Let’s begin by discussing Kurt Vonnegut Jr, an American writer and humorist known for his satirical and darkly humorous novels. Kurt, profoundly posited: “Don’t be reckless with other people’s hearts. And don’t put up with people that are reckless with yours.” The trajectory of the presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 election in Nigeria, Peter Gregory Obi, was summarised by Kurt’s profound statement.

The Labour Party candidate was reckless with the emotion and sentiments of the unsuspecting gullible followers.

Having written extensively on the mathematically impossibility of Peter Obi’s presidency, it signposts, indeed confirms, the illusion of the project. You’ve got to be audacious enough to set goals that make you stretch and give you clarity of vision and purpose. But you have to have the humility to know that this work is hard, sometimes impossible, and that you might not get there. If you start off talking about all the reasons that you’re not going to get there, you’re not going to get there. And so it’s holding that balance of not being reckless, but also having a huge element of fearlessness. It becomes wickedness and heartless.

With all due respect, maybe Peter Obi could’ve made a better impact if he was able to avoid the false binary of some “politicians” from the South East, the victims mentality or persecution complex that sees everything through the lens “it’s because I’m Igbo….” Often, it’s because you’re not agreed with, possibly because you’re wrong or because you’ve failed to convince other political groups that this idea or that scheme benefits them. And this reflex of southeastern politicians thoroughly irritates most of the rest of the country. We see it as blackmail of a type.

As encapsulated in one of my recent articles: “Of Phantom Stolen Mandate And Delusional Audacity,”: “Peter is an accident waiting to happen, any discernible mind can see that. It shouldn’t be a surprise if the ‘Headless mob\ all decide to swallow his statement and continue in rascalism. The presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, on Tuesday wondered why the All Progressives Congress did not present their presidential ticket to the Vice President, Yemi Osinbajo. Obi while speaking at Dele Momodu’s birthday in London said he told the APC to present Osinbajo if they want Nigeria to work. Is it for having a weaker candidate to contend with as an opposition candidate or could it be part of the efforts to expand the frontier of religious bigotry?”

Additionally, as posited by “The Holistic Psychologist,” Nicole LePera: “Most people don’t want the truth. They want their beliefs reinforced. The truth is appreciated by those who have control over their ego. Who are invested in reality even when it makes them uncomfortable.” 

I have been ruminating: Could it be a case of “blind optimism or arrogance of ignorance” that is driving the Obi-dent’s project? I wished that I was wrong. I know that I am not wrong. Because, I am a pragmatist as much as I am a realist.

Fast-forward: Obi has described the Supreme Court judgment of October 26, 2023 as a breach of the confidence of Nigerians in the judiciary. Obi stated this in a statement titled: “From Courtrooms to National Conscience: Our Democracy is the Victim,” delivered at a Press Conference. The audacity with which these nefarious politicians drag Nigerians into their disappointments is crazy! Let me say it straight away:

Dear Presidential-candidate Peter Obi, kindly say the Obi-dients have lost confidence in the judiciary, not Nigerians. Let it be noted that the same judiciary returned your mandate to you in 2006 as the legitimate governor of Anambra State. The same judiciary validated your candidature as the standard flag bearer of the Labour Party in the presidential election.

Now that you could not win your petition against President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, you want to force Nigerians into disregarding our judicial system. Sir, there is need to be properly guided and deal with your frustrations alone. Nigerians are already suffering their fair share of the mess you and your colleagues in politics have thrown them into. 

Finally, I like to conclude this contribution that focuses on our political views and future with the golden words of Leo Tolstoy, a Russian writer regarded as one of the greatest authors of all time. He received nominations for the Nobel Prize in Literature every year from 1902 to 1906 and for the Nobel Peace Prize in 1901, 1902 and 1909.

Leo Tolstoy profoundly posited: “If the source of power lies neither in the physical nor in the moral qualities of him who possesses it, it must evidently be looked for elsewhere—in the relation to the people of the man who wields the power. And that is how power is understood by the science of jurisprudence.”

. Odusanya writes from This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..