It is trite to say emotions, religion, ethnicity, and, by extension, foreign influence, play no role in deciding where the pendulum of victory swings. Whoever eventually wins the race for Nigeria’s highest political office must have struck a balance between these two factors, as they have a large influence in swinging the balance of votes. This has been a painful truism since the Colonial era in Nigeria.

Therefore, as Nigerians prepare for another round of general elections come February 25, 2023, about twenty-five presidential gladiators, who have been endorsed to flag the banners of some of the ninety-six registered political parties at the presidential election, have started warming up for the start of the campaigns towards the election—the amended 2022 Electoral Act says that open campaigns shall start by the end of September. The remaining seventy-one parties have not presented any candidates. However, this is not unusual in the country’s multi-party democracy.

Since the late erudite legal practitioner, Chief Gani Fawehinmi, successfully contested the registration of three parties in the run-up to the 1999 handover to the civilian government, several parties have popped up here and there.

The military government of General Abdulsalam Abubakar had registered only three parties: the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), the Alliance for Democracy (AD), and the All People’s Party (APP) to contest the 1999 general elections. Their registration was based on their performance in the December 1998 local government elections. However, there are now approximately ninety-six political parties competing for attention in the political space.

Meanwhile, of the three parties the military bequeathed to the civilians in 1999, only PDP is still standing, as it was registered. The other two have been ravaged brutally by internal and external schisms. From AD, several others have sprouted up. The same fate with APP. PDP too has its own share of internal convolutions but has managed to hold firm.

Now there is a litany of political parties awaiting the knocking of doors by emergency aspirants who fall out with their mother parties and, therefore, are looking for a platform to make a statement by testing their popularity.

One such party is the Labour Party (LP). Dr. Olusegun Mimiko, former two-term Ondo State Governor, did it in 2007. He dumped PDP because of differences with the Governor, the late Dr. Olusegun Agagu, over the conduct of the primary to pick the governorship candidate. Agagu stifled him in PDP. He impulsively jumped into a waiting LP, picked the governorship ticket, and went on to defeat Agagu at the general election. Ever since, the party, LP, Social Democratic Party (SDP), Accord Party (AP), Action Alliance (AA), People’s Democratic Movement (PDM), and a few others have become an emergency ready-made vehicle for disgruntled aspirants who could not find space in their mother parties, to contest the general election. The major cause of this, according to Professor Abiodun Oni of the Department of Public Administration, Babcock University, is the non-provision for independent candidacy in the Electoral Act. 

Before Obi’s adventure, the LP had only contested the presidential election once in 2019.

However, the Labour Party, which was registered in 2002, was previously known as the Party for Social Democracy before changing its name to the Labour Party. It would usually be aligned with other parties with similar ideals during the presidential election.

However, in 2011, Ovation magazine publisher, Dele Momodu, was jostled for the presidential ticket of the party. But he was stunted out. He fled to the National Conscience Party (NCP) founded by the late Fawehinmi to flied its flag at the presidential election. He lost to the former President, Dr. Goodluck Ebele Jonathan.

But in 2019, the party presented Alh. Muhammed Usman Zaki and Chief Ezekiel Akpan as his running mate. The ticket could only garner 5,074 or 0.019% of the total votes cast at the general elections, loosing to the outgoing president, Muhammadu Buhari of the APC.

Therefore, when the nominations for party candidates kicked off, openly, not many aspirants fancied the flag of the LP, but secretly, not few converted its platform to push their names onto the ballot paper for the presidential election.

However, Peter Obi, a two-term governor of Anambra State, unlike several other gladiators in PDP, did not immediately indicate his intention to run. He dallied until it was done for him later by proxy.

Though the thinking across the party line then was that the ticket would be zoned to the South, and then micro-zoned to South East. The “Like Minds for Peter Obi” group that was alleged to have eventually raised the funds and bought the nomination and expression of interest forms for him, might have considered the fact that having jointly ran with the old war-horse, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, in 2019, the time was right for him to take the step up and run at the head of the ticket. They never factor into cognisance the schemings of an old fox like Atiku.

By March 30, the group that identified itself as “Like minds for Peter Obi” doled out the forty million naira to purchase the expression of interest and nomination forms for him.

