By Joe Iniodu 

• The desperation of the presidential candidate of Nigeria Democratic Congress(NDC) to become the president of Nigeria come 2027 has lulled him into beguiling utterances that are easily discerned as untruths or half truths, exposing him as an inconsistent character whose integrity quotient is suspect.

His Excellency, Mr Peter Obi, former governor of Anambra State and an erstwhile presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 general election believes rhetorics that border on deceit would again galvanize what many described as organic support in 2023 in 2027. But I think what happened in 2023 was a wholesale deployment of demagougy contrived to hoodwink Nigerians who saw themselves at a crossroad with the doddering leadership of the Buhari Administration that subjected them to socio-economic misery for eight unbroken years.

Mr. Peter Obi noticed this public frustration and weighed in by weaving rhetorics with bogus statistics to beguile Nigerians to see him as the messiah that Nigeria needed. While he hoodwinked some people who refused to probe the validity of his claims, turning them into credulous lots, he could not convince the more discerning Nigerians who saw beyond the fog and read between the lines to see him as rudderless. While many judged him from his antecedent as governor of Anambra State, others evaluated his speeches and public engagements and concluded that he did not deserve their votes. Obi made a knee jerk impact in that election coming a distant third as reward for his arduous efforts.

Using the Labour Party platform, he had made a huge inroad into public reckoning even with that outcome. Many expected him to consolidate on the gains of that election by remaining in the Labour Party to build it into an oasis of hope for Nigerians. The gains recorded by the Labour Party which included winning a governorship seat and seats in the National Assembly and some State Houses of Assemblies were all credited to him and considered as impactful strides for a party that debuted on the national stage barely six months earlier. The expectation was that Obi would build on those gains and launch the party into a more competitive orbit in the next elections. But Obi is not a builder, he is a beneficiary. He fears the path where there is duty and relishes where gains are attained without work. This mindset has made him a nomadic presidential candidate.

This nomadic nature has exacerbated his desperation, goading him into construing garrulity as engagement, social media frenzy as popularity, populism replacing persuasion and courting klieglights as the password to Aso Rock Villa. But the road to that plum office requires strategy, tact and task, not the occupation of public spaces with idle talks which Obi is known for.

This is perhaps why Obi does not have a spokesman. And in his self opinionated view, he believes that speaking for himself is the right thing to do. He was daring enough to use the erroneous conjecture to blame Mr President whom he accused of always talking to Nigerians through proxies. He audaciously stated that when he becomes President, he would be talking to Nigerians by himself because, according to him, he is the one they elected , not the aides. What an exhibition of ignorance! It means Obi would be his press secretary and head of all other sundry offices involved in publicity.

It is this delusional craving that has made Mr Peter Obi a familiar face in public space more than other presidential candidates. If he is not at a public function, he is where there is tragedy where he would have attention and use the platform to discredit government with bogus statistics and incoherent statements. There is a simple truism which notes that when one is obsessed with too much talking, there is a likelihood to say the wrong things. As a popular adage notes, a dancer does not know how his back is positioned. Sadly, his rabid followers who appear to be slavish mentally would dare not tell him he is progressively erring into dishonour with his garrulity.

His interview on Channels with Seun Okinbaloye was very revealing. It shows a man who is loosing followership and even grasp of issues . He has become a horrible brand of confusion talking off point and off curve when confronted with simple questions.Obi is no longer that man that generated organic followershop during the 2023 election. His recourse today to falsehoods and inconsistencies is worrisome . It is because of his needless struggle to be in the public space permanently. This is not good for him as he lacks the oratorical flourish to sustain himself there.

Obi’s continuous rehash of his era as governor of Anambra State is losing fervour. His claim of prudence does not seem to add up as many argue that it was more of miserliness than any protection of public interest or fiscal integrity. Even his claim of huge investments in education is seen as hollow as he could not successfully address that in his interview with Seun Okinbaloye. These retrospections have rather opened up more debates and discussions about his tenure as governor of that State. And so one is constrained to say “pity Obi” which, however, has a different meaning from the title where “pity” stands for “Peter” with the title intended to be appreciated via the tonal nuance .

Joe Iniodu is a public affairs analyst.