The Economist of
London says the “sudden ascent” of Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the
Labour Party (LP), represents a “rare chance” for Nigeria.
According to an article published on Monday, and titled
‘Peter Obi, A Man Who Carries His Own Suitcases, Could Be Nigeria’s Next
President’, The Economist, however, said there is still much for the LP
candidate to do to get the required votes across the country.
“As public campaigning was about to begin in late September,
Nigeria was rocked by the release of three polls showing Mr Obi well ahead of
the two candidates representing the main parties that have mis-ruled Nigeria
since the restoration of its democracy in 1999,” the article
reads.
“In two of the polls Mr Obi has a lead of more than 15 percentage points over Bola Tinubu, of the incumbent All Progressives Congress (APC), and Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), the main opposition.
“What makes this even
more extraordinary is that Mr Obi is standing for the Labour Party, whose
candidate at the previous presidential election in 2019 won just 5,074 votes
out of 28m cast.
“Mr Obi’s sudden ascent represents a rare chance for
Nigeria. The country ought to be rich: it has huge reserves of oil, gas and
other minerals, plenty of fertile land and a young population of go-getters.
Yet Nigerians are poorer today than they were ten years ago and 40% of them
survive on less than $1.90 a day.
“The reasons why Nigeria is poor are rotten politics, bad
governance and corruption. Politicians in Nigeria have long stirred up ethnic
and religious divisions by promising to direct state resources to members of
their own group.
“Once in power they have pursued contorted economic policies
such as a fixed exchange rate and massive fuel subsidies. Some policies seem to
make sense only as a way of allowing cronies to siphon off cash.”
The Economist describes APC’s Tinubu and PDP’s Atiku as not
offering much in terms of developmental change, while citing previous
allegations linking both candidates to crimes in the US.
For Obi, the article also cites the Pandora Papers report on his
alleged refusal to declare his assets.
The Economist, however, said while there is no guarantee
that Obi winning the presidency will automatically address issues such as
corruption, “if he were to sustain his lead until the election in February, he
would be the first politician in decades to show that a new sort of politics is
possible in Nigeria”.
The article, which also features comments from The
Economist’s interview with Obi, makes reference to the LP candidate’s rising
popularity, including among youths and on social media, while describing him as
an “unlikely revolutionary”.
“Mr Obi’s surging popularity is due, above all, to
perceptions of his character. In a country cursed by politicians of
extraordinary ego and entourage, his supporters marvel that as governor Mr Obi
queued at airports holding his own luggage,” the article reads.
“He also slashed the size of his motorcade when he found
that 13 of the cars were empty, he says. This not only plays well with young
voters, but also annoys his rivals.
“Kashim Shettima, Mr Tinubu’s running-mate, grumbles that Mr
Obi “tends to glamorise poverty” by claiming to own only one watch. (Mr
Shettima, who likes smart watches, says he “has more than two or three”.)”
According to the article, Obi said he would prioritise
addressing insecurity, but The Economist added that it is “disappointing” that
he is “less keen to emphasise his proposed policies as president”.
Another concern raised by The Economist is that the Labour
Party isn’t on the ballot for a significant number of other seats, especially
in the national assembly, for the 2023 elections.
Meanwhile, the recent article comes days after The Economist
Intelligence Unit (EIU), an arm of The Economist of London, predicted
victory for Tinubu in the 2023 presidential election.
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