The group was represented by a certain Ekene Nwakuche, as its spokesman addressed newsmen shortly after obtaining the N40m nomination forms. He said the members hold no affiliation to any political party but decided to rally behind the former governor based on his capacity to provide good governance.

“We don’t belong to any political party. We are just a group of young Nigerian professionals that feels that the way the country is going, the country is not going in the right direction, and we need someone, a seasoned technocrat, that can steer the affairs of the country in the right direction and cut down on the cost of governance.

Because we believe that if we cut down on the cost of governance, the country would move in the right direction. We are different individuals in the group-professionals, businessmen, public servants, a different category of contractors, and artisans.

“We have members from everywhere in Nigeria and we are fully represented. We want the country to move forward. We think Peter Obi can steer it forward and we believe in him because we have seen what he did in Anambra when he was a governor. And we have heard him talk; he has the wealth of experience to lead Nigeria to the promised land,” he said.

No sooner than he collected the forms, Obi started noticing some nocturnal moves by certain northern elements within the party. Atiku was unrelenting; Sokoto State Governor, Alhaji Aminu Tambuwal, was bearing down on the necks of statutory delegates; and Nyesom Wike, Governor of Rivers State, was all over the party’s structure. Peter Obi panicked. He could see clearly that he has no or little chance of emerging in PDP. Other signals helped him to make a quick decision.

First, the National Chairman of the party, Dr. Iyorcha Ayu, said that if a candidate of Northern extraction should emerge, he would drop the chairmanship for a Southerner. Not long, Sokoto State Governor, Tambuwal collected forms. Then the former vice president, Alhaji Atiku, too, picked the forms.

Obi now genuinely felt threatened. Tried as the “Like minds for Peter Obi” group did and even Obi himself, he soon realized that the big masquerades in PDP would not relax their stranglehold on the party’s ticket. He did his calculations. The realities were not favourable. The permutations would not work. He moved. These were more formidable aspirants to square up with. He simply fled the party. He quits.

The next port was one of the usual dumping grounds of failed aspirants from the two big parties, the Labour Party (LP). The Social Democratic Party (SDP) and the Alliance for Democracy (AD) being others in that league.

At LP, he met a former presidential adviser, Dr. Pat Utomi, and three others on the ground angling for the ticket. Fortunately, Utomi had earlier complained about the paucity of funds to prosecute such a gargantuan project. Immediately, Obi surfaced, and he step down for him. He was able to convince Utomi to step down for him.

It took heavy persuasion to out-muscle the remaining three aspirants for Obi to emerge.

Obi emergence as the presidential candidate of LP

The road to Obi’s emergence was straightforward. There were four aspirants in the party before his arrival, including Prof. Pat Utomi, Charles Uchenna, and the youngest aspirant, Joseph Oluwadare Faduri, and a female, Olubusola Emmanuel-Tella.

Of these lots, Utomi was the most visible but lacked a deep pocket and the wherewithal to prosecute the project. The other three were not that prominent. At the party’s presidential primary election held at the Orchid Hotel in Asaba, Delta State, Obi easily defeated his opponents. He garnered 96 votes out of the 97 valid votes cast at the primary election, the returning officer, Aliyu Abdullahi, announced before declaring him as the LP presidential standard-bearer in the 2023 general election.

A total of 104 delegates, drawn from the 36 states of the federation and the Federal Capital Territory of Abuja, were duly cleared to vote, but only 98 votes were cast; Obi got 96, Prof. Pat Utomi got one vote, and the remaining vote was invalid. Three other presidential aspirants, including Prof. Pat Utomi, Charles Uchenna, and Joseph Oluwadare Faduri, had stepped down for Obi, while Olubusola Emmanuel-Tella stepped down for Obi, midway after the commencement of voting by the delegates.

Speaking after receiving the LP Presidential Flag, Obi said that his mission in the Labour Party was to lead the charge towards building a new Nigeria nation through the revamping of the economy, effectively tackling insecurity, addressing education problems, and upping the general standard of living of Nigerians by ending wastages in government.

