Rev Fr. George Ehusani, Executive Director of the Lux Terra
Leadership Foundation, has shared what he thinks a Peter Obi presidency or its
non-emergence at this Saturday presidential election would mean for the
ordinary Nigerian citizens and their leaders.
Obi, a former governor of
Anambra State and a well-known businessman, is the presidential flag bearer of
the Labour Party (LP) - a political party that came into prominence after Obi
defected from the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to the party
to pursue his presidential ambition.
Speaking in his office in Abuja, Ehusani that Obi’s
emergence as president in the February 25, 2023 presidential election will not
only jolt the country’s two established political parties but will mean that
the youths, who are the majority of Obi’s supporters, have truly had enough of
the bad leadership that has plagued the country since it gained independence 63
years ago.
The cleric said there’s currently “a new awakening” among
Nigeria’s younger generation who are determined to tell the leaders that it’s
“no longer business as usual” and are determined to ensure that the leaders
prioritize their needs.
According to data from
the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), the unemployment rate among youths
aged 15-34 was 42.5% as of the fourth quarter of 2020.
The youths want a president who will prioritize job creation and
promote policies that support entrepreneurship and small business development,
and according to Ehusani, the younger generation doesn’t trust candidates of
the two established political parties – Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Atiku Abubakar –
to the job.
He said in searching for
solution to the years of bad leadership, the young people found a figurehead in
Obi who through his financial prudence during his time as governor has been able
to differentiate himself from prodigal politicians that are now disliked by the
youths.
The youths want a president who will prioritize job creation and
promote policies that support entrepreneurship and small business development,
and according to Ehusani, the younger generation doesn’t trust candidates of
the two established political parties – Bola Ahmed Tinubu and Atiku Abubakar –
to the job.
He said in searching for
solution to the years of bad leadership, the young people found a figurehead in
Obi who through his financial prudence during his time as governor has been
able to differentiate himself from prodigal politicians that are now disliked
by the youths.
The cleric said to correct this, the youths are taking their
destinies into their own hands by using their power as voters to demand good
governance.
“People have spent their
own money, sacrificed their time (and) in Lagos people got brutalized but they
didn’t mind. The kind of people who never used to bother about politics. Look
at the personality of Aisha Yusuf, the Hijab wearing young woman, is that the
kind of person that used to be at the forefront in politics in Nigeria? This is
the first time when that profile of young educated woman would be in the
forefront on the podium, campaigning.
“What crop of people did
we used to see on the podium campaigning? Male, older with Agbada. Now you have
jeans wearing young people who are on the stage campaigning, with celebrities
singing. So, something has suddenly happened in the last nine months. Because
this whole movement is matter of the last nine months, that every town that
this man called Peter Obi and Datti have gone, people have trooped out. Even in
the most unlikely places. So, I believe that there is a new awakening.
“The older politicians have continued that ethnic and religious
bigotry, they have continued to get people through “it’s our turn” or “no,
North must rule” or all these kinds of nonsense. But I think the young people
are more enlightened now and they are getting involved.”
Obi’s supporters believe
that if elected president, he would promote economic growth, reduce corruption,
and improve infrastructure and public services across the country. The LP
candidate has expressed support for policies such as diversifying the economy
beyond oil, promoting local production and entrepreneurship, and investing in
education and healthcare.
As a leader, Obi would
also be expected by his supporters to navigate the challenges of promoting
unity and stability in the country’s diverse and complex political landscape
housing over 250 ethnic groups.
“The older politicians have continued that ethnic and religious
bigotry, they have continued to get people through “it’s our turn” or “no,
North must rule” or all these kinds of nonsense. But I think the young people
are more enlightened now and they are getting involved.”
Obi’s supporters believe
that if elected president, he would promote economic growth, reduce corruption,
and improve infrastructure and public services across the country. The LP
candidate has expressed support for policies such as diversifying the economy
beyond oil, promoting local production and entrepreneurship, and investing in
education and healthcare.
As a leader, Obi would
also be expected by his supporters to navigate the challenges of promoting
unity and stability in the country’s diverse and complex political landscape
housing over 250 ethnic groups.
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