Follow Us on Google
By Prince Peter Awele Odor
In his Afara Lane column of July 8, 2022, Dr. Robert Obioha asked three questions that are vital and necessary for discussing the chance of Mr. Peter Obi in the 2023 presidential election. My categorical answer to his very thoughtful and important questions is that Peter Obi’s moral character makes him the issue. I mean this in relation to the moral character of the PDP and APC aspirants, because it is strongly believed, and has been argued in newspapers, that one of them will win the election. I shall defend my opinion in this reply to Obioha’s questions. I present first the necessary background. The fundamental and overriding basis for voting for any of the contestants for the position of President in 2023 should be based on leadership values. Unfortunately, we do not have any generally known, accepted, and institutionalized leadership values. The only known value that the founding fathers of our nation and democracy after colonisation practised, which was popularised by Mr. Ukpabi Asika, the ex-administrator of defunct East Central State, was Onye ubeya ruru ya raa (Igbo). This means, contextually, “anyone elected or appointed into any political position should enjoy as he could.” This value has endured as the institutionalised political value because all governments after the first government lacked moral character to correct the criminality. The PDP and APC have practised it to an epidemic level.
A person’s values are best assessed by studying the character of the person over several decades of his professional, social and interpersonal activities, and not by relying on the claims that he makes about his character or the character that he exhibits one year or several weeks to an election. The value that best befits our next president—indeed all future presidents—is moral character and not selfishness, financial greed and insatiability. The PDP and APC have practised these for 24 years. Moral character was institutionalised, although not written, and evident in personal, family, social, and institutional activities when Nigeria was the country of our pride and the envy of other nations. Moral character was everything then! The best expression of moral character was good family name. Particular evidence of moral character are iwa om’oluwabi (Yoruba), ezigbo omume (Igbo), and halin kirki (Hausa), to use the three major Nigerian languages. Members of families were the first to condemn, correct and, sometimes, punish a person for moral failing or corruption, to preserve their family name. But now, family members promote, cover up or defend moral failings or corruption. This is why our economy, democracy, governance, legislation, justice administration, international relations, marriages and children’s upbringing have been failing. It is why the naira which was N1: $2 some years ago is now N620:$1!
After a year of researching the dynamics, functionality and value of values in the administration and management of three national systems several decades ago, I concluded that Western, mostly American, individualistic and materialistic values adopted mindlessly were the cause of our predicament, that the only way out of this and be on the right road to our true destiny was to revive the good old values and institutionalise them. That is, obligate Nigerians strictly to practice them. And that if this was not done, rather than get out of the predicament, the situation would get worse progressively and, at a finite future time, will become intractable. We are in that situation now, but I was vilified and the view ridiculed when I made the recommendation. It is noted that the values of Americans, although inferior to our traditional values, are working for them and stopped Mr. Donald Trump, destroying the Capitol, the blood of American democracy, because the US insitutionalised several values. Mr. Boris Johnson fell because he lacks moral character; one of Britain’s institutionalised leadership values, although unwritten. Based on the authority of the research and vindication by its actualisation I recommend that all future elections—presidential, governorship, legislative and local government—and the appointment of all judges, ministers, CBN governor, SFG, advisers, etc should be based on institutionalised moral values. Done with my background, I begin my comparison of the moral character of Mr. Peter Obi of the Labour Party (LP) with that of the presidential aspirants of the PDP and APC by noting that Alhaji Atiku chose Mr. Obi as his V.P during the contest for the presidency in 2019 because he and the PDP said that they wanted “a man who has no record of financial corruption with the EFCC.” This is in order that his arrest and prosecution will not mar his campaign and cause the PDP to lose at the contest. This action is the most significant, outstanding and important evidence of the moral character of Mr. Peter Obi. Only the conclusion made here equals it in significance or importance. Because the members of LP who chose him, although a new comer to the party, are very distinguished, puts him on the same moral or virtue pedestal as Mr. George Washington, the first president of the USA.
Another evidence that Mr. Obi surpasses both aspirants in moral character assessment is that while he was the governor of Anambra State, he did not take advantage of the position to privatise any state economic or financial interest to himself. I have not seen any report that Mr. Obi acquired his wealth by looting state funds. This fact certifies him worthy of the Seat of President in the new Nigeria. An online medium accused him of keeping the existence of some companies “secret” and NOT that he established them with state money or money got from privatising State interest to his benefit. Obi left the right to decide who governs Anambra State and who goes to the legislative arm, whether in Awka or in Abuja, to Anambrarians, and who becomes commissioner to the governor of the state. He is a true democrat. He will not interfere with legislative, judicial or EFCC rights. For the APC and PDP aspirants, becoming the president of Nigeria is a life ambition and lust for power and, hence, must be achieved at any cost. Obi values his moral character above any amount of money and the presidency. He will win because moral character is worth more than money. Moral character is everything! Another reason Obi will win is that he relies on prayers and God grants the prayers of a man of moral character.
Some people have argued that “education is absolutely necessary for good governance.” President Buhari’s governance is utterly disappointing to me because I campaigned and voted for him. But we have had at least one president that met the idea and standard of education of these critics and he failed to give us good governance. Also, all our governors, a preponderant number of the men and women in the legislature, all our judges, ministers and advisers possess the educational certification that they require, western, but all of them have failed us. Therefore, and obviously, education is not everything. Moral character is everything!
The education which does not make its recipient a moral character is indoctrination or mental enslavement. Bob Marley characterised it “brainwashed education to make us the fools.” The person who receives this education is full of vices, especially ego and selfishness. True education makes its recipient a moral character. The person is full of virtues especially humility and altruism. With his altruism, he adds values to the lives of people with his position and money earned morally. His altruism includes nationalism. Hence, he adds values to national economy and finance with his position.
Finally, on the mindless and stale argument of the PDP, APC and the people who support them that “Obi has no structures.” Their claim is mindless because his “structures” are found in all the states of the country, including Abuja. These are adult and young male and female people of moral character and honour, people who have suffered and still suffer poverty, insecurity, and murder of their parents, children or siblings. They are the people who were kidnapped and paid thousands of dollars or millions of naira as ransom for their release, relations of those murdered in spite of the payments.
The most indomitable of Obi’s “structures” are the people who have suffered incessant attacks, murder, destruction of their farms and displacements; university lecturers who have been treated so very much beneath their dignity by being reduced to beggars, borrowers and odd-job-doers in order to keep themselves and their families alive for five months; millions of students who have been wondering about, denied education and timely completion of their courses; millions of youths who have no jobs, and the people of the states where oil is got but lack necessities most. It includes the Third Force, Nigerian workers and many others.
Odor, an independent researcher and public good promoter, writes from Akoka, Lagos
