By Clem Aguiyi
I don’t know what Mr. Peter Obi is waiting for before he declares his interest to run for president in 2023, but what I do know is that when your country needs your service, you must leave whatsoever you are doing and answer the national call to duty.
Mr. Obi himself had severally spoken of the ills of this country and proffered common sense solutions to our challenges. As a public officer he demonstrated he could not be spoiled by public office. He ran an accountable leadership and proved that good governance is possible.
All his good qualities and common-sense solutions to our challenges will amount to nothing if they remain buried in his mind without being used for the betterment of the country and her citizens.
Nigeria is going through a very difficult period with very unhealthy discussions going on about her future. The dark forces pushing to tear down the country are getting more aggressive by the day. The country requires a new kind of patriotic leadership that will restore calm and build a better future.
When the British founded Nigeria, they saw a promising country which they hoped would become the Beacon of Hope for Black Africa. They envisaged a regional power that would serve as a stabilizing force on the continent. Nigeria fitted that dream. The country is rich, blessed with abundance of resources, magnificent rivers and ocean, vast and diverse cultures and a huge population.
The possibility and opportunity that Nigeria held for Africa was what informed the amalgamation of 1914 and inspired the struggle for independence which crystallised in the eventual lowering of the Union Jack on the 1st of October, 1960. That hope was soon betrayed. The country fought a bitter and brutal civil war that lasted between 1967 and 1970.
Whatever that was wrong with the British amalgamation was compounded by our leaders. The quality of leadership that was provided threw up a country that became very mundane, chaotic and perilous. With the right kind of leadership, we would have turned the corner but we failed.
In 2015, Nigerians sacrificed everything to get rid of Jonathan and their lives are now much worse. The country has become one dark and ugly place to live in because we threw away a kind leader who did good stuff.
The current regime appears to be the best thing to happen to criminal elements controlling several ungoverned spaces within Nigeria. Militia herdsmen kill hundreds of people without being brought to justice, and you dare not address them as mass murderers.
Armed bandits serially abduct hundreds of school children. Terrorists bomb civilian targets. Unknown gunmen target and kill security agents and break jails with little or no resistance from the security forces. Powerful public officers loot the treasury with fugitive mentality without fear of consequences.
In spite of the push to tear down the country, most common men who bear the brunt of elite corruption still want the country to remain one. When you go around the country and speak to the people irrespective of whom they are and where they come from, irrespective of the difference in their culture, language and religion, they are looking for the same thing.
They don’t want to be superrich or filthy rich; they don’t want anyone to attend to their personal needs when they can help themselves. They don’t want anyone take care of their families if they can provide for them.
They very much understand the limitations of government. The most they expect from government is to assist in ensuring that they get employed if they are willing to work; that they earn decent wages that will sustain their families. They expect that when they are sick they should be able to visit a hospital and be attended to; they expect a buoyant economy and to provide for their children the education that will enable them fit into the economy; they want when they retire from active service to retire with respect and dignity; they don’t want their pensions stolen; they want to be safe from violent crimes, kidnappings, banditry and terrorism; they just want to live a simple, peaceful and happy life.
I have also spoken to young people who asked basic questions on why in 21stCentury Nigeria religion has become a curse and liability instead of succour and refuge. They questioned the true meaning of our creed –‘Unity, Faith and Justice’ when our leaders cannot uphold those basic principles; they have asked why the average Southerner is counted as three fifth of a Northerner and why the Igbo are not good enough to be elected President. They want to know why there is inequality in our equal citizenship?
These are serious issues that need to be resolved, perhaps by the youths working hard to take control and determine the future they want. The year 2023 presents the best opportunity for Nigeria to be reintegrated into the comity of nations by first electing a patriotic leader with the capacity to provide solutions to our myriads of problems.
Each time I think about the future of our republic, former Gov. Peter Obi readily comes to mind as a possible solution. This is one politician with his head in the right place. Why he has not shown interest in 2023 is baffling.
I know running for President is not an easy decision to make. Many friends and associates need to be consulted and diverse pieces of advice expected and given. Some will tell you it’s not yet time or you may be telling yourself that you are not yet ready.
Whatever is the consideration, I want Mr. Peter Obi to know that he has all it takes to run and to be elected. He has what it takes to fix Nigeria and I say this with all sincerity. He is educated, very brilliant, young with good health, prudent in lifestyle and resource management, self-contented, good work ethics, good human relationship and proven leadership experience. Each time I listen to him; I see a workhorse. I see a politician with common sense. I see a leader that will put the country and the people first.
Obi is inspiring and the power to inspire is rare just like moments and times like these are rare. You don’t choose the time, the time chooses you. Either you choose what may be the only chance you have or you live with the knowledge that the chance has passed you. I want Obi to know that the time and moment is now.
I want him to make up his mind because a viable president is not something that just happens. It’s something that requires constructive planning, adequate preparation, organisation and strategic implementation. It’s something requiring not just confidence but conviction and loads of goodwill, hence there is not much time to waste.
Obi has a message and lifestyle which makes him easily saleable. His agenda will resonate well with the masses who want real change in our government. The quality of our politics and leadership will change for good, if he is elected President.
For Obi to become president , he needs a boat far much larger than he had when he was governor; he needs a podium far much larger to speak from and a more diverse audience to reach out to. He needs to venture and begin to engage the far North and Middle Belt and the West so as to build a Pan-Nigeria movement. There are millions of people out there who have lost hope in Nigeria waiting to hear from him to rekindle their hope in the future of our republic.
• Aguiyi is a newspaper columnist.