As Nigerians approach the 2023 elections in a few months, all political parties have elected their presidential candidates ahead of the poll and started unofficial campaigns.
Four of the leading candidates have been more active, and it appears that one of them, Peter Obi, has the edge over the others because of his approach.
Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, LP, was a two-time governor of Anambra state.
He crossed to the LP from Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, after analysing the situation in the leading opposition.
Obi seems to have an edge above Atiku Abukabar of the PDP; All Progressives Congress, APC, ‘s Bola Tinubu, and Rabiu Kwankwaso of the New Nigeria Peoples Party, NNPP, due to the reasons stated below:
Issue-based campaign
So far, Peter Obi appears to be more involved, more than other candidates, in addressing the issues that many Nigerians are looking forward to being solved. He has talked about poverty, unemployment, and electricity, to mention a few.
For instance, he recently travelled to Egypt to study how electricity works in the country. Electricity is one big problem Nigerians cannot wait to be solved.
In a statement on his verified Twitter handle, Obi said he did not only travel to Egypt to study the country’s electricity but other sectors as well.
“I just departed for Egypt on a 3-day visit as part of my detailed study of comparable countries to Nigeria. In Egypt, I am expected to understudy, among others, the Egyptian Power Sector, Education, Planning and Finance Sectors.”
Appealing to youths
Obi, aged 60, seems to be accepted by the youth. He is always trending on the microblogging site, Twitter, because of the youth’s acceptance of his views on national, political, and economic matters.
Although the youth have been criticised for being more active on social media than physically present for elections, 2023 may be another narrative as they now talk about getting the Permanent Voters Card, PVC, and encouraging people to vote.
Good antecedent
Obi is one of the candidates with good antecedents. He has been commended for how he administered the economy of Anambra state when he was the governor.
He has been credited for managing his state’s economy well. He once boasted of selling the Anambra state’s house in Abuja as it added nothing to the economy, flying economic class, and reducing the number of cars in his convoy, to mention a few.
The former governor once claimed he left N75 billion in the state’s coffer when leaving office, though this claim has been contested.
Criticism against Peter Obi
Despite the credentials of Peter Obi, the north, considered a significant voting bloc in Nigeria’s electoral history, would not vote for any candidate from the southeast.
The above position was that of Kwankwaso, the NNPP presidential candidate.
He said that the north would not vote for any party that presented a southeast presidential candidate based on current social and political dynamics.
Another top politician from the north and a former senator representing Kogi West, Dino Melaye, commended the intellectual capability of the former Anambra governor, describing him as a politician who is “intellectually mobile.”
However, Melaye, who spoke in a video shared on his social media pages, said it is not yet time for Obi to contest for president, adding that he should wait for his time.
The former senator said Nigeria needs a unifier, suggesting someone that will make the north accept the south and vice versa.
