An international journalist and former supporter of the Obidient Movement, Donu Kogbara, says the 2023 Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate, Peter Obi, is no longer living up to expectations.
According to her, Peter Obi motivated a lot of Nigerians and garnered a lot of supporters in the build-up to the 2023 elections, but his pedigree has nosedived after the election.
Speaking against the backdrop of recent high-profile defections from the Labour Party, Kogbara said the party is like a sinking ship, and the politicians have to fight for their survival.
She maintained while speaking in an interview with Arise News that even though Obi remains a good man, he has not been able to provide the kind of opposition leadership which got him so much support from youths and other Nigerians in the build-up to the 2023 elections.
Kogbara said many supporters of the obedient movement have become disappointed in Obi.
In her words, “Well, rats have always deserted sinking ships, so the Labour Party should say bye-bye to those five lawmakers. They’re entitled to do what they want if it’s within the ambit of the law, which I’m not even sure it is. But for me, the Labour Party is clearly in crisis. We had all that drama around their chairmanship and the traitor, who was on the take from outside elements.
“I just can’t bear people who lack honour. So, there was that whole crisis and then there were other things that made it difficult for Labour Party to function as a proper party. But the thing that depresses me most is not so much what the senators and House of Representatives people do; it is Peter Obi himself.
“I just don’t understand how somebody who was this sparkling inspirational figure, who created a movement almost overnight, galvanized the youths, the intellectuals, anybody who had any iota of principle in their bloodstream, at least admired him to some extent even if they weren’t necessarily going to vote for him for whatever reason, has gone from top to bottom.
“As far as I’m concerned, he’s like a firework that has turned into a damp squib. He’s become so prosperous. All I see is him making anodyne statements here and there on television, donating boreholes or whatever. It’s all good stuff. He’s still a good guy but where is the leader that the opposition needs so desperately? He’s not looking like it.”
Kogbara added that not just Obi, but the entire opposition movement in Nigeria, including Atiku Abubakar, are not doing enough to put the government of President Bola Tinubu on its toes.
She further blamed the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), Nyesom Wike, for the crisis rocking the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
She, however reserved the largest part of the blame for Obi, labelling him such a disappointment with no aggression to tackle the current government for its lousiness.
“I blame the entire opposition, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), for allowing itself to be derailed by my dear friend, Nyesom Wike. By the way, I saw him a couple of months ago and I told him that ‘if I was a PDP Mandarin, I would have tossed you out by now.’ I also blame Atiku Abubakar of spending more time as a Dubai type of big man and not effectively taking on the government.
“And I blame Peter Obi most of all because Peter was a shining star and so many people committed themselves to him emotionally, myself included. I’m not Obidient anymore, to be honest with you, because he’s such a disappointment. I mean, there’s no aggression.
“The government is lousy. And pretty much the only good thing I can think that President Bola Tinubu has done is to keep herdsmen at bay because I’ve noticed there haven’t been any herdsmen shenanigans since Tinubu came in. So, I congratulate him for that if indeed it is his doing.
“But it’s kind of like, there are so many things this government is doing wrong, contracts being awarded without due process, economic collapse, rampaging inflation, widespread hunger and disillusionment and you never hear anything seriously punchy from Peter Obi,” she submitted.