He also spoke authoritatively about his credentials in business and financial management, especially as the Anambra State governor. Obi said, “I will show you that this country called Nigeria will start seeing the face of hope if we all work hard to bring in a new government that would harness people’s talents to march up opportunities, a government that would plug leakages and curb wastage, a government that can look into the future of our children and know we cannot continue this gangsterism and stealing of government assets.” Let me tell you, I have got a simple mission, Nigeria is not a productive country. I just want to remove it from consumption, from sharing to production. If you listen carefully, you will hear people talk about 100 million people living in poverty. Why do we have insecurity as a problem? The number one way to fight insecurity is to pull people out of poverty. When you have over 20 million out of school, then we have a problem, we will invest in education. The reason we don’t have power in Nigeria is because our leaders have chosen not to do so. “Go and ask about what I did in Anambra State. I left Diamond Bank of Nigeria with $50 million and N12 billion. I left in Fidelity Bank $56 million and N12 billion. ” They are banks in Nigeria you can go and verify it. Since I left office as governor of Anambra State, the state has not bought me pure water.”He noted that leaders in the First Republic had better long-term plans for the socio-economic development of Nigeria.” The first time this country borrowed money in September 1964 was when Tafawa Balewa wrote to the World Bank for $82 million to build the Kainji Dam. And, he said then that he was applying to build the facility, 760 megawatts of electricity for the growth of the country. Fifty-eight years after, we are still struggling with 4,000 megawatts. As of today, Nigeria is owing $120 billion. Imagine if we had used that money for power, we would have been generating over 40,000 megawatts of electricity. But we consumed the money, and that is why we find it difficult to service debt. If you have 40,000 megawatts of electricity, you will be able to set up industries and factories in all the local government areas. We are a people of 200 million and we are generating 4,000. South Africa’s population is just 60 million, but they are generating 54,000 megawatts. Egypt, with a 100 million population is generating 54,000 megawatts. What will shock you is that Egypt doubled its own between 2016 and 2020. It was 22,000. It can be done in Nigeria it is not rocket science, what we need here is a leader with a vision, capacity, and competence to deliver.”My dear people, for the sake of our children, let us stop this otherwise it will take a toll on them and ruin their future irredeemably”, Obi said. Earlier, solidarity messages were presented by the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC), the Trade Union Congress (TUC), and others.

#AsoRockRace 2023: Bola Tinubu faces The Battle of His Life

Enters the Obi-dients movement

Emotional, cyber hyper-active, almost non-conformist, mostly youths, these are the core of the group that has now metamorphosed into the amorphously ambiguous “The Obi-dients Movement.” They have hijacked the project from its original founders, “The Like Minds for Peter Obi”.

While the “Like minds for Peter Obi” were raising funds to buy the expression of interest and nomination forms, the group that has now become a rancourous and cancerous band, known as “Obi-dients” was never part of the project.

The movement, though an informal band of core supporters, has now come to disfigure the general perception of Obi’s aspiration with their toxic activities, comments, and wild assertions.

Since they were not members of any political party but mainly voters, prior to the selection of the candidate, their roles were limited. But immediately after Obi picked the LP’s ticket, all manners of interests, mostly youths, the unfriendly IPOB, and remnants of the #EndSars dissidents coalesced into the project, and thus born “The Obi-dients” movement.

The activities of most members of the movement, especially in cyberspace, have done incalculable collateral damage to the project by their bellicose and vitriolic responses to any contrary opinion. They spared no one from abuses and insults. To them, the North count for nothing. They see the West as lackeys, whom they can overrun anyhow anytime.

Most elders in the South East have distanced themselves from the activities of the Obi-dients foot soldiers. Ebonyi State Governor, Dr. Umahi told newsmen that his state would vote for another candidate. Anambra State Governor, Dr. Charles Soludo too is not too well disposed to the aspiration. So is the Imo State Governor, Mr. Hope Nzodinnma. The three are rooting for different candidates, not related to the Obi-dients Movement’s trajectory.

As it stands, www.focusmagazinesoline.com investigations revealed that the project may not secure substantial health votes from the South East block on which the project is built.

Back of native nationalism: Lagos is a “no man’s land” issue

One of the most vexatious and emotionally wrecking debates in the country is the status of Lagos. It was started in the First Republic by the supporters of a political party. While the communities indigenous to Lagos, the Aworis, the Ogwus, the Ijebus, and the Ekos believe they were the true indigenes, a section of the country would want to contend the claim. It dragged to an electoral issue. While some claim “Gedegbe L’Eko Wa”, some counter that “Lagos Belongs to the West”. The Coup d’etat of 1966 helped doused the debate.

