OBIDIENT As Metaphor For Integrity And Credibility

By Annabel Ogheneganre

The idea behind the hashtag #Obidient Movement which drove the Peter Obi presidential campaigns on social media was anchored on the need for integrity and credibility in public service. It is not about Labour Party as it were. Peter Obi took the political arena by the storm with his messages of hope that set the internet on fire. He explained how he resisted pressures to succumb to conventional behavior by political office holders. He served as governor of Anambra state diligently without helping himself to the public till. He rejected many pecks of office and stuck to what was needed to serve his people. Peter Obi was averse to squandering public resources on frivolities, his integrity got many people thinking and by the time he declared to be president, Nigerians saw the messiah they have been yearning for in him. That was what birthed the Obidient Movement.
The movement was driven by ordinary Nigerians particularly the youths who have suffered more from the irresponsible leadership in the country. The Church also took the Peter Obi movement as a project and most Church leaders encouraged their members to support the Labour Party. Most of these Church fathers do not belong to any political party. Millions of Nigerians, particularly the elites who can reason with their heads signed up to the Obidient movement not because Labour Party is the best political party but because of the integrity of the candidate. Many APC and PDP members also join the movement and voted Peter Obi on February 25th. The implication is that the feat attained by Peter Obi in the 2023 presidential election was a product of the resilience, doggedness and unquenchable desire for good governance by the people.

Today, after the 2023 presidential election believed to have been won by Peter Obi by a section of the Nigeria populace, the movement has suddenly become the toast of all Nigerians. The PDP, which haunted Awin Atare, a social media influencer that allegedly started the movement, now court the Obidient family ahead of the March 11 polls. The PDP has suddenly found a new love in the movement and now want to align with Peter obi to fight a common enemy in the APC. What PDP fails to realize is that the Obidient Movement goes beyond Labour Party or even Peter Obi. And as I stated in an earlier article, there is no good or bad political party in Nigeria. The candidates should be examined on the merit of their moral, academic, social and psychological lushness.

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The Obidient Movement is about integrity of the candidate and capacity to deliver. There is no blind support for just anybody simply because he align with the movement. It doesn’t work that way or else the movement would have lost its taste and meaning and all that it stands for. Some candidates won elections on February 25th on the Labour platform because the force was uncontrollable and the anger that drove it wanted a total result. March 11 can never be so. I dare say that many of those who voted Labour Party on February 25, will never touch LP with the longest pole available in the gubernatorial and house of assembly polls.
On February 25, yours sincerely, who voted Peter Obi, overheard many Obidient advocates telling those who cared to listen that they were voting Peter Obi and that on March 11, it will be the turn of Ovie Omo-Agege. It is all about integrity and capacity. Many of those Church leaders who voted for Peter Obi will not vote for Labour Party or PDP on March 11. They know what they wanted and will go for it otherwise, the movement will lose steam. The people know the difference between Ovie Omo-Agege and Sheriff Oborevwori. The people are angry with Governor Ifeanyi Okowa and would want to teach him some hard lessons on March 11. Okowa mismanaged the PDP in the state and there are thousands of PDP members that will not vote for the party in the coming elections.
Let me say this loud and clear, March 11 is about integrity of the candidates and the quest for the best for the people. Deltans will not fall for the antics of those clamouring for any collaboration between PDP and Labour Party. This writer disagree with those PDP elements who would want Deltans to believe that APC rigged Peter Obi out and that APC should be rejected even if the party parades the best materials. It was PDP that rigged against Labour Party in Delta State and if anything, their anger should be directed at PDP on March 11. Okowa ran away with election materials and personnel in Ika North East so as to rig LP blind yet PDP has the gut to cry blue murder when the final result did not favour them. Senator Ovie Omo-Agege is the real deal for Deltans on March 11.

For those Obidient family members who desire good governance, performance and development in Delta State, Ovie Omo-Agege is the answer. The Obidient movement is not about political parties but personality and excellence. To vote a known failure because he identifies with Obidient is an aberration. The only candidate that fit into the Obidient ideology in Delta State is Senator Ovie Omo-Agege. Vote Senator Ovie Omo-Agege for a new and better Delta State! There is an Urhobo saying that when you fight a witch doctor, make sure you finish him once and for all less he reinforce to hurt you again. A complete routing of Governor Ifeanyi Okowa is to reject Sheriff Oborevwori on March 11 so the Owa-Alero tyrant can go and lick his wounds. March 11 is Senator Ovie Omo-Agege’s day of glory. Let us vote for him to complete the circle.

Annabel Ogheneganre writes from Garki, Abuja. (Please send reaction to ananabel4christ@hotmail.com)