2023: Fresh Details Emerge On Why Obasanjo Is Supporting Peter Obi Against Tinubu

Fresh facts have emerged on the decision of former President Olusegun Obasanjo to support the 2023 presidential ambition of the Labour Party (LP) candidate, Peter Obi.

Naija News recalls Obasanjo sparked mixed reactions on the political scene after his decision to publicly endorse Obi for the 2023 presidential election.

Obasanjo in his 2023 new year message to Nigerians had openly endorsed Obi and called on the youths in particular to give him their support.

The former Nigerian leader described Peter Obi as “a needle with thread attached to it from North and South and he may not get lost”.

While the Labour Party had embraced the endorsement, other parties including the All Progressives Congress (APC), the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) have downplayed the endorsement.

However, amidst the reactions, an aide to the former President has shed more light on Obasanjo’s decision to back Obi’s ambition.

The unnamed aide who was quoted by Daily Post said Obasanjo believes in power rotation and agrees with the fact that power should return to the south in 2023.

He added that if the south does not return to power in 2023, it will be getting increasingly more difficult to take power from the north and if the generations of Obasanjo pass on in the next few years, getting influential people to stand for the region will also become more difficult.

The aide spoke further, saying Obasanjo is worried because if the South doesn’t assume the nation’s topmost seat on May 29, agitation for breakup may resume on a full-blown scale.

On why his principal is working for Obi when Bola Tinubu of the APC is also a southerner and in the 2023 presidential race, the aide replied that it is Obasanjo’s choice based on principles he believes in.

He said: “Baba supported the President in 2015 because the country needed strong leadership. When he saw that his choice did not live up to expectations, he withdrew support before 2019 when he openly backed Atiku.

“He was the most formidable at that time and the North still had eight years to complete. Buhari won that election and will complete his tenure soon. How will Baba support another Northerner again after 2015 and 2019.

“Look, if Obasanjo’s generation leaves in about 10 years from now, Nigerians will understand better. It will be difficult to take it (power from the North). They have the majority in terms of number of votes and they know the game.

“It is because people like Obasanjo are alive that the struggle for Southern presidency is this competitive. When they go, who are the influential people that will speak for the South?

“Obasanjo is insisting on a Southerner because a Northerner as President beyond 2023 means a possible 16 years in power.”

Obi vs Tinubu

On Obasanjo’s choice of Obi and not Tinubu, the aide said; “It’s his (Obasanjo) choice”, adding that no one should be angry or attack the former President.

The source added that the decision is about fairness, justice, and equity.

The aide said Obasanjo knows the capacity and antecedents of both candidates and opted for his preferred choice.

“Why are they angry? Let everyone allow the people to decide. The funny thing is most of those who attack him and their associates go to see him before and after elections.

“Obasanjo opted for Obi because he knows both of them; their capacity, antecedents, and other factors. Obi is not perfect but a better option. Also, his region has not done it (presidency) before, a situation Baba believes is unfair.

“People like him are speaking up because they know the consequence of one region doing more than two terms at a stretch. There will be increased secession agitation.

“Obasanjo and others know what happened during the civil war and will not allow their sacrifice to go like that. That Baba supports Peter Obi is not about politics and hatred for anybody, it’s about fairness, justice and equity.”

Naija News reports the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) has fixed Saturday, February 25 as the date for the presidential election.