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Now that it is all over (hopefully), let me have my say about the presidential elections, the obidient madness, and your “arisetv-like” behavior through all this.
- I respect everyone’s right to their views, but the rate & level of animosity with which you constantly vilified Tinubu was quite astonishing to me. Is he really worse than GEJ or PMB, considering what we have experienced with them? If you acknowledge that he has a knack for picking good people (including Osinbajo in that list), does that not, in fact, make him better than the last 2 presidents we have had? Is the ability to put round pegs in round holes not a critical part of being a good leader? Tell me which governor or leader in the entire country has that knack better than Tinubu.
- There is no Nigerian election that is smooth sailing or that does not come with manipulation, but is it difficult to believe that Obi did not get any significant votes in the states where he performed poorly? Analyze the list. Obi himself made the election a sectional and religious affair by visiting all the churches everywhere and christian dominated areas in the northern states. What is the christian population in those northern states he performed abysmally in? What effort did he actually make to court Muslim populations? Did his Muslim vice have a personality?
- Apart from Lagos, what percentage of Ibos are in the rest of the South western states? They are mostly based in Lagos because that is the center of commerce, and that is what the Ibo man is all about. Did he think he would sweep the southeast and also sweep the southwest states when contesting against a Yoruba man?
- Labor took Lagos for the following reasons..
a. Lagos has a high population of Ibos & most if not all of them voted for “their son.”
b. Lagos has a high population of elites & Obi resonated with them with his English & elitist talk
c. A lot of Yorubas and other lagosians like you resent Tinubu for his hold on Lagos. Is it jealousy? You acknowledge that “his picks” for governor have been excellent choices. Lagos is the most complex & difficult state in the country to govern, yet Lagos is doing well. Many state governors copy what Lagos does. People from other states (especially the east) are eager to relocate to Lagos. You are constantly happy to tell us about your huge network & your ability to reach anybody etc etc, so you like having control & influence. Why all the resentment?
d. Most christians resented the muslim-muslim ticket & were eager to show their disapproval.
It was simply a combination of these factors that made Tinubu lose Lagos by a slim margin. I do not doubt that he knew having a Muslim vice would cost him votes, but he had to take that strategic decision, or he would have totally lost out on northern votes. He was smart & strategic enough to know he needed those votes with Atiku in the fray.
- Inasmuch as Obi could speak well & reel out data, he was either not strategic in his thinking or he was arrogant because he convinced himself he was the people’s choice north, south, east & west. The delusional sycophants around him encouraged that thinking & their savvyness with social media spurred them on. Politics is about strategy and numbers. If people can stop and use their brains (if they have any) and ask themselves intelligent questions, they will stop all this nonsense about Tinubu’s win not being legit. It is not possible to rig irresponsibly the way it was in the past. (except you are a Wike who is just a matter hatter, but even if you toss Rivers results in the bin, Tinubu will still come out tops).
- Whether you choose to admit it or not, Obi can not magically get the required numbers based on self-aggrandizement about being the “messiah.” Winning a presidential election in Nigeria is not about touring media channels & social media campaigns. You need to pour as much energy into the grassroots, those uneducated people who don’t do Twitter or watch arise or channel tv. Millions of people DID vote for Tinubu. He has spent years building alliances across all regions. Atiku has done the same. He has a Yoruba wife, an Ibo wife, and maybe others from other regions for all I know. Late MKO Abiola won resoundingly because of the alliances he had built across all regions over the years & how helpful he had quietly been over many years to the masses in different parts of the country.
- Obi has always been a sectional person. I might be wrong, but this is probably the 1st time he has criss-crossed Nigeria. If the reports are true (I am not saying they are), even when he visited the northern states, he focused on churches and Christian communities. Only a few northern states have a high number of christian populations. What efforts did he make to court Muslim populations? Many in the north looked at him as someone who was only interested in christian votes. I also read somewhere that he basically sidelined labor party chairmen in many of those states. He did not trust them because he had his own inner caucus he felt could deliver for him. Did his inner caucus have boots on the ground? Were they local people whom the masses could identify with? Like Obi, his vice came across as elitist. What percentage of nigerian voters are educated? When you go on campaigns or on Arise TV and Channels tv to talk about GDP and quote figures and percentages to show how educated & knowledgeable you are, how many of the masses who will vote are you actually connecting with? Well, I guess we know the answer now, don’t we.
