OPINION: Peter Obi: The meddlesome interloper

By John Mayaki

In an attempt to express his opinion, the Labour Party’s presidential candidate, Mr Peter Obi, yesterday, ended up exposing himself as a meddlesome interloper with no legal stake, no clarity, and moral ground, when he described the September 2024 governorship election in Edo state as “undemocratic” and went on to claim that “everybody knows who won.”

At least we all know for a fact that Peter Obi is not the INEC Chairman or returning officer in that election. We also know that he is not the Election Petition Tribunal. He is neither a judge of any competent court, nor was he a party to the legal proceedings that ensued after the poll.

Am sure we all can remember that Peter Obi’s Labour Party, built entirely around his personal cult of personality failed to file a single petition against the outcome of the election. Obi’s candidate, Olumide Akpata, accepted the outcome with grace and choose not to contest the results. So, what exactly is Obi’s lamentation?

Obi has degenerated to the level of street gossip in a matter that a competent court of jurisdiction has reaffirmed the declaration of Senator Monday Okpebholo as the winner of the election. I see this as an affront on our democratic process. What determines victory in an election petition is evidence and not sentiments or street gossips.

I think what Obi has done also questions his own democratic credentials. His attempt to undermine the tribunal ruling with sweeping evidence-free statement is an attempt to cheapen our legal institutions and this tell of his posturing on nation-building.

How can you claim to be a principled reformer and then turn around to undermine the very institutions you hope to rely on? On one hand, Obi preaches fidelity to the rule of law and then, when it does not favour his sentiments, he throws legal process under the bus. Obi must be told that this is not leadership. It is called hypocrisy.

One would have thought that Obi would approach the courts with overwhelming evidence showing electoral malpractices especially now that the matter is before the Appeal Court and not at funeral tributes and so, his failure to do so weakens his argument as a man never sincere in his struggle for true leadership.

But wait, who exactly did Obi supported during the election? Was it Olumide Akpata or the PDP’s candidate? His statement yesterday simply suggested that he preferred the PDP candidate over and above his own party’s candidate. This is the same Peter Obi who once condemned the PDP as part of Nigeria’s political problem. People say Obi is himself confused over his ambition while others say he is only being mischievous. But I think he is mischievously confused.

Besides, I think we need to question the timing and intent of Obi’s comment. Some say it is a strategic attempt to warm himself up to the PDP in anticipation of alliances while others say it is a subtle admission of his party’s weak outing in the governorship election. I agree with the above submissions and would want to add that it is the venting of frustration from a man whose political momentum has waned so drastically and as such, seeking relevance as we approach 2027.

Anyways, whatever the motive behind Obi’s unsolicited intervention as a meddlesome interloper that he has become, it adds nothing constructive to the debate. Rather, Obi has succeeded in muddling the waters, insults the intelligence of Edo voters, disrespects the judiciary, and reeks of opportunism. I think our institutions should never take Obi seriously. He is not a statesman but a sore loser in the guise of a moral compass.

The people of Edo state spoke during the election. The tribunal has ruled. The case is at the Appellate Court. Senator Monday Okpebholo remains the governor. Obi should approach the Appeal court with his candidates – Olumide Akpata or Asue Ighodalo with evidence. And Obi should stop meddling in affairs where he lacks competence and jurisdiction and where his voice is not needed except as a mere meddlesome interloper.

Mr. Mayaki writes from Abuja, the Nation’s capital