BENJAMIN OMOIKE
The presidential campaign of the Labour Party candidate, Mr. Peter Obi, received a boost on Monday in Abuja with the inauguration of the national council of the coalition known as the “Obidient Movement.”
The coalition says Obi represents as a “paradigm shift that would deliver Nigeria from the current woes in the country.”
The group told newsmen in Abuja that a National Coordinating Council of the movement is to be headed by leaders drawn from the country’s six geopolitical zones to commence nationwide mobilisation.
The former Chairman of the Inter-Party Advisory Council, Mallam Tanko Yunusa, said that the Obi presidency would address national woes ranging from a high unemployment rate to insecurity of lives and property.
Yunusa described President Muhammadu Buhari’s government as the worst administration since independence in 1960. He said: “The country has indeed been confronted with diverse security threats ranging from election violence, census crises, ethno-religious conflicts, communal clashes, militancy, and terrorism but most of these were either localised or sporadic before this administration.
“Unfortunately, what we have been witnessing since 2015 is the amalgamation and molten mix of all these crises, all happening simultaneously, unhindered and in a terrifying fashion across Nigeria.
“Nowhere is safe in the 36 states of the country with road, rail and air travels constituting a nightmare for Nigerians. The country is under the siege of terrorists, bandits and other criminal gangs holding sway over swaths of ungoverned territories from the North to the South, East, and West.”
He further said: “The most disheartening of these challenges is the fact that there is a well-orchestrated plan by foreign terrorists with their sponsors to cause more havoc and entrench a chaotic atmosphere and a dangerous agenda. While the daily killings and bloodletting of Nigerians have continued unabated under the All Progressives Congress (APC) led Federal Government.
“To make matters worse, President Buhari’s administration from all indications looks dazed, clueless and incapable of taming the deteriorating economic and political situation in the country.
“Similarly, the country’s economy is in shambles with little or no effort to turn things around. Poor fiscal and monetary policies, and a politically compromised Central Bank of Nigeria Governor in addition to a non-existent Presidential Economic Management Team have combined to usher in the worst form of inflation, scorched-earth economic policies, free fall of the Naira and badly managed petroleum industry, especially the downstream sector.
“Consequently, Nigeria is occupying the unenviable position of the poverty capital of the world with poor development indicators in all spheres of the economy. The high rate of poverty has also exacerbated criminal activities and other forms of vices in society,” he said.
He lamented that Nigerian students had been kept away from institutions of higher learning as a result of long avoidable strike by the Academic Staff Union of Universities caused by the lack of education priority of the APC-led Federal Government.
“What this ugly scenario shows is that APC and the Buhari administration have failed woefully in all indices and indicators of good governance. They failed miserably to deliver on the three key areas they anchored their administration on, which are to improve security, the economy and the anti-corruption fight,” Yunusa said.
He accused the ruling party of breaking all the negative records and bringing the country to its lowest point, adding that it has only shown a capacity for propaganda and amplifying actions and decisions that further polarised Nigerians along our fault lines.
“Another four or eight years under a party that has shown an absolute lack of capacity to govern would destroy this country. And we must collectively rise to stop this NOW,” Yunusa also said.
Speaking on his candidate’s chances, he said: “Obi has most of the qualities of a hands-on 21st-century leader who understands the dynamics of governance both at the local, national and global levels. He represents a paradigm shift and an ideal for a new Nigeria that youths are proud to champion.
“He is a fill-in portrait of what a 21st century Nigerian President should be, beyond the vagaries of a wasteful elite built on patronage and cronyism. Obi who has had a stellar performance both in private and public office has equally picked another breath of fresh air personality in Dr Yusuf Datti-Ahmed as his Vice.
“The Obidient movement is also not limited to Nigeria as our Diaspora community consisting of some of the most brilliant brains in the world are actively involved.”