- Millions of people did NOT vote for Obi. That is a fact & a bitter pill he should be able to swallow if he has any understanding whatsoever about leadership. The mentality of “where I win, it’s legit, where I lose, it was rigged” is madness as far as I am concerned & people touting that nonsense should go get their heads examined. Was there rigging & manipulation? For sure, but all the parties did it. I have seen videos of underage voters in the east, so nobody should paint a picture of saintliness as far as elections go. If some are better at manipulation than others, so be it. You, Edgar, are an expert in manipulation, so let’s not even go there. I don’t believe the level of rigging or manipulation essentially affected the overall results. What Obi did was weaken PDP significantly because PDP always swept the southeast resoundingly in case people are pretending they have forgotten. APC has never done well in the southeast, so Obi’s coming out only dented them a bit. Why is it difficult to believe APC would win again?
- As for Sanwo Olu, my belief is that he will do well. Tinubu’s win will help him, so I disagree with you about Tinubu speaking up for him. Don’t forget Nigerians like to be associated with success & power. Another thing that I believe will help him is IPOB’s stupidity of going to raise their flag in Alausa. I might be wrong, but I do not believe that the average Yoruba man who dislikes Tinubu & voted Obi for president will prefer IPOB to Tinubu. What that idiotic stunt conveyed is that a vote for LP is a vote for IPOB. I doubt that the Yoruba man will sit by and welcome IPOB to flex muscle on Yoruba land & perhaps unleash the mayhem they have been unleashing in the east. People say the Iboman is his own worst enemy…probably true if you ask me.
- My advice to Obi? He should be a statesman, accept defeat & call off his rabid dogs. He should not let sycophants fool him. He lost because he did not do enough. He got carried away by his popularity amongst some very loud people who were also very social media savvy and then got arrogant. He thought he did not need to build alliances.
- Now is the time for him to come off his high horse, sit back, analyze and restrategize, make a list of things they did well, make a list of areas where they failed and strategize on how to turn the failures into success for his next run. PMB lost the election 3 times, fought all the way till he lost at the supreme court & came back to fight again until he finally won. Is Obi so arrogant or delusional that he does not think he can lose an election? Does he not have what it takes to fall, pick yourself up, and come back fighting? If he doesn’t, then I suggest you need to invite him to a one-on-one with you so you can give him lessons based on your personal experience. One of the things he MUST ABSOLUTELY do is get his obidients to stop threatening fire and brimstone on everyone who is not obidient. Many people, including me, do not like bullies & I will not, in a million years, give my vote to a party of bullies. He is young, and hopefully, he is smart, he has time, God willing.
- He should definitely be VERY proud of what he has achieved in a very short time. I am happy he entered the fray. He has put pressure on Tinubu and future Nigerian leaders. They know they cannot afford to fuck up. They know they have Obi waiting in the wings to take them out. The pressure is on. That is VERY good for our country.
- My advice to you? Get over yourself and stop the vilification of Tinubu. Give the man a chance. I might be wrong but I do think he is not after money. I think he believes he has something to offer Nigeria on a larger scale and that he actually wants to leave a legacy. He knows he is old so he knows he does not have much time on his hands anyway. If he had all the ailments they say he has, he also knows stealing all the money in the world cannot buy him good health or extend his life. He is good at picking the right people to get the job done.
- Personally, I don’t need a leader who knows everything. I am happy with one who understands his limitations and is able to pick the right people to help him deliver. He knows he is not blessed with the gift of the garb so he refused to let himself be bullied into a debate with other presidential aspirants. That is what I call understanding your limitations. He would have been a fool if he had exposed himself to a debate and he sure ain’t no fool. If someone were to organize a public writing competition & the stakes were high, only a foolish writer who does not understand his limitations would publicly take you on if you were part of that competition? If Tinubu is or was a wily crook, he will understand where the crooks are coming from even before they start their shenanigans. He is a cabal all by himself 😅 so I don’t see any cabal caging or manipulating him like they did with GEJ and PMB.
And finally, he knows Obi and his ilk are waiting to take him out.
Let’s wait and see what he has to offer. The first 60 days of his presidency will definitely show us where he is headed.
Me, I do wish him well, for the sake of the common man. I pray he gets it.
What I forgot to also add is that a lot of your writings and musings on whatsapp and in dailies are designed to influence people and minds. You like having power and the ability to influence people. If you had Tinubu’s influence, you would be totally brazen about telling people to go stick themselves where the sun don’t shine if they don’t like what you do or say. You do that even now just because of your network so what’s your grouse?
Annonymous
2023
