Within the last four months, Peter Obi has moved speedily from being just one of the many presidential aspirants, to becoming a frontline candidate. For the most part, many people see this audacious political feat as something that is both uncommon and miraculous.
However, more careful consideration of events so far shows very convincingly, that the ongoing organic movement for installation of Peter Obi as the next President of Nigeria is something Obi himself saw years ago and deliberately prepared himself for. This is what I mean.
Peter Obi who became Governor of Anambra State in his mid-40s, at the time was already a very wealthy man. His foray into politics was a deliberate decision. Although at the time, he was not well known beyond his cycle of friends and allies most of whom are also very wealthy businessmen and established professionals in diverse fields. When he became Governor in 2006, basically nothing changed, as Obi remained deliberate about his lifestyle, and focused on consistently creating the kind of public perception that has made the difference today. I recall vividly the first time I saw Peter Obi around 2004, aside from looking really fresh, nothing else gave him away as one of the richest men around.
At the time and even now, it is unusual for a ‘Nigerian big man’ to appear so simple and with no routine barrage of aides and security personnel running around him. As Governor, Obi maintained his simple lifestyle, living a normal life devoid of any form of drama. With this, he achieved two things; he demystified government as a source of ostentatious living. Secondly, his humble disposition eventually warmed him up to Anambra’s wealthy and powerful, most of whom Peter Obi visited in their homes, as Governor. For many of them, a Governor’s visit to their home is worth more than anything they may want from the government. With those, Obi was able to amass tremendous goodwill across all social strata. Obi then identified a vacuum between the government and the Church and filled it, with attendant pros and cons.
Moving from a more vocal, gregarious, and gutted Dr. Chris Ngige who at the time was a darling of the masses; to a soft spoken, soft-looking Peter Obi, was something that took many Anambra people years to reconcile. At that time, Obi gained the sobriquet of “Adaobi”, for his near feminine voice. But he was never moved. He kept speaking his truth and did not mind. Two or three years into his second tenure as governor, Obi began to gain favourable rating among the Anambra people. By that time, he has been able to prove his metallic build-up as a focused politician with a different message. Towards the end of his second tenure, Obi gained unhindered access to the hearts of the Anambra public. That access has made all the difference.
As Governor of Anambra State, one thing Peter Obi never joked about was his image and the perception of his government. No other government in Anambra’s history integrated the media into the governance processes the way Peter Obi did. Obi was particular about reportage even by what many might consider irrelevant sources. Obi would always reach out. This naturally gave him more favourable reportage in the media. As Governor, Peter Obi can call anyone; big or small.
After office, he had undertaken many community projects, across the country. In 2019, he became the PDP Vice Presidential candidate. After that time, he continued to make his philanthropic gestures and has continued to feature in the media, with the same storyline he has told for over sixteen years.
From all intent and purposes, a day such as this would not have come to Peter Obi by surprise. What is happening is not magical. It is a function of a deliberate path consciously taken, by a man who saw the gap and filled it effectively. He knew that the prevailing circumstances of Nigeria’s polity cannot be sustained after a while and that when the time is right, the people themselves will rise up against the establishment. So he used Anambra State as his starting point for a bigger political ambition.
If Peter Obi had not been accountable to himself, particularly as seen by the public, in anticipation that a day will come when it will matter; his politics would have been different. If Peter Obi had not been deliberate in the use of media in advancing his narrative, no matter how naive or strange they sounded, it would have been difficult to build the hope of a new Nigeria around him.
Ebuka graduated with a second-class upper-division degree in Political Science from the University of Calabar in Nigeria. He furthered his education by obtaining a Master's Degree in Political Science with a specialization in Government and Development Studies from Nnamdi Azikiwe University in Awka, Nigeria. His academic background and professional experience have equipped him with a deep understanding of political dynamics and governance issues.
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