Lagos State was created on May 27, 1967, by virtue of States [Creation and Transitional Provisions] Decree No. 14 of 1967, which restructured Nigeria’s Federation into 12 States. Prior to this, Lagos Municipality was administered as a Federal Territory by the Federal Government through the Federal Ministry of Lagos Affairs as the regional authority, while the Lagos City Council governed the City of Lagos. Equally, the metropolitan areas [Colony Province] of Ikeja, Agege, Mushin, Ojo, Ikorodu, Epe, and Badagry were then administered by the Western Region Government.

The creation of the state, however, did not stop the controversy over the status of Lagos State. It cropped up in the run-down to the 1979 general elections. While the Nigeria People’s Party (NPP) of the late Dr. Nnamdi Azikiwe and Chief Adeniran Ogunsanya campaigned with the “Gedegbe L’Eko Wa” slogan, the Unity Party of Nigeria (UPN) of the late Pa Obafemi Awolowo and Alhaji Lateef Jakande campaigned with the “Lagos belongs to the West” mantra. Jakande won, and even defeated Adeniran Ogunsanya, even in his Ikorodu homestead.

That some of the supporters of the Obi-dients Movement have now raised up the old dormant snag, “Lagos is no man’s land”, might have woken up the tiger in some Lagosians. This, in particular, has infuriated not a few communities indigenous to Lagos State by virtue of Decree 14 of 1967.

A week ago, a forum of Lagos indigenes, called the “Omo Eko Pataki”, led by a former Minister of Communications, General Tajudeen Olanrewaju (retd), came out smoking with rage. The group said they are determined to claim Lagos for “those Lagosians created by the decree that created Lagos State in May 1967”.

The forum was described as “a landmark development, as rightful owners of lands are taking back what duly belongs to them in a state unpopularly touted as’ no man’s land.’

This “landmark development”, the forum of “Omo Eko Pataki” believed, would soon put an end to those who “believed that Eko is a no man’s land”.

The forum of “Omo Eko Pataki” spoke through a former Minister in a statement released on Sunday (21 August) in a reaction to the Ojora Royal Family and Council’s recent taking of ownership of the parcel of land housing the Lagos State liaison office of the Delta State Government, at Plot 235/237, Moshood Abiola Way (former Apapa Road), Ijora, Lagos, through a court order.

The forum vowed that some heritage and monument sites that had been sold and taken over for non-public purposes and other interests would be retrieved and returned to the appropriate families and local authorities.

It noted that the Ojora Royal Family and Council succeeded in re-possessing their rightful lands after successfully proving in court that the lease agreements they had with the governments of the Old Western Region, Mid-West Region, and Bendel State had expired.

This development, according to the forum, is a landmark “as rightful owners of lands are taking back what belongs to them in a state unpopularly touted as’ no man’s land.'”

The statement added that “It is of historical interest to note that among the four traditional chiefs in Lagos is the Idejo class, otherwise known as land owners. They were 10 in number in the earliest Eko chieftaincy families’ history. A few others have been added to this class.

“In the outer boundaries of Eko, there are traditional Awori Obas who have proprietary rights to the lands in Onigbogbo, Ewu, Ikeja, Agege, Alimosho, Ojo/Badagry axis and part of Lagos East Senatorial District. In Lagos State, lands are linked to ancestral heritage.

“As land owners, chieftaincy families have tremendous influence and responsibility to allocate lands to family heads, immigrants, settlers, and others. And by virtue of their traditional roles and ownership, they are indispensable on land administration in Lagos State.

“It is an incontrovertible fact that land tenure agreements permeated the relationship between the colonial-era administration and the chieftaincy families who allocated land for public use. Various instruments as well as a number of agreements were made which guaranteed the return of such leases to the original ownerships at the expiry of the lease agreements.

“A few more years ahead of us, many of the leasehold agreements upon which certain developments have been constructed will revert to the original ownerships.

“We will be seeing more of this in judicial pronouncements leading to recovery from individuals, states, federal governments, and institutions. Then, it will be significant that recoveries by court orders will put a bright shine on the true ownership of Eko land.

“Some heritage and monument sites that have been sold and taken over would be retrieved and returned to the appropriate families and local authorities.

