The Obidients: A Nigerian Phenomenon - Part 1

 

(Peter Gregory Obi — image from CKN News (cknnigeria.com)

Thirty-two years ago, in The North Star State of Minnesota, in the United States, an electoral miracle was born. A simple university professor successfully took on the might of an incumbent politician, in the state’s senate race.

Paul Wellstone was a jeans-wearing, shallow-pocketed, community organiser whose David, took took on the Goliath of millionaire Rudy Boschwitz, and against all odds, and despite being thoroughly outspent, marched on to a narrow victory that left the political elite reeling. 

To rub political salt into that gaping wound, he went on to repeat the spellbinding feat six years later in 1996, with a bigger majority. It was seismic and the reverberations - to the joy of the national working class - were felt all the way to Washington. It was a rare and unforgettable victory for the political underdog.

Of course, the world saw political upsets before the Wellstone whirlwind and has since served us with many more wow moments.

There are people all around the globe still trying to lift their jaws from the floor, in the aftermath of the Trump electoral success, and subsequent bewildering presidency.

But what if I tell you, thousand of miles away from Washington’s epicentre, in a clime where electoral surprises are as rare as snowy winters, an underdog tale is being curated by an unlikely youthful army calling themselves The Obidients?

Culling their name from their principal, Peter Obi, previously apathetic young Nigerians are building a springboard of Jericho, to catapult their man to the highest office in the land. 

In quite a stunning development, voices belonging to the biggest demographic in the country’s voting population come 2023, are increasingly becoming loud, feverish and unrelenting in their support for the two-time former governor of Anambra State, whose CV boasts of educational stints from the Ivy League to Oxbridge.

The fervency of Mr Obi’s support has conveniently coincided with a huge upsurge in voter registration numbers, as reported by the Independent National Electoral Commission(INEC), who confirmed numbers as high as 10.4 million new voters, with 60% of that figure being categorised as youths (18–29 years old). The commission’s increased transparency and technological enhancements, have driven a renewed social media empowerment, mass movements and reawakening of youthful political vibrancy.

A serving governor, Godwin Obaseki of Edo State, in the South-South region of the country, had as far back as December 2021, warned his colleagues of an impending youth backlash. In what was the first of its type, a member of the political elite took the surprising step of invoking the foreboding spirit of JFK, by recounting his then warning shot;

“Those who make peaceful revolution impossible, will make violent revolution inevitable”

Of course that prophesy has gone over the head of a gluttonous and reckless elite, who have increasingly become conceited, inattentive and slowed by a dearth of ideas and intra-party bickering.

Spiritedly buoyed by that foolhardiness, the Obidients have pushed forward with their determined support of their candidate with policy websites and funding platforms, ensuring that their collective foot, is firmly on the neck of the ruling class that have mismanaged the affairs of the country for decades. They have fertilised the political soil with catchy taglines like; Go and Verify, Naija Lives Matter, and Obidience is Better than Sacrifice.

The edification of the youth has been as complete, as it has been unexpected, and Peter Obi is the unquestionable catalyst. The other side never saw it coming.

Putting all that aside, there is no one within the Obidient ranks, who should underestimate the guile and adaptability of the political elite. After all, similar to its global relative, the ruling classes are adept at redefinition of self, and destabilisation of their foes.

Their fightback has already began with their social media Voltrons and die-hard supporters, who see the Obidients as a group disadvantaged by youthful exuberance, acute misunderstanding of the Nigeria political landscape and fluffiness. Traits, they believe will expose the group once the heat in the political kitchen begins to rise.

With seven months to go to the 2023 elections, it would be ill-advised to rubbish or overhype either group. It will be the most keenly contested elections in the history of Nigeria, and could ultimately inspire the youth across other black nations.

Conversely, it could also lead to a dark return to political apathy and youth restlessness, if the results do not produce a discernable change at the apex. With ongoing rise in violence and general instability across the land, the latter would be a horrific outcome for the world’s most populous black nation.

It is worth leaving you with some food for thought…

As the custodians of tomorrow’s Nigeria prepare for their own version of the Minnesotan Miracle, the central figure of that wondrous tale, Paul Wellstone, was a modest academic who meandered his way on a shoestring budget, into political office. Peter Obi for his part, became a millionaire way back in the nineties, before tasting political power in 2006. On the surface, they could not be more different.

It is then quite remarkable that one of Wellstone’s best known quotes, could have been easily taken straight out of a Peter Obi speech:

“Politics is not about power. Politics is not about money. Politics is not about winning for the sake of winning. Politics is about the improvement of people’s lives.”

You can almost hear the Obidients applauding.