Nigerian-born international writer, Chimamanda Adichie has
explained why she supported Peter Obi of the Labour Party, LP, for the February
25 presidential election.
Adichie said her support for Obi is deeply rooted in her
faith in Obi’s ability and how he showed interest in ordinary people.
She also said Obi tackled insecurity in Anambra, a
development that led to his clash with the elites in the State.
Adichie disclosed this on Tuesday while fielding questions on Arise Television’s programme.
Recall that the award-winning writer had written a letter to
Joe Biden, the president of the United States of America, US, expressing deep
concern about the election outcome.
She claimed in her letter that the election was marred by
irregularities and the failure of the Independent National Electoral
Commission, INEC, to follow its stipulated guidelines for the presidential
election.
Adichie warned that it would “tarnish America’s
self-proclaimed commitment to democracy and give the sheen of legitimacy to an
illegitimate process” if Biden recognised Tinubu’s presidency.
The acclaimed writer also expressed in the letter that she
supported Obi for the nation’s top job.
Meanwhile, Adichie clarified why she supported Obi,
recounting how she got to know him years ago when he came to pay homage to her
parents.
According to her, Obi came to their home because he heard
her father was the first professor of statistics in Nigeria and that her mother
retired as the first female registrar of the University of Nigeria.
“Why I very much admire Peter Obi, respect him, there are
many others out there whom I admire and respect, and I will never vote for them
for president because I don’t just think they will make the president.
“And so my support for Peter Obi is deeply rooted in real
things; it is rooted in my faith in his ability. Actually, I got to know him
years ago when he came to pay homage to my parents because he had heard my
father was the first professor of statistics in Nigeria and that my mother had
retired as the first female registrar of the University of Nigeria.
“And so this man just sort of arrived and said he just
wanted to pay homage, and I was very impressed by that because he showed me how
much he values education.
“And then, he became governor of Anambra State, and he took
Anambra State to number one in education. I remember being very impressed by
the story of how he had given his personal phone numbers to all of the senior
prefects in secondary schools in Anambra, which I think also showed me he is
interested in what ordinary people think.
“He does not just want to hear from the administrators; he
wants to hear from them; he wants to hear from the students about what is
really happening.
“And his focus on security, he really tackled kidnapping in
Anambra, and I also remembered that he used to clash with the Anambra elites
when he was tackling insecurity and kidnapping and that showed me he is quite
decisive; he is just very focused on things. And that is really why I support
him.”
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