“The old colonial City Hall in Campbell Street, which used to be the official office of the first Mayor of Lagos; the Falomo Shopping Centre on Awolowo Road, Ikoyi; and the famous Glover Street/Kingsway Road junction residency of the Colonial Administration that were pulled down for non-public purposes and other interests are examples of inappropriate priorities. Those who believe that Eko is a no man’s land should begin to have a rethink. “

Microscoping Obi and his claims

That the Obi-dients have taken over cyberspace is no news. There they dished out all manners of ludicrous fake news and propaganda about other candidates and even the country.

Obi himself is particularly not helping his candidature. His many claims and statistics have been easily debunked as either outright false or inaccurate. Besides that, he is not consistent in his projection of his plans. Also, his being part of the meeting with Obasanjo, Atiku, Wike, and others leaves so much room for dubious speculation.

His choice of a running mate also leaves a lot to be ruminated on. Obi himself is still very green in national politics, he ought to have looked for someone with good national visibility as a running mate, but he decided to choose another greenhorn, Dr. Yussuf Dati Ahmed, as his running mate. The level of political leverage of Yussuf in his native Kaduna State is yet unknown. The “two-million man match” planned by the “Obi-trek”, an arm of the Obi-dients Movement, has been suspended till further notice. This might be a sequel to the boasting of the Kaduna State Governor, Mallam Nasir El-Rufai, that the group would be able to raise more than 200 participants at the event.

Obi’s eight-year governorship tenure in Anambra State is still mired in cloudy controversies to date. While he claimed to have left a healthy sum in the state’s Treasury, his successor, Chief Willie Obiano, gave different figures. Aside from the issues of finances, none of his aides who worked with him either as commissioners, special advisers, or legislators have come out to identify openly with the new project. Even the Labour Party, which is flying its flag, seems distanced from the project.

He has met the former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo. First in his Abeokuta Presidential Library home and, secondly, in London.

Obasanjo’s body language seems to be swinging in his support.

www.focusmagazinesoline.com learned from authoritative sources that Obasanjo is trying to rally some foreign governments into Obi’s project.

Obasanjo has spoken to a number of PDP’s governors, canvassing them into the Obi’s project. The last set is the Governors of Rivers, Abia, and the Oyo States, Nyesom Wike, Okezie Ikpeazu, and Seyi Makinde.

It is reliably gathered by www.focusmagazinesoline.com that Obasanjo’s attempt may have hit the rocks.

A source close to one of those who attended the UK’s meeting disclosed that Obi may eventually be prevailed upon to step down for Atiku.

Although Obi himself has denied this line of speculation, it just refuses to fade away.

The thinking is that Obi “will look for a convenient spot to drop his ambition and align with Atiku. He cannot do it now. You see, these Obi-dients are very emotional. But he will do it, “a senior PDP man told www.focusmagazinesoline.com in confidence.

Even Nyesom Wike, the Rivers State Governor who led two other governors to the meeting, also later met Atiku. He had earlier met with the All Progressive Congress (APC)’s presidential candidate, Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu.

Wike later disclosed to the press that they were “consulting widely with those who mean well for the country.” Wike spoke on arrival from London on Friday. He was in the company of the Benue State Governor, Mr. Samuel Ortom, and his Abia state counterpart, Dr. Okezie ikpeazu

The Governor confirmed their meetings with PDP presidential candidate, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar; All Progressives Congress presidential candidate, Bola Ahmed Tinubu; Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi; and former president of Nigeria, Olusegun Obasanjo in London, and explained that topmost on the agenda is how to make Nigeria better than what it is currently, noting that all is not well with Nigeria and they are seeking remedies that will restore enduring hope in Nigeria.

“I can confirm that this is the first time as a team that we are meeting with presidential candidates. We met with the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC) and we met with our leader, the former president of Nigeria, Olusegun Obasanjo. “

“We met the presidential candidate of the Labour Party. We also met with our presidential candidate, Atiku Abubakar. For whatever it’s worth, consultation is ongoing.

“Whatever we are talking about is for the interest of Nigeria and Nigerians. It is not parochial and tied to one person or group of persons. We believe that with what is going on, it will be for the interest of Nigerians at the end of the day. “

Governor Wike decried the situation where standards, training, and competence have always been traded for mediocrity.

