BY EDMOND ODOK AND SEGUN ADEBAYO – The Labour Party presidential candidate, Mr Peter Obi, has challenged Nigerians not to accept rigged elections’ outcome as the will of God for the country
According to him, the problem of Nigerians over the years has been that of docility and compromise to accept what is wrong and unacceptable as God’s will.
Speaking as a guest at Arise Television Morning Show interview programme on Monday, the former Anambra State Governor said God does not wish bad and evil things for His people.
He was responding to the position by some Nigerians canvassing that the outcome of the February 25, 2023, presidential election, should be seen and accepted as the will of God for Nigeria.
The LP candidate said the Obedient Movement was about trying to change bad things in the country, noting that; “The problem of Nigeria is accepting what is unacceptable. That’s not God’s wish. God’s wish is when you do the right thing. Is it God’s wish that we remain poor as a country, despite its abundant blessings on us?”
Obi said Nigeria had remained decadent in a continuous state of moral decline because Nigerians kept accepting what was wrong and dragging God into it, insisting that the ‘Obidient Movement’ which he symbolized, was in the system to change things and create an egalitarian society.
The LP Standard bearer said it was disheartening that after 63 years of nationhood, Nigeria remain unable to conduct an election that meets the minimum acceptable standard and described the February 25 presidential poll as the worst ever in Nigeria’s history, considering that the 2022 Electoral Act was enacted to ensure free, fair and credible elections.
“It is a world of sadness that 63 years after Nigeria’s independence, we cannot conduct a simple election despite all the promises. In India, which is the world’s biggest democracy with over 900 million registered voters, in their last election, 67 per cent participated, which is over 600 million. That is 25 times our size”, he said
No Retreat, We Will Take Back Nigeria
On the pursuit of his mandate through legal and peaceful means, Obi expressed sadness that the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) as a public institution, maintained by taxpayer’s money, could be treating the rule of law with so much levity.
Further explaining that there was nothing personal about his decision to challenge the abuse of the process during the last election and would not back down until the right thing was done, he said doing and accepting the wrong things is what had kept Nigeria down since independence.
“I don’t ve issues with Tinubu, I ‘m only challenging process that declared him winner. My appeal to Nigerians is to remain calm and prayerful. We have no other country except Nigeria. And we will go through all legal means to get back Nigeria. Like I told people, I am not challenging who they declared or the outcome. I am challenging the process at which they arrived at their declaration. And unless we do that, we are not going to stop the rascality we witnessed in that election. The process through which people come into office is far more important than what they do thereafter.
I Contested To Win For Nigerians
On the claims in some quarters that his candidacy swept votes away from PDP strongholds and helped Bola Tinubu to win, Obi said he was not contesting to help anybody but to win and that by records, Nigerians made that happened, despite the abracadabra by the INEC.
“I will also say I contested the election and I didn’t contest the election for anybody to win. The declared winner did not win. He may have been declared by whatever means, but to win, is to win the people. If democracy means the government of the people, by the people and for the people, that means if you must win, you must win the people. If you don’t win the people, you have not won.
‘’Because Nigeria’s politics has been largely transactional, when we were starting this, people didn’t believe what we were about to do. The consequence is that we didn’t have candidates for the governorship in states because being a transitional thing, people like being where things are being shared. So, nobody believed that a party without a local government councillor, chairman, etc, can come up become something. So we didn’t have candidates in most places.
‘’In a few places, we have two first-class candidates and I support them and I asked the ‘Obidient’ family to support them because they will do good work. For me, it is about having competent, credible people with proven track records that can do well. With time we will build this institution to ensure that everything we are doing is the right thing.’’
Asked if Tinubu had called him, he said: “The APC presidential candidate is an elder brother, I can even call him my father and I have all respect for him but I have not been opportune to speak with him.
‘’I don’t have any issue with him. I respect him and I will continue to do so. I am only challenging the process through which he was declared the winner because that process is wrong, and must be corrected.
‘’I believe things must be done rightly, we must follow the rule of law, we must have a society where things are done in decent and organised manner, especially as we try to build a new nation and the world will take us seriously and respect us.
Yoruba Versus Igbo In Lagos Narrative Unnecessary
“Secondly, what you see as ethnic strife is people hiding to cause confusion. The votes I got in Lagos cut across everybody in Lagos, from Yoruba, Igbo, Hausa, Ijaw and all the tribes that reside in Lagos.
‘’I know lots of people that are pure Yoruba that are supporting me. In 2003, Obasanjo got over 90 per cent votes in the entire South-East despite the fact that our own revered leader Odumegwu-Ojukwu was contesting. He failed in Yorubaland but we gave him more votes in the South-East. In 2011, Jonathan got more votes in the South-East than he got in the South-South.”
On insinuations about him saying aides should not be speaking for their principals, Obi said since these aides were not on the ballot, he would prefer to speak when those he contested with speak.
About his votes tallies, the Labour Party flag bearer stated that the 97 per cent votes he got in Anambra state should not disturb anybody because he was expecting 100% votes, since the people knew him and believed in him.
“They forgot that I got over 95% in Anambra State in 2019 when I was a running mate. In 2023, I was the main candidate, I am even surprised that I did not get 100%”, he said.
He also clarified his support for Labour Party governorship candidates in some states, saying he is in support of LP ticket holders in Enugu, Abia, Lagos, and Plateau states among others 100%, and directed his supporters to vote for them.
On the ethnic tension in Lagos State over his victory on the February 25 poll, ahead of the governorship election, Obi said it is not ethnic, wondering why some mischievous persons are trying to create such an impression.
Maintaining that many more non-Igbos and Yorubas who shared the aspiration for a new Nigeria voted for him, Obi said even if Igbos voted for him, this was not the first time they are voting for people. They had voted massively like this for Olusegun Obasanjo, even when he lost an election in his region and they also gave Jonathan more votes than South-South states and all these brouhahas did not happen then.
Obi, who also addressed issues around the touted collaboration with the PDP, said no such arrangement is on ground at the moment, stressing thus; “We are challenging a process that is wrong and regrettably created by INEC to serve a particular purpose”.
