By Kassim Afegbua

These Obi-dients will stop at nothing to push his case. A few days ago, I had an encounter with one of Obi’s supporters who tried to engage me on the validity of Obi to preside over Nigeria. This friend of mine, also a political associate, understands the dynamics of Nigeria’s ethno-political configuration; he asked me a pointed and probing question, in trying to unclad my political sentiments for 2027. Prince, he asked, “Don’t you think Peter Obi is the best material for the 2027 presidential election?” Looking at him without batting my eyes, I answered, “I don’t at all think so.” Before I could flesh out my answer, he thundered, “haba, Prince, how can you say Obi is not the best. Is it because he’s Igbo?” I was bewildered at his very shallow thinking. I went on to explain to him that Obi is not my kind of Presidential material because, as a Nigerian, Obi doesn’t realize he’s not in tandem with our bearings. He’s aloof from our realities. The antecedents of his current bargain are disgraceful. A vote for his ambition cannot be substantiated. He lacks strategy and tact. He behaves like a typical businessman who is not cut out for politics. He should rather face his business and stop wearing a toga that is unfamiliar with his antecedents. My friend heaved a sigh of relief and told me that Obi is the South-East candidate and that he should be encouraged to lead the country. We parted, agreeing that the conversation would be left for another day.

Talking about Peter Obi’s presidential ambition is like talking about teen weds. He’s a good man, but not good enough to be our President. Peter Obi’s leadership ability is not honed enough to lead this country. I have taken time out to fathom his persona, with a critical look at his activities from 2018, and unfortunately, he didn’t rank highly on any leadership index: trust, capital, and performance indices. Altogether, he ranked lower average and is not suitable to be Nigeria’s president. Obi’s understanding of Nigeria is parochial, prebendal, and myopic. On top, he is pretentious, deceitful, and mercurial. He lacks the matching strategy and grit to lead. He doesn’t possess a team spirit, which is a big sign that we will be in topsy-turvy mode at his hands. Recall that when he campaigned for president the last time, he earned the name, “ Mr No Structure”, “No shishi”, yet after the election, he presented a so-called audited expenses.

He made us believe that his campaigns were anchored by volunteers, but how he ended up spending billions struck my consternation. Everything about Peter Obi’s presidential ambition is centred around him. I am yet to hear any of his serious associates and former appointees talk about the man. I see Obi as duplicitous. His real personality is antithetical to his public image. He shows himself off as a frugal man, frugal in every sense of the word, and largely economical with finances. He vaunts the savings and bank balances he left behind after being governor of Anambra State. He doesn’t know that financial management is about the right mix of liquidity and profitability, and growth towards the long-term objectives of stakeholders. Obi may be like the servant in the Bible whose talents were not invested, and so was punished by God for that inaction. Why then should we make him president?

On the other hand, from nowhere, he now goes across the country giving alms to indigent people. Recently, he was said to have given out as much as Fifteen Million Naira to the poor in Edo State. This comes after making people poor in Anambra State. He is battling to fit into the Nigerian society, where he believes he needs to buy his way to be accepted by the people. He preaches one thing and does the other. He preaches frugality but doesn’t act and live it. He talked about wearing one wristwatch and one shoes, but his life doesn’t speak truth to such a claim. Pictures of his wrist with different wristwatches dominate the internet, ditto for several shoes too. Even if we are to follow Obi’s deliberate austerity claim, will that promote our economy and production? We need stimulus for more productivity and growth! If everybody decides to wear one wristwatch, or one shoes, many manufacturers will certainly close shops. When human appetite wears such a frugal cloak, productivity will slow down. And that is the idea of a man who wants to preside over Nigeria, and expects us to take him seriously. His last outing as governor of Anambra State wasn’t cheering news for a lot of his supporters, because in the fullness of his aspiration, I haven’t seen a single ex-aide who has volunteered to speak out in support of Peter Obi, or lay testimony to his leadership successes. Could it be that he ran a one-man show?

