Obasanjo chooses Peter Obi as the leader with right character for 2023 presidency

In a speech laced with anecdotes, former President Olusegun Obasanjo on Sunday endorsed the Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate, Mr Peter Obi as the candidate with the right character to lead Nigeria to greatness from 2023 onwards. He said Nigeria is at a critical moment in her political history and needs a leader with the right character and capacity to turn things around. The two-time Nigerian president and civil war hero picked the right occasion and venue to drop the hint, the 70^th birthday service in honour of the immediate past Ohanaeze President-General, Dr Nnia Nwodo in Enugu and a condolence visit to the family of a First Republic Minister of Aviation, Chief Mbazuluike Amaechi who died last month.

Obasanjo said he was working with other elder statesmen to enthrone a new Nigeria, where everyone would have a sense of belonging and there would be justice for all.

The former president made the statement at the Ohanaeze Ndigbo National Secretariat in Enugu, where he signed a condolence register opened by the group of elders for the First Republic Minister of Aviation, Chief Mbazulike Amaechi, who died on November 1.

The leader of the apex Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere, Pa Ayo Adebanjo, and presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Mr. Peter Obi, also signed the register as a mark of respect for the deceased.

In his address, Obasanjo said the major problem with Nigeria was the dearth of leaders with the right type of character, who should be trusted with the leadership role.

“So, if I put my hand on someone, it means that comparing with the other, I see that there is a merit that will be of benefit to Nigeria,” he said. “And I believe that Chief Adebanjo stands for the same thing.”

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He stated, “I have shed my blood for this country. I have gone to prison for this country. So, what are you going to frighten or threaten me with? The only thing that my senior brother (Adebanjo) hasn’t done is that he hasn’t shed his blood, but he has gone to prison.

“What I believe and what I think Pa Ayo Adebanjo believes is not ethnic, it’s not sectional, it is not religious, it is Nigeria. I believe in equity, I believe in justice, I believe in one Nigeria.”

Although, Obasanjo did not pointedly mention Peter Obi’s name, but the fact that he stated that he was on the same plank with Pa Ayo Adebanjo over the choice of the right leader for the country, shows where he is standing. Adebanjo has since shepherded the Pan-Yoruba socio-cultural group, Afenifere to boldly endorse Obi for the presidency ahead of the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, Mr Bola Ahmed Tinubu who is a Yoruba man. Afenifere’s movein overlooking Tinubu to choose Obi has been described as a significant watershed that might change the political dynamics and history of Southern Nigeria and Nigeria as a whole.  

Speaking on the virtues of late Mbazulike Amaechi, Obasanjo described him as an authentic Nigerian patriot and the last of the titans, regretting that the foremost nationalist would not be around to witness the new Nigeria that he laboured for.

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Emuchay thanked the leaders for honouring the late former minister and the entire Ndigbo, stressing that the Ohanaeze just like Afenifere remains committed to its support for Peter Obi in the interest of fairness and equity. Pa Adebanjo has been consistent and unwavering in his support of Obi describing him as a man of outstanding character who also represents equity in the current presidential race.