The governor said leadership should not be about one individual and the interests of his family, but about the collective interest of everybody.

“Consultation is still ongoing. Never mind some people who do not believe in the existence of this country.

“Leadership is not about you and your family. Leadership is about everybody.

It’s unfortunate that we are in a country now where a man finishes eight years as a governor and brings in his own son as a governor too and as a member of the National Assembly.

“It’s only in this part of the world that you can see this when we are talking about poverty everywhere. These are people who do not mean well for this Nigeria.”

Governor Wike also wondered why religion and ethnicity are used as the tenable identity to describe Nigerians when competence is required.

“The only identity they have in this country is religion and ethnicity, nothing more. It’s either I’m a Christian or I’m a Moslem, I’m a Fulani or I’m an Igbo. Nigeria cannot move forward except they think it will be them. That’s where we are.

“We are in a country where someone with a primary school certificate can be appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs. That tells you how bad this country has become. “

“But with our consultation, all these will be a thing of the past. No amount of intimidation or blackmail will deter us. We are determined to right the wrong. “

The leader of the team and Benue State governor, Samuel Ortom, spoke. He noted that they have met with renowned persons in the last few days because of their belief that Nigeria is in distress and required concerted effort to rescue it.

He stated that they had fruitful talks with those they had met, and it was beyond partisan politics because we’ll-meaning Nigerians need to work together in ensuring that Nigeria survives.

 “For us, we are looking at the larger picture. Nigeria today is in distress. It is about what can we do. No man or woman alone can get it right for our country.

 “We are looking at how we can harness ideas and put ourselves together to ensure that we get out of the present challenge we are in Nigeria today.

 “From top to bottom, consider what has happened from 2015 and where we are today. So, what we are doing is a concern that we have for our country, Nigeria.

 “This is beyond partisan politics. We are looking at how we can come together and find a way of ensuring that Nigeria survives. Nigeria is on a drip, Nigeria is on oxygen and it is about how can we get out of this.”

 Governor Ortom stated that the three separate meetings they had within the week were worthwhile sessions for them.

 According to him, they had earlier individual commitments in Europe, even if consultations are still going on because nothing concrete has been decided.

 “The consultation is going on and will continue to go on. We are still going to meet here. We are still going to meet some persons some other time and see how we can work to ensure that the project Nigeria works.”

 On his part, Abia State governor, Dr. Okezie Ikpeazu, emphasized that they are on a mission and are determined to find a way of rescuing Nigeria.

 He noted that they are mindful of what society to bequeath to the present generation, their children, and grandchildren alike.

 “And this is a country with great potential and we have to protect it well. We think that we need to engage across board.

 “We are also looking at speaking with civil society organizations and those who have ideas, with Nigerians in the diaspora. All the resources available in this country have to come together at this time to see how best we can move Nigeria forward.”

But the apex Igbo socio-cultural organization seems divided over Obi’s project. While the Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide has adopted the presidential flag bearer of the LP, Peter Obi, saying “he is no longer an ‘Igbo project’”.

The National Publicity Secretary of the organization, Chief Alex Ogbonnia, said the Igbo had “exported him to the rest of Nigeria”, and added that Nigerians had “accepted and domesticated him”.

He spoke on the backdrop of the recent visit by some Igbo elders to the Sultan of Sokoto and the President-General of the Nigerian Supreme Council for Islamic Affairs, Muhammad Abubakar, to intensify consultation and concretize plans for a president from Igbo extraction in 2023.

The Secretary-General of Igbo Elders Consultative Forum, Prof. Charles Nwekeaku had told newsmen that the Igbo felt “betrayed by the Peoples Democratic Party, amongst other political parties.”

According to him, the Igbo have found another route to the 2023 presidency through Obi, who he said, had received the backing of northerners.

Reacting to the northern interests,

Ogbonnia, in an interview with newsmen, backed the elders.

He said, “As you must have heard, some Igbo elders are doing some consultations. We are still insisting on the Igbo presidency. In the first place, if you watch the polity, you will see a lot of advocacies about the Igbo presidency by Ohanaeze Ndigbo.

“We, the Igbo people, are so happy. We brought out our goods in the market and Nigerians bought them. What else do you expect us to do? We are happy. All Igbo are happy.