As Governor of Anambra State, it is on record that Peter Obi owed doctors their salaries, and under him, doctors went on strike for over thirteen months, thus crippling the health sector of the state, as well as causing the loss of twenty-nine patients during the strike. Was this just in a bid to have a green bank balance? Teachers also went on strike for over six months, due to unpaid salaries and poor working conditions; was this so that the money could be cooling off in the bank? Nigeria Scroll Magazine, in its edition of 2 February 2009, lampooned Obi’s government, accusing it of fraud. It bore Obi’s picture on its front cover and carried a damning headline, “Looting of Anambra State. Governor Obi’s Government is a Fraud.” They catalogued all the misgovernance of this man, who is now asking that we choose him as our president. To this end, he appears as a hospitality waiter today, and an usher tomorrow, and all sorts! In short, he has suddenly become “Saint Obi” in his quest for presidential victory. In addition to all that, Obi was famed for not conducting elections at the local government levels, but appointing his stooges as his representatives in the local governments; he was also reported to have frustrated non-indigenes from participating in the politics of the state.

The State University was closed for some time over allegations of poor funding leveled against Obi’s government, which led to the removal of the then vice-chancellor. The university could not turn out graduates during the period of the strike. At the same time, Peter Obi threatened to sack over 3,000 workers in the state workforce because of the teachers’ strike in August of 2011. These workers rightly embarked on an indefinite strike after much suffering. In response, Obi applied the no-work, no-pay rule. Obi’s claim to fame for astute financial management is a fraud!!!!! Financial management is NOT about banking money or being frugal; rather, it is about increasing stakeholders’ wealth through management of liquidity, astute investment decisions, and risk management. Obi did not stimulate the economy; rather, he raised the risk level in the state, so the growth rate in the state, financially and otherwise, was zilch!

At the state-owned university, Obi increased school fees to an astronomical height, but didn’t do the analysis to close the loop of who was to pay those fees. Were it parents who were owed? This led to a lot of students dropping out of University. According to him, the state needed to raise revenue and shore up its monthly Internally Generated Revenue. His style is redolent of Imelda Marcos’- she collected lots and lots of shoes, but Obi is fascinated by high bank balances. Obi wants to practice his antecedents and historical realities when he was governor in the office of the President of Nigeria. Obi is the archetype of the CHICHIDODO bird as eloquently captured by Ayi Kwei Armah, in his treatise “The Beautyful Ones are not yet born.” The CHICHIDODO bird is a type of Ghanaian bird that is reputed for its neatness, but the irony of its lifestyle is that the bird feeds on maggots, which are products of excrement. As neat and beautiful as the bird is, the easiest place to find it is around latrines and storehouses of excreta, where maggots freely luxuriate. It is the height of a double standard for a bird that is known for being clean and neat to warm up to latrines for his maggots. That is the human aspect of Obi’s variegation. With such abysmal historical performance during his time as governor, when did Obi suddenly become this philanthropist of note, wearing a cloak of dual personality, who means well for the ordinary Nigerians?

If truly Peter Obi wants to be Nigeria’s President, he needs to publicly apologize to the families of those who lost their lives during the thirteen-month strike of Anambra doctors when he was governor of the state. It is alleged that over twenty-nine patients lost their lives during the period, when doctors could no longer attend to patients as a result of the strike. Those who also withdrew from schools as a result of the fee increase also deserve restitution. Peter Obi cannot suddenly wake up today to wear a garb that is alien to him, simply because he wants to preside over Nigeria. Such dual personality status isn’t befitting of anyone who intends to lead Nigeria. He may be a smart businessman making profits for himself, but in terms of public accountability and steering, Obi’s performance is abysmal. Indeed, his speeches about his savings as governor in the face of the losses Anambra people suffered on his watch hint at some level of Psychosis.

Obi lacks the intellectual depth to run the government because his references are often convoluted. His financial studies are not burnished. It will be our greatest undoing if, by accident, he lands on the power rostrum. The dynamics in the country are too intricate for OBI to unravel, and going by his record of poor performance in Anambra State when he was Governor, Obi cannot be our president. He is better off going to school. It is the reason Mallam Nasir El-Rufai described him as a Nollywood actor moving from one political party to another, searching for recognition. He swore never to leave APGA in deference to Late Ojukwu, he has since abandoned APGA for PDP, then to Labour Party, and now whining around ADC. Ask Obi what party he belongs to now; his response will give you an inkling into the uncertainty of his intentions. A fleeting personality of his ilk cannot sustain any serious discourse within the concentric circle of politics. It doesn’t add up. It won’t add up. It won’t endure.