Nigerians had for a long time envisaged revolution as a result of the mess successive leaderships have made of the country, but they never knew it would come so suddenly and from unexpected quarters.
Although, it has started in a flash, majority of the citizens have embraced it haven watched helplessly the abominable acts the APC led government has committed against the people.
Nigeria is now like the Hobbesian State where lawlessness is the order of the day. In the country today, killing of innocent citizens had become the fastest growing industry. Boko Haram kill, Fulani Herdsmen kill, those sarcastically called unknown Gunmen kill. In addition to massive killing of citizens, kidnappings and abduction for ransom predominates.
The worst aspect of it is that while these various crimes were being committed, the APC Government in power has not deemed it necessary to act. Her inability to act has emboldened the killers to spread their tentacle across the federation. Suddenly, life no longer has meaning, as Nigerians are killed unnecessarily everyday, while the leadership looks on helplessly.
And so like a bolt from the blues, Peter Obi emerged on the scene carrying the fire of liberation with him.
As if they were waiting for him to come on board, the youths of Nigeria, those between the ages of 18 and 40years who had been in the cage of Buhari government have embraced Obi’s political and economic revolution. They are the ones going about and using the social media to campaign for Obi and telling Nigerians of the need to support the revolution which is aimed at liberating them from the strangulating hold of President Buhari and his nepotistic APC Government.
Obi who was schemed out from the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) was said to have been directed by God to join the Labour Party and since his entrance and subsequent emergence as the party’s presidential candidate, political earthquake has struck the old thieving politicians who have become jittery because of his pervasive influence and massive following he has commanded.
Peter Obi’s popularity is rooted on his simplicity, humility, his down to earth approach to issues, his simple political and economic analysis of Nigerian’s problems and the apparent solutions he offers to the problems. Obi is easily approachable to the commoners who see in him as somebody that identifies with their problem.
Deriving from this, the mass movement of youths carrying his revolutionary messages of hope to the oppressed increases everyday. Not only had the number of people carrying Obi’s message of liberation increased exponentially, but money required to execute the revolution of putting Obi in power has been coming in bulks from voluntary contributors.
At the last count, over 20million Nigerians particularly youths have joined the Obi’s revolutionary movement, while more than N30 Billion has been raised in support of the cause.
A breakdown of members and donations in support of Obi and the Labour Party trending in the social media stands thus: Nigerian Labour Congress (NLC) has raised 5million members, Trade Union Congress (TUC) has raised 9million members, students in federal universities 2.5million members while students in private universities had 6.7million members, totaling over 22million members campaigning for Obi’s emergence as president.
These people and institutions according to posts trending in Whatsapp, made the following cash donation/pledges in support of the cause.
Peter Obi Support Network over N2.5Billion, Pledges: Prince Arthur Eze $3million, Innoson N1.5Billion, Obi Cubana N500Million, Ibeto N1Billion, Ekulu N1Billion, Commercial Banks N10Billion, Diaspora Support Group $15Million.
The Whatsapp messages also indicated that celebrated Nigerian Musicians Burna Boy, Davido, 2Baba, Tecno, Zlatan, Olamide, Kizz Daniel, Wizkid, Psquare, Teni, Phyno, Zoro and a host of others were planning to organize a 10Million man walk and operation show your PVC in support of Obi. They were said to be equally collaborating to produce an album that would become a national campaign jingle.
According to them: “We are paying all the network providers and making the jingle a free caller tune for the millions of network users in Nigeria.”
In addition, the celebrities the message said, had plans to run a paid advert on all social media handles with Peter Obi as the man on stage stressing that they will use the October 10, 2020 images to say no to voting for alleged looters of the economy.
Nigerians in the Diaspora, particularly youths residing in various countries abroad are said to be carrying the Peter Obi engineered revolution in their head. According to reports, they are campaigning vigorously for Obi and the Labour Party. They had reportedly taken their campaigns in support of Obi to the parliaments there. It is understood that their sensitization campaign were yielding positive results.
Back here in Nigeria, prominent people who ordinarily because of their social status would not have comteplated joining the fray are also lending their support to Obi’s fire of liberation.
They include former President Olusegun Obasanjo and Goodluck Ebele Jonathan, former Central Bank Governor, Alhaji Sanusi Lamido, Doyin Okupe, a top politician, who doubles as Peter Obi’s Campaign Director-General. Both of them had spoken authoritatively on the need to lend support to Obi who they agree had what it takes to turn Nigeria around and reposition it in the path of positive development.
While I was pouring through the social media last night, a friend who resides in Kano called me and said Peter Obi’s foot soldiers in the North were going from house to house telling the electorate in vernacular why Obi is the man to liberate them from Fulani Oligopolistic government. And he told me that the people have been responding positively to the sensitization programmes.
What is uniting the people across ethnic divide in the support of the Obi alternative is the poverty and indescribable sufferings the APC has foisted on them. Hunger they say, does not know tribe.
With the great awareness Peter Obi’s involvement in the liberation politics has created, it is believed that in the days ahead, three quarter of the population of Nigeria would join the movement, while more funds would be raised to finance the cause.
The mass movement which will be like the exodus – The movement of Israelites from Egypt is bound to cause fear in Peter Obi’s political opponents. Would the fear make them to capitulate?
