEGATES: THINK NIGERIA, THINK OF YOUR CHILDREN:
Obi’s message to PDP DELEGATES and to all Nigerians is simply: NIGERIA. He tells them, to think of Nigeria. As you vote, think of Nigeria, think of your children, he tells the delegates. If they offer you money, take it, it’s our money, but vote your conscience, vote for the sake of your children.
Nigeria today is all about bad news – insecurity, poverty, unemployment, 18m of our children out of school, poverty, etc, remember these when you vote…
These are problems we all can solve within the first four years if we have the right leadership.
We all complain about corruption: it’s very easy to fight corruption, Obi tells them. “If your president is not corrupt, if his wife is not corrupt, if his children are not corrupt and if you and your children are not corrupt, then corruption in Nigeria will immediately reduce by 60 per cent.”
I have the capacity to lead Nigeria and turn things around for the better. I have visited 31 countries of the world, not for sight-seeing but comparing them with Nigeria, he said. Nigeria is the only country in the world that has a sharing formula. We share to consume; we borrow to consume. We must move from a consumption economy to a production economy. This is the core of my economic policy.
Finally, Obi makes this point at every stop: “FOR ME, IT’S NOT A DESPERATION TO BECOME PRESIDENT, IT’S A DESPERATION TO BUILD A BETTER NIGERIA. I HAVE THE CAPACITY, AND IF YOU CHOOSE ME, I HAVE NO DOUBT THAT NIGERIA CAN BE GREAT AGAIN,” Obi told PDP DELEGATES across the country.
STEVE OSUJI/17.05.22
