With overwhelming expectations for positive change and improved standard of living, Nigerians voted for Muhammadu Buhari in 2015. The high hopes emanated from the electoral promises made to the electorate by Buhari and the opposition All Progressives Congress.
PDP, the ruling party at the time had disappointed Nigerians. The yearning for change was escalated both on social media and on the streets of major cities in Nigeria.
Buhari became the proverbial messiah whose magic wand will turn around the fortunes of a country led by Goodluck Jonathan and the Peoples Democratic Party.
At last, Buhari and APC grossly frustrated and squandered the goodwill Nigerians reposed on them. They inflicted maladministration and excruciating poverty on the electorate that voted them to power. Who would have believed that the US dollar will rise to N615 in exchange to Naira?
Consequently, the exchange rate of dollar affected the price of food, fuel, transportation, housing, pharmaceuticals etc in Nigeria. The cost of living had become unbearable for citizens. The poverty became widespread touching all strata of the society, earning Nigeria the unfortunate appellation, Poverty Capital of the World!
2015 to 2023 is renown as the most traumatizing years in the life every citizen who resides in Nigeria.
Personally, I had lost confidence in the ability of politicians to salvage Nigeria from the prevailing economic woes. Many citizens resigned to fate until the recent political party primaries presented another chance at good governance.
Prominent among the presidential contestants is Mr. Peter Obi, a former governor of Anambra State whose sterling performance in office remains a reference point in administration. Obi proved himself a prudent manager of man and resources. Nigerians can heave a sigh of relief with the rekindled hope of revamping and reviving our battered economy. His emergence as the presidential candidate of Labour Party inspired hope for the Nigeria of our dreams.
Peter Obi has promised to transform Nigeria from consumption to a production economy. He has identified the problem with Nigeria while speaking at different occasions. These problems include wastage of resources, lack of industrialization and agro-business, power failure, neglect of education and health sector, amongst others.
We trust him owing to his antecedents as a governor that saved billions of naira for Anambra State. Obi is passionate about education and that remains another significant reason to vote for him in 2023. What he did in the education sector at all level in Anambra State is quite remarkable and can be replicated in Nigeria as a nation. No wonder both the Nigeria Labour Congress (NLC) and Academic Staff Union of Universities (ASUU) have endorsed Obi’s candidacy.
The era of industrial action will become history when Peter Obi finally assumes office as the president of Nigeria. Students of public higher institutions in Nigeria deserve an interrupted academic calendar like their counterparts in private schools.
The two political parties that presided over Nigeria in the last 22 years of democracy have failed to generate stable electricity for industrial revolution after budgeting and spending billions of dollars on power projects.
Power failure is the major bane of Nigeria’s economy. Peter Obi has commenced making contacts with countries that generate sufficient electricity megawatts to utilize their expertise to light up Nigeria. His recent visit to Egypt and Morocco to understudy the countrys’ electricity innovation is a lucid paradigm of proactive leadership.
A vote for Peter Obi will guarantee steady power supply which in turn will spiral to solving insecurity, unemployment, food scarcity etc in Nigeria. Obi has walked the talk in proffering solution to the energy needs that has defied remedy and set Nigeria back.
As a widely travelled seasoned administrator with impeccable educational qualifications, Obi is the only presidential candidate that has offered practical solutions to Nigeria’s socio-political and economic problems. He deserves a chance to prove his technocracy in running the affairs of Nigeria as a president.
Buhari’s administration failed woefully in addressing the issues nagging at the nation. Buhari never fulfilled the promises he made and Nigerians may not survive another disaster of having his kind or political party in the seat of power. APC did a calamitous job in mismanaging Nigeria’s economy much more than PDP. This is the cogent reason why voting a third force such as Peter Obi and Labour Party will infuse oxygen in the lungs of Nigeria as a nation.
Again, a candidate who paid party delegates millions of dollars to emerge as flag bearer of the party will definitely constitute corruption to governance. Nigerians are already aware that such candidates are capable of oppressing the citizens to recoup investment made during the party primaries.
The electoral process that brought Peter Obi as Labour Party candidate was free, fair and credible. Mr. Obi never engaged in vote-buying like what was witnessed during the PDP and APC conventions in Abuja. Delegates received between 10,000 to 20,000 dollars to vote for the highest bidder.
Furthermore, the Labour Party presidential ticket is flawlessly balanced between the two main religions in Nigeria – Christianity and Islam. The ticket considered the diverse religious and ethnic boundaries in Nigeria. No geographical zone or religion was offended or neglected in the choice of Dr. Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed as running mate to Peter Obi. The team has promised Nigerians an all inclusive leadership that will accommodate the interest of all. The APC government has sharply polarized Nigeria along tribal and religious lines by settling for a Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket. PDP on the other hand jettisoned the zoning principle as enshrined in the party’s constitution thereby denying the South-East its turn to produce the next president of Nigeria. These anomalies in APC and PDP have paved the way for Peter Obi to emerge as a trusted third force worthy of the ballot box.
Already, there is mobilization at the grassroots with citizens from all zones of Nigeria using their resources to support Obi’s presidential ambition. The establishment of campaign offices and production of campaign materials for Obi is already in top gear, voluntarily paid for by the masses who desire a government that will guarantee the safety of lives and properties.
The coast is clear. The ball is in our court to grant Nigeria another chance at survival and economic development. Obi is well equipped to deliver good governance to Nigeria. Wouldn’t you rather obtain your voters card and vote for Peter Obi in 2023?
The least we can do is to stand up and be counted. Nigerians have suffered colossal hardship in the hands of an ungrateful, arrogant and incompetent APC.
2023 general election will make or mar Nigeria. A soothsayer is not required to tell Nigerians the fate that will befall the country if APC or PDP are voted into power again. Let us seize this God-given opportunity and vote massively for Peter Obi and Labour Party. Casting our vote for him will go a long way in stabilizing Nigeria. The time to rebuild and restructure Nigeria is now. Vote wisely!
Uzor Ngoladi is the publisher of www.dailyblastng.com