Peter Obi, the political upstart who sought the presidency on the platform of the Labour Party, is convinced that northern Nigeria can only be associated with one feature: poverty.
In at least two of his most recent statements, including the one in which he admitted to “unknowingly breaking the law” in the United Kingdom, the former Anambra governor used the word ‘poverty’ as a synonym for northern Nigeria, thus revealing what many have since described as a bigoted mindset quick to belittle and castigate those he considers as outsiders, notably Muslims and non-Igbos.
“Beyond regaining our mandate, I am committed to lifting people out of poverty and I remain committed to transforming Nigeria starting from the North to every part of the nation,” Obi said in one of the statements.
In another statement defending his ‘consumption to production’ mantra which has been criticized by economic experts as the product of lazy thinking and poor understanding of economic fundamentals, Obi said his goal was to “pull millions of Nigeria out of multidimensional poverty especially in the North…”
Never mind the fact that the last time Obi was placed in charge of a state’s economy, he only succeeded in doubling the rate of poverty; his insistence on only speaking about the north as the hub of poverty, and northerners as little more than a group of deprived and uncivilized people provides insight into the inner working of Obi’s mind and his sad acceptance of the discriminatory trope which flattens the north, its history and people, into a simple but false image of lack and devastation.
This becomes clearer with the observation of the fact that Obi only speaks about the north in this sole, reductive context. Nothing about the region’s contributions to Nigeria’s development in the areas of architecture, agriculture, and even literacy having begun to document its social evolutions across thousands of years through scrolls such as the Kano Chronicles.
Many have also pointed out the irony and blinding effect of Obi’s bigotry when his home state of Anambra cannot compare to several northern states on key development indexes, including public infrastructure, child nutrition, and social stability.
His successor as Anambra governor, Charles Soludo, corroborates this criticism with his revelation of the deep rot present in the state beginning with the Obi years infamous for shoddy and grossly inflated projects. To cite an example, a couple of days back, governor Soludo was moved to tears when he visited the road connecting the state’s tertiary institution to the rest of the city. Although Obi had claimed to fix the road at the cost of several millions of naira, it is now essentially red earth and large puddles of water, impassable to both humans and cars.
My unscheduled visit today to the Ifite-UNIZIK road evoked emotions that words can’t describe.
By my next visit to this road, it won't be the same. This axis is home to many students, the very future for which we elected to take up this job.
May Anambra continue to succeed. pic.twitter.com/iRg912Fxqw
— Chukwuma Charles SOLUDO, CFR (@CCSoludo) April 17, 2023
The ‘Yes Daddy’ politician who urged a ‘religious war’ between Muslims and Christians in a leaked audio tape further proves his parochial and tribal worldview with alleged domination of the Labour Party, his adopted party after a hurried exit from the PDP, with members of his ethnic stock, a development said to be a major factor in the conflict ripping the party apart.
No sooner did he join that he began to fill sensitive positions with easterners at the expense of other members from different parts of the country. The LP governorship candidate in the last Oyo governorship election also affirmed Obi’s disdain for non-Igbos. According to him and his local campaign team, the presidential candidate failed to offer any support, treated him with naked contempt, and flatly denied him what should ordinarily be traditional access and a chance to campaign together.
This was reportedly the treatment governorship candidates in non-Igbo states received from Obi, with the exception of Lagos State where the candidate, Gbadebo Rhodes Vivour (GRV), is culturally Igbo having been born to an Igbo mother who raised him to cherish and adopt her culture and tradition. GRV affirmed this when he controversially said, “I don’t think in Yoruba.”
For Obi, only two categories of people are deserving of respect: Christians and Igbos. In fact, in many cases, the two traits must be present to win his approval. For others, it’s tough luck. You are either addressed by your poverty or made victims of a ‘religious war’ ruthlessly waded and hypocritically concealed. Yes, Daddy.