Differences Between Obi And Buhari: What Nigerians Should Watch Out For
Differences between Obi and Buhari, as researched by OpenLife, indicate that voters must look beyond their noise to avoid regretful errors in the 2023 poll
Ahead of the much talked about 2023 general elections in Nigeria, the emergence of former two-term Anambra State governor, Mr. Peter Obi as the presidential candidate of Labour Party, LP, has a striking resemblance of the emergence of President Muhammadu Buhari in 2014 as the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, APC with a lot of commonalities.
Before 2014, Buhari, a former military head of state between 1983 and 1985 who left the Army as a Major General, had pitched his political tent with the defunct All Nigeria’s Peoples Party, ANPP and Congress for Progressives Change, CPC respectively for the actualization of his presidential aspiration.
Peter Obi, on his part, has a business background as a trader and former chairman of Fidelity Bank Plc.
His emergence, on the political scene pre 2003 governorship election in Anambra State, was on the platform of unknown All Progressives Grand Alliance, APGA.
After serving out two terms as governor, he proceeded to the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP where he was a running mate to Atiku Abubakar in the 2019 presidency.
Buhari’s emergence in 2014 established a herd of supporters of the retired General, known as Buharists. They would abuse, cajole, and degrade anyone who dared to ask critical questions about the capacity or competence of Buhari to lead Nigeria. They hoped to hound everyone into blindly supporting him and thereby drown out all forms of opposition to what many of them considered to be a divinely ordained mandate. Needless to say there was no shortage of bullying and insults. They had no tolerance for divergent opinions.
The Buhari’s scenario is playing out in Peter Obi as the Nigerian political scene is rumbling ahead of the elections. By September, everywhere will be agog with torrents of political activities and every corner of the country, even where governance has never been felt, will be lit in a carnival of campaign activities. Bridges, lamp posts, walls and fences will all be decorated with deluge of varieties of rich and colourful campaign posters. The campaign season brings back memories of the 2015 campaign because there is so much that both elections have in common.
This is the posture that the Obidients, as Peter Obi supporters are known, have taken and it is reflective of the Buharists of 2015. Like the Buharists, they too have assigned messianic configuration on Peter Obi as the man who will come and right all the wrongs in Nigeria. They are vicious and ready to tear down anyone who dares question the competence or capacity of Peter Obi for the job of being president. In fact, it is a taboo to do so. Questioning Obi’s credentials only means you are an enemy of Nigeria who doesn’t want Nigeria’s progress. They consider themselves more patriotic and more righteous than other Nigerians. They sniff a not-so-palatable comment about Peter Obi from miles away like rabid dogs, rush to tear down the comment and the commentator to zilch.
Contrary opinions are sacrilegious and must not be tolerated even though they might be of good intention. This has eroded critical thinking and healthy debates. Many have considered themselves too pious to still remain friends or acquaintances of those who are not “obidient”. But Benjamin Franklin once said “If everyone is thinking alike, then no one is thinking.”
Like Buhari, whose supporters averred they would vote for him even with NEPA bill as a certificate in 2014, Obi’s supporters feel energized whenever supporters of other presidential candidates accused him of falsifying statistical and figures to drive home his point.
What is however central in all of this is that the supporters of both President Buhari in 2015 and current supporters of Peter Obi are not financially induced. This is contrary to what obtains in the camps of other presidential candidates in other political parties.
Sadly, despite the trust voters had in Buhari as a result of his marshaled impeccable character, as a no nonsense general and anti corruption Czar, his stewardship in office for almost eight years is nothing but disaster.
The Buhari led government would vacate office in eight month’s time, leaving behind a comatose educational system, economy on a life support, weak national currency, unsecured country and of course, corrupt driven system among other negatives.
Arising from these therefore, are the fears of stakeholders and investors who are curious about the capacity of Peter Obi to swim in the same Nigerian pool full of anti democratic sharks and anti government elements. The curiosity is principally anchored on the misplaced trust in President Buhari in the 2015 general elections by voters.
The differential in capacity by OpenLife research are presented below to guide voters.
|
This information and key parameters in which Buhari failed to deliver would be useful tools for voters to objectively, without malice, scrutinise other candidates and their programmes and judge them on the merits or otherwise on February 25, 2023
About Author
