Obidients, Please Don’t Cry: Tomorrow Is Another Day

By Emeka Ugwuonye, Esquire

It is really too hard knowing how to console the Obidents, as they realize that someone else, not Peter Obi, is about to become the next President of Nigeria. I say this with very sincere heart. The Obidents really deserve to have their wish. They have really suffered all manner of frustration in this country. Their leaders have betrayed them so hopelessly over the years. They were denied education. They were denied civil rights. They were denied employment. They were denied peace and basic security. They have fought all manner of battles to change things. They saw in Peter Obi a leader they could trust. They trusted him. They campaigned for him. They did everything they could for their leader to win. And their leader nearly won, and perhaps if INEC had done its work well, their leader might have won. The Obidents have every reasons to be sad and it is natural that I should console them. They should get up, shake the dust off their butts and brace themselves knowing there are more fights ahead. Hopefully, they will win in the next round of the fight.

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Unfortunately, from my experience with the Obidents, majority of them are simply too angry to listen to any counsel. Maybe because many of them, having been denied quality education, simply cannot cope with reality. I mean the ugly reality of the country of Nigeria. These Obidents, those who were able to make it through the university, learnt something about democracy. They were taught that democracy is a matter of numbers. But that is only partly true. Number is a matter of quantity. The fact is that quality is as essential as quantity. In so far as democracy focuses on quantity at the exclusion of quality, surprising outcomes like what happened to the Obidents in the last election will continue to occur. Let’s leave that for another day.

The purpose of this post is to get the Obidents to see the reality on the ground. The most powerful nation in the world is sending a powerful delegation to attend Tinubu’s inauguration on Monday, just five days away. Look at who the US Government is sending:

(1) The Honorable Marcia L. Fudge, Secretary of the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development. She is a cabinet minister and top executive in the Biden administration and she will be leading the delegation.

(2) Mr. David Greene, Chargé d’Affaires, a.i., U.S. Embassy Abuja

(3) Fidelity Leaderboard

(4) The Honorable Sydney Kamlager-Dove, United States Representative (D), California.

(5) The Honorable Marisa Lago, Under Secretary of Commerce for International Trade, U.S. Department of Commerce

(6) General Michael E. Langley, Commander of U.S. Africa Command. He is the man in charge of the US military interest in Africa.

(7) The Honorable Enoh T. Ebong, Director, U.S. Trade and Development Agency

(8) The Honorable Mary Catherine Phee, Assistant Secretary of State for the Bureau of African Affairs, U.S. Department of State.

It is clear that these are high caliber officials of the United States Government. It leaves no doubt in your mind that America is ready to work with Tinubu, not with Obi or Atiku. It also means that as far as America is concerned, the election is over and Nigeria has a president they are ready to work with. American intelligence has already assessed the situation in Nigeria. They are convinced that Tinubu is unstoppable. What the Obidents don’t seem to realize is that America is really ambivalent toward Nigerian democracy. What is America is really interested in is stability and friendship. As long as there is stability and the people in power are not hostile to American interest, America will work with you.

If American’s have serious reasons to think that the Nigerian courts would disqualify Tinubu, they would not have prepared for this inauguration in such an elaborate manner. And make no mistake about it, unless the Americans have no intelligence interest in the matter, they would have assessed what every Nigerian justice involved in these cases is likely to do. So, I take it that the Americans see no reason to doubt that Tinubu is the next president.

What does it mean when the US sends a delegation to attend the inauguration of a foreign government? When the US government sends a delegation to attend the inauguration of a foreign government, it signifies a diplomatic and political gesture of recognition and support for the newly elected or appointed leader of that country. The delegation typically includes high-ranking government officials, such as the Secretary of State or other senior diplomats, as well as representatives from the legislative and executive branches of the US government. This is actually the way the resent delegation is composed. This time, they added a top commander of the US military forces.

By attending the inauguration, the US delegation is indicating that they respect the democratic process of the foreign country and are willing to work with the new government to advance shared interests and promote stability and cooperation. Additionally, the US government’s attendance at the inauguration may help to strengthen diplomatic ties between the US and the new government, and may serve as an opportunity for the two countries to engage in discussions on issues of mutual concern.

America is not alone. British Government is sending its own delegation. In fact, ahead of the British delegation, a former British Prime Minister arrived a week ahead, and has been advising Tinubu and helping him prepare for the inauguration. Yes, Tony Blair, a British Prime Minister for ten years is with Tinubu in Abuja right now. Even though Tony Blair is no longer part of the British Government, his presence signifies the general mood and attitude of the British establishment toward Tinubu and the government he is about to form. Remember that Britain colonized you and taught you everything you know, and America is the most powerful country in the world. These are the two countries where majority of the Obidents want to relocate, if given the chance.

Anyway, this is not to demoralize the Obidents or to give them the impression that they could never have their type of democracy in Nigeria. Indeed, since I began to point out the ugly realities of Nigeria in my posts, some have been asking me if it meant that there is no hope. There is hope. Indeed, every time we fall, it is actually an improvement on the last fall. So there is hope. The next INEC chairman would not like to mess with the BVAS next time.

People have also asked me whether it all means that the cases in courts are a waste of time. No, it doesn’t mean that the courts could not shock everybody. But it will come as a shock. I will be very surprised to hear that the Nigerian Supreme Court sacked Tinubu. Very highly unlikely. That is what I meant.