‘Is Peter Obi Momentum a movement towards voter participation or just a distraction?

From all indications, the 2023 General Election is going to change the usual narratives of how elections are campaigned, conducted and won in the country.

It will likely turn the table around in the issue of voter apathy as the youthful population that usually stays away on Election Day is set to vote in huge numbers in 2023.

All these reawakening and revaluation of the power of votes are coming because of the Peter Obi movement, which the majority of Nigerian youths, home and abroad, have subscribed to.

Call it a ‘third force’ or a movement; the Peter Obi momentum has caught fire among Nigerians across several statuses, races and religions, especially the youths.

But taking a few steps backwards and critically probing the development, one is forced to ask, ‘Is Peter Obi Momentum a movement towards voter participation or just a distraction?

Many of his followers say it is real and result-oriented.

One of them is Ope Banwo, an attorney, techpreneur, social activists and founder, Naija Lives Matter Organisation (NLM), a non-governmental organisation, which is based in Nigeria and the United States of America.

For Banwo, the Peter Obi Momentum is not a distraction, but a movement towards voter participation and enthronement of real change that Nigeria has been yearning for.

Since endorsing Peter Obi in July this year, Banwo’s NLM has joined other Peter Obi support groups across the nation and abroad to ensure the Labour candidate’s victory at the 2023 polls.

He sees no distraction in the movement, rather strategies to win at the 2023 elections.

‘’There is a special project of the Naija Lives Matter to create 100,000 small Peter Obi Nation support cells groups over the next eight months, who will join with other Peter Obi support organisations to make history in 2023 at the polls,” Banwo said.

Apart from that Banwo and his group hosted ‘Obidient Conference’ where Peter Obi, Doyin Okupe and 10 others spoke on the strategies that will be matched by actions to win in the 2023 elections.

While the ‘Obidient Conference’ is another milestone move by the non-governmental organisation to synergize and network other Peter Obi supporters to ensure victory for Mr. Obi in 2023, Banwo assured that there are more collaborative efforts and support from home and abroad for the realisation of Peter Obi presidency come 2023.

“Naija Lives Matter is currently running its own Peter Obi Nation Support Group to join other support organisations across the nation and abroad to ensure the Labour candidate’s victory at the 2022 polls. We currently have over 60,000 members nationwide with over 480 small cell groups created under NLM Peter Obi Nation project for 2023 elections,” he said.

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Rev. Yinka Yusuf, general overseer of Household of Love, is also convinced that the Peter Obi momentum is not a distraction as he sees it as the road to Nigeria’s restoration and also a pathway to restructuring Nigeria without war or revolution.

Also, for Morris Monye, founder, Super Volunteers for Peter Obi, the movement is serious and is working to turn things around for good for Nigerians at the polls in 2023.

Of course, there are strategies, which cannot be disclosed now, there are sustained actions offline, online and underground to match their opponents at the polls, the support group said.

Chijioke Umelahi, a lawyer and former Abia lawmaker, thinks that the Peter Obi momentum is a real and big threat to the ruling party and other opposition parties.

“I have seen some of their strategies and they are carrying them out already. The small cell group strategy is working and it is creating a new political structure already. The good thing is that you can support from anywhere in the country and the world without putting on the Labour Party badge. It is worrisome for other parties because some of their members are also in Obi’s camp, without being dictated,” Umelahi said.

The Abuja-based lawyer thinks that the kind of structure Obi is raising for the Labour Party is sophisticated and yet simple because it is being created, run and sponsored by the people and dismantling already existing structures.

Bulus Haruna, a clergy from Plateau State and school proprietor, noted that the North Central people are taking the Obi movement seriously because of what it means for them.

“If you look at the major candidates, it is also Peter Obi that represents what Nigeria should be in recognition of our diversities. Those who support the same faith ticket undermine other religions; those who support the same tribe to become president again, undermine other tribes.

“So, Obi comes with a balance, good thinking, resource management, equity and fairness for all Nigerians. So, Obi is not a distraction, but a force that will change the narrative in Nigeria’s politics come 2023,” the clergy said.

But Darlington Amaye, a social media celebrity and entertainer, said the trend across the world is social media and even politicians are using it, hence the Peter Obi momentum is real and is taking advantage of the right tools for activations.

“I am a social media influencer and I have engaged in several social media wars, which were won. Times and things are changing, it is not all about the money sometimes, but a change, which we witnessed during the 2015 election that threw Goodluck Jonathan out of office. It will repeat in 2023, it is not all about money, but we will stand our ground on our choices,” the social media influencer said.

“Leave the moneybags who undermine the power of social media and the youths, there are strategies in place. 2023 will be from twitter to voting booths, preventing rigging and defending our votes, some will die doing that but we will achieve a good life for others. That is sacrifice”.

With the look of things, the battle is set and the Obi momentum is growing stronger with the lead actors and supporters insisting on no retreat, no surrender, but victory.

In a recent interview with BusinessDay, Olisa Agbakoba, a senior advocate of Nigeria (SAN), said: “The Peter Obi Movement is good because for the first time it is throwing up new issues; and it is making the entire political trend difficult to read. And all the unaccounted; unstructured votes are likely to go for him. So, the surge you see- 10 million and I think by 2023 election we will be looking at about 20 million. Now, depending on how much of these votes will go to Peter Obi, and I think that about 75 percent of the votes will go to him; but the problem is whether the PVCs that are going to accumulate from these unstructured and unaccounted votes will be 360 degrees.

“So, if these votes are organised and well spread; I don’t know if you can find them across the country, the new registrants seem to be dedicated youths. I don’t know about the spread. I suspect there will be a runoff, none of the candidates will achieve the spread; and I suspect that the people that will do the runoff, will have the challenge of confronting Peter Obi, who I think might share the benefit. If there will be a runoff, the beneficiary will be Peter Obi because it is going to be simple-majority; no longer spread.”