Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the last election, does not know how old he is. The astounding confusion came to light with his recent exhortation to his followers not to celebrate his 62nd birthday due on Wednesday, July 19.
But in a similar statement issued days before his birthday in 2013, exactly ten years ago, Peter Obi claimed that he was clocking 50 years of age.
A simple mathematical progression of age 50 from 2013, which was ten years ago, should see him celebrate age 60 this year. However, his claim of 62 has caused confusion and increased doubts about the sincerity of the politician infamous for his blunders and dishonesty, as alleged by several people.
The faux pas on his age is not the first time Obi has generated controversy with his dubious maths. At a previous event, seeking to demonstrate his adeptness at quick math, Obi boldly claimed that a division of 650 with 18.9 would result in “twenty point something.” He asked the public to ‘go and verify’. They did and when they consulted their calculator, the answer was 34.39. Obi was way off the mark.
On other occasions, Obi has been exposed for reeling incorrect data and statistics about Asian countries, notably China, and their economic situation.
Nevertheless, his confusion about his age, according to many, provokes deeper questions into the legitimacy of other personal claims he has made in public. Already, his falsehood of owning just a single wristwatch, a lie he repeated for years until the people cared to look, has been exposed. Many now wonder if they truly know the man and if anything he has said about himself and his family in the past and recently is to be believed.
Questions about who Obi really is and what he represents continue to grow.