Obidients are both right and wrong on 2027

I listened to one of the founders of the Obidients movement in a radio interview a few days ago, and for the first time, their view on the 2027 ticket was eloquently stated without the usual fixated ambiguity. It was a view that no other Obidients has ever made just to remain politically correct.

The challenge with debate here is that opinions and sentiments are presented as facts for making political decisions and choices.

He (name withheld) talked about the ongoing Fulani jihad, and ethnic and religious cleansing, and the need to still keep power in the South for another term to definitely resolve this security problem. Secondly, we can’t replace a southern president with another Fulani just four years after Buhari. Both are the options open to Southerners, and perhaps, non-Fulani. However, the Obi’s factor presents a Devil’s Alternative.

Let’s situate this argument properly. It’s right to insist that power should not move to the North just four years after Buhari. President Tinubu would have been on the right path to transform the country but for his haphazard and adhoc measures to tackle fundamental and deep-seated economic problems without definite plans.

Tinubu Can Do Better

Also his nepotistic appointments and unholy romance with some Fulani irredentists have  denied him the capacity and firmness needed to deal effectively with the immediate challenges confronting the country and his administration. A  clear example was the sack and later reappointment of Gen. Christopher Musa, who was sacked alongside other service chiefs because of the people holding Tinubu hostage with their wrong security  policy of “don’t engage the terrorists militarily.”

But does Obi not contesting automatically become a support for an Atiku ticket? My position is that it doesn’t, because we want power to remain in the South. However, using Obi to achieve such dream is fraught with danger and uncertainty not only for Obi, but also for the Igbo nation, particularly in Lagos. Secondly, it makes little sense that the South would want to use another Southerner to replace Tinubu simply to make a statement, instead of supporting him to do better.

What will Obi achieve in a term that cannot be reversed completely in eight years by a Northerner, who will succeed him in 2031? Why will Obi take Igbo slot and rule one term? It appears that Obasanjo is behind this move to replace Tinubu, which is hardly borne out of altruism, but with consequences both political and economic for the Igbo that will out-live him and this generation. It’s a self-defeatist action that will keep the South perpetually divided and weak.

Devil’s Alternative

Either way, it is a terrible choice. While we oppose Atiku’s return so soon after Buhari, especially given his role in the 2023 debacle, it’s also obnoxious and injurious for Southern solidarity to replace a Yoruba president with an Igbo; indeed, it is worst than having a Fulani there as far the Igbo are concerned. With Atiku as president whatever he does affects the entire country, and can be collectively  resolved. But with Obi, the aftermath will be Igbo’s cross alone to carry.

For me, and I believe, the Igbo in Lagos, the former option is preferably more palatable to live with than the later if the lesson of history is any guide. Those trying to project national above ethnic interests in this matter are only being uncharitable to themselves and their people. No group in Nigeria put the country first before their ethnic group, which makes the Igbo pushing the Obi agenda against Tinubu hypocritical: charity must begin at home. Power is transient and ephemeral, and those who destroy relationships because of power always come to grief.

Obi must not run for any reason since we want power to remain in the South to protect national interest, instead of robbing Peter to satisfy Paul. Obi’s ticket is a poisoned chalice that augurs no good for the Igbo. We must stand up against the mischief of the Obidients, who speak tongue-in-cheek about rejecting Atiku as a Fulani agenda, while pushing Obi to run against Tinubu, which portends danger for the Igbo. It beats logic.

Choosing Igbo or Nigeria

In the final analysis, neither Atiku nor Obi is an option for the Igbo. Using Nigeria as a pretext to make Obi run against Tinubu is like cutting your nose to spite your face. If Nigeria is good, it is for everyone, but if it is bad for the Igbo, as with the civil war, they alone carry the can. Nobody has ever come to the rescue of the Igbo in all their many travails in Nigeria.

The Igbo must not put themselves in harms way to save Nigeria; save Nigeria for who? Has Nigeria been fair and equitable to them? It was this misguided messianic utopia that brought about the January 15 coup, which 60th anniversary is today, and whose consequences we still live with. So, we can’t jeopardize Igbo interest and welfare on account of the good of Nigeria; let those who created the problems solve it until they want the Igbo on the basis of equity and justice.