Defying voter fatigue and despair presents as the immediate challenges that the wave-making Labour Party (LP) would confront in the coming days. Unlike other political parties, LP took just eight months to fire up national acceptability and bandwagon effect on young Nigerians, who called themselves the ‘Obidients’.
The nomenclature ‘Obidient’, which stems from the name of the LP presidential standard bearer, Mr. Peter Obi, captured the mood of the youths, who, in the beginning, not only shunned partisan politics, but resolved belatedly to yearn for inclusion in Nigeria’s democratic experience.
They saw in the former governor of Anambra State, a rallying point to make a statement in the 2023 general elections. It is not yet settled whether the outcome of the disputed February 25 presidential poll in which their mascot was placed third, was a function of his late entry into the presidential contest or as a result of the lack of structure, which his rivals accused him of.
“So, if he was there, nothing could have stopped him from becoming a running mate because I had the right to choose whoever I wanted as my running mate.
“So, questions of whether I will work with Peter or whether he wounded PDP chances? Well, he did to some extent, because all the votes he polled were PDP votes in South-South and South-East. But, whether he will achieve his ambition or not, is left for God to decide.”
However, while Atiku remarked that Obi and LP ate deep into PDP’s vote banks in Southeast and South/South, members of the LP decried the insistence of the former Vice President on contesting the Presidency against Southern candidates who left the field for him in 2019.
After 24 years of unbroken practice of democratic governance, it is generally believed that Nigeria’s politics is in dire need of systemic recalibration. That need seems to be the major thrust of the LP and Obident Movement.
How far the groups are able to sustain their momentum and carry through to the next election cycle depends on a combination of factors. These factors include the final resolution of the 2023 polls to determine the composition of the National Assembly as well as the possibility of defections and leadership crisis in LP, which could be stoked by external forces.