“Throughout last year and the year before, we have been talking about the Igbo presidency. Ohanaeze struggled to bring it to the fore. Luckily for us, Nigerians have bought it and domesticated it. Our product has been purchased.

“It is clear that the candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, is no longer an Igbo project. He is now a national project. Ohanaeze has pushed out the matter to the rest of Nigeria,” he said.

Meanwhile, the factional Chairman of the Ohanaeze Ndigbo, Lagos Branch, Chief Solomon Ogbonna-Aguene, countered the Ohanaeze worldwide, advising Igbo indigenes in Lagos not to put their eggs in one basket while trying to support a presidential candidate.

He said Ohanaeze Ndigbo in Lagos had agreed to only vote for a presidential candidate who would better the lives and change the fortunes of Ndigbo in Lagos.

Ogbonna-Aguene said, “Ndigbo in Lagos should not put their eggs in one basket. We must be mindful of what we say. Whoever you vote for should be able to change your life for the better. Also, we have to know the person with the interest of Ndigbo at heart; one who prioritizes Ndigbo. That is the one we will vote for the presidency.

The painful, but the obvious fact is that the buzz around Obi’s aspiration remained largely a South East, Igbo, agenda. The South West is not totally convinced of his ability and persuasion. So also is the core Northern region. The Middle Belt Central region may dally to his rhetorics, but may not guarantee the substantial number of votes needed to win a presidential election. The LP candidate in the last governorship election in Osun State, a former Deputy Speaker, Federal House of Representatives, Hon. Lasun Yussuf, scored a miserly 4,000 plus votes. Obi was in Oshogbo a whole day drumming up support for Lasun Yusuff, the LP’s candidate. He appealed to the Igbo community in the State, yet the scandalous numbers of votes were what was returned for his efforts.

The resort to religion tool, if care is not taken, could be counter-productive too. Open dalliance with churches hardly can sway voters in some areas, especially the South West area. The East has the problem of Catholic and Anglican Communion. Also, the core north may read meanings to such excessive romance with the Church.

Obi and his packagers have exhausted the religion card. They have over-used the ethnicity card. The foreign governments Obasanjo was trying to lure into the game were said to be skeptical of the project because of the rainbow line that separates IPOB from Obi-dients.

www.focusmagazinesoline.com was reliably informed that Obasanjo has a few more tricks up his sleeves. He may turn round to grudgingly endorse Atiku. He sees Tinubu as a threat and as a Yoruba elder from Ijebu-Ode puts it: ” Obasanjo still wants to be seen as the greatest Yoruba man, probably after Oduduwa. So he doesn’t care if the thing goes to the swine”.

This assertion could be true if one takes into cognisance of the several rancorous speeches of Obasanjo.

Not a few political players as well as observers are yet to be fully convinced about Obi’s project. Many see it as all noise and emotional cruise.

The party’s governorship candidate in Ogun State, Modupe Sanyaolu, defected to PDP, giving a damning testimony about the overall seriousness of the party and its flag bearer.

Sanyaolu while joining the train of Hon. Ladi Adebutu, the governorship candidate of PDP in Abeokuta at the weekend said there’s nothing in the party except noise and cruise.

Investigations by www.focusmagazinesoline.com revealed that across the South East and South West, Obi can only hurt Atiku and the PDP, not a bit of a threat to Tinubu and his APC.

If the elections were to be held today, Obi will surely hurt Atiku and the PDP the most. He will brutally sink his teeth on Atiku and his Party’s nerves in the entire South East Zone and in Lagos State. All votes that traditionally would go to PDP will now go to Obi and his LP.

LP practically has no one marshalling its activities in Ogun, Ondo, Ekiti, and even Osun. The few that pop up their face in the media can hardly ruffle any feather in their respective domains.

Most observers spoken to were reluctant to comment until the formal start of the campaign later in September 2022. Many still believed that Peter Obi’s aspiration is all about emotions, therefore, they contended that it may not last the distance.

Analysts are of the opinion to the emotional support of the Obi-dients will soon start dissipating, and once they become weak and disillusioned, they will lose focus, then Obi will tow the path of Obasanjo by jumping shipping into the Atiku boat.

www.focusmagazinesoline.com (2022)