INSIGHT

DOES PETER OBI
WANT THIRD TERM IN OFFICE?
By Ikem Odenigbo
As the war of words between former governor Peter Obi
and his successor, Chief Willie Obiano con nues to rage
on social media, the ques on that many Nigerians are
beginning to ask is, “does Peter Obi want another term in office?”
This ques on is gaining currency on the lips of most discerning
members of the public who are surprised that Obi may have
inadvertently pricked the balloon of his exaggerated image of a
good man and now the air has gone out with a hiss. The tragedy is
that Obi will remain diminished when this foul wind blows over.
This is one ba le that will leave permanent scars on the former
governor whom late Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu had
hoped would take over the mantle of leadership of the Igbo from
him.
The issue at stake here is Obi's stage-managed “unimpeachable”
integrity and media-induced image of a prudent man. The other
issue is the sudden realiza on that Obi did not leave the N75bn
cash legacy for his successor, Governor Willie Obiano as earlier
claimed. Integrity is on the cross here!
Those who know Obi are familiar with the story of his painstaking
cul va on of a puritan image which he strove over the years to
build through close associa on to the clergy and a bemusing
outward display of piety. His close associates recall that a er
making the tragic error of freigh ng the colossal sum of N250m
by road to Lagos and finding himself on the scandal pages of
newspapers the following day in his first term as governor, Obi
had quickly realised the silent power of the
“
media and doggedly cul vated their
friendship. In a very brief while, Obi
evolved into the affec onate symbol of
Nigerian editors with his toothy grin
gracing the glamorous pages of most
weekend newspapers. He was projected as
a very wise, prudent and humble governor
who led an austere, Spartan life. But his
close aides knew that it was all false!
Now, observers of Obi's recent macabre
dance in Anambra State are curious about
his true mo ve. Does he want another
term in office? They query. They shudder
at the fact that it was Obi who asked them
to vote for Obiano. They recall that in so
many of the campaign stomps that gave
birth to Obiano's victory in the
gubernatorial polls, Obi had repeatedly
assured the people that Obiano would
perform be er than he did. They are
confused that Obi had chosen to abandon
his protégé the moment he realised that
Obiano had started fulfilling his electoral
promises and living up to the assurances
that Obi gave them during the campaign.
Obiano had never le
anyone in doubt about
his indebtedness to Obi.
He has quite consistently
acknowledged the
immense contribu ons of
his predecessor to the
development of the state
and on a few occasions
appealed for a round of
applause to Obi and his
team.
10
Ar cula ng the most common ques on domina ng the beer
parlours in Onistha, Nnewi and Awka, buck-toothed Onyedika
Umerah, a final year student of Nnamdi Azikiwe University asked,
“does Peter Obi want a third term in office? Not in Anambra
State!” he quickly answered himself. “Honestly, we are ge ng
red of the harassment that Obi and his boys are giving to our
governor on social media. There is no day that I visit Facebook
that I do not see a nasty lie against Obiano with photo-shopped
images mocking him everywhere. Are we the only ones in Nigeria
who can use Facebook? Is this how the ci zens of other states
disgrace their governor? I blame all that on Obi. He is the one
funding the a acks, yet he cannot be governor again. So, what
does he really want?” Umerah fumed.
Indeed, a er se ng a record as the first governor to complete the
cons tu onal two terms in office in Anambra State, it is game
over for Obi. There is absolutely no chance of Obi's return to the
Governor's Lodge in Amawbia, except as a visitor. What many
people are specula ng is that Obi is peeved that in less than one
year, Obiano had consigned his vaun ng record of achievements
in the state to the margins of history with a sparkling
performance. For instance, it is common knowledge that in eight
years of Obi's reign, Anambra was under the firm grip of
kidnappers and armed robbers who drove most of its illustrious
ci zens away. But if Obi was perturbed by that scenario, he didn't
show much emo on over it or demonstrate the poli cal will to
tackle it despite car ng away humongous amounts in security
votes every month from the federal
government. Obi also salted away massive
local government alloca ons that accrued to
the state for eight years in an era when oil
prices hit the roo op. However, three
months a er Obiano, Anambra recorded its
“
first crime-free Easter celebra on and
before long, the state had become a haven
of peace. The belief is that Obi felt done in
by Obiano's de handling of the state's
security nightmare and began to fret over
his place in history. And that was how the
fight started!
But Obi's anxiety was misplaced. Obiano had
never le anyone in doubt about his
indebtedness to Obi. He has quite
consistently acknowledged the immense
contribu ons of his predecessor to the
development of the state and on a few
occasions appealed for a round of applause
to Obi and his team. Unfortunately, Obi
misread these gestures as an exercise in
tokenism and maintained his defiant stand
against his anointed son. Obi's comba ve
resolve is dangerously reflected in the