THERE is a tide in the affairs of men, which taken at the flood leads on to fortune. Omitted, all the voyage of their life is bound in shallows and in miseries. On such a full sea are we now afloat. And we must take the current when it serves, or lose our ventures —William Shakespeare (in Julius Caesar).
DEAR youth of Nigeria, everyone thought that your OBIdient Movement for salvaging your disconsolate country from the brink would soon fizzle out but instead, it has come to stay and grows bigger and stronger by the day. In only seven months you are already at the threshold of victory that seems certain! Your phenomenal accomplishment and the concomitant paradigm shift by Obi’s politics of public good –in contrast to the predatory politics of the old guard APC and PDP- shall be the subject of research and publication for years. Congratulations! Be strong and press on, for the sake of your future and that of generations unborn. The cup of iniquity of the old-guard APC and PDP is full and you must have them drink it, now!They are already falling apart. But no matter what, do not let them escape in the few days remaining. Remember that opportunity calls but once and that a leopard can never change its spots. If they should tune you away from the liberation crusade, by any means, they will terminally crush and pocket you, with the future of Nigeria.They never bothered about you. Not even your education did they care for – so that you would never draw level with their children.Instead, they are scheming for a closed system in which they and their generations will reign, with you and your generations fenced off! They are masters of deception. Do not fall for their belated overtures!
After swindling the people(by scandalous nepotism, remuneration, severance package and asset conversion) as governor or minister and what have you, they go on to corner the legislature and other strategic organs of government (rather than quit for new blood) and impose their kith and kin on choice offices they cannot directly occupy -at the expense of merit, without the opportunity for you to compete.Check the trend and profile of recruits to political offices, NNPC, CBN, NPA, NCS, FIRS, NIMASA and the rest of ministerial departments and agencies! They have also locked you out of reckoning in their parties,by high application fees, vote-buying and cult-like cabal systems so that you will remain underdogs and never have the opportunity to attain strategic political standing to oppose them or change anything, as children of nobody. Meanwhile, you are the majority shareholders in the Nigerian enterprise and should be calling the shots.You have the population. You are the ones brimming with ideas and energy and breaking new grounds in science and technology, commerce and industry, arts and culture, entertainment and sports and in electoral victories and political appointments around the world. You are the ones still giving Nigeria some positive mention on the global stage.
You are the ones to defend the country and lay down your lives in the event of aggression. Are you not the ones facing insurgents – from Boko Haram to bandits to Unknown Gunmen, now? You are even the polling officers and party agents. Yet you watched them compromise elections at the expense of contestants who could serve the people better but do not have the war chest! Your mumu don do! The country and the future actually belong to you. You are the ones bearing the brunt of bad government.You must tenaciously follow the OBIdient pathway now to lift yourselves by your bootstraps to snatch Nigeria from their wicked clutch, before it is too late! Let no one dissuade you from leveraging on Peter Obi’s ruggedness, prudence and politics of public good (which he amply demonstrated in Anambra State) to secure a new Nigeria. He has won many daunting battles from Ground Zero and is the right man to lead you in this crusade.
Yes, they are doing everything to frustrate and demoralize you and to divide your ranks by religion, tribe and so on, whereas adversity does not discriminate. Charlatans and myopic collaborators from Obi’s region are speaking against him, to give the impression that his people, who should know him better, do not endorse him – contrary to abundant evidence. Stand firm! They are telling you that Obi cannot win because he does not enjoy the APC and PDP type of structures for vote manipulation, which is a big lie. The best structure is the organic one by you and the people, supported by the new Electoral Act and technology, capable of diminishing their evil structures.Just keep mobilizing and educating voters up to the grassroots across the country and take measures to protect the votes and the voting process, to shock them. Note, however, that it does not end with winning the election. You must be on standby to support Peter Obi’s government to concretize and realize Nigeria’s redemption. In particular,you must be ready to march on the parliament should they try to block his good policies at any time. Ignore those who would like you to remain docile.There is nothing you have said or done that is rascally, untrue or scathing compared to what they (including highly-placed public officers, like Nasir El-Rufai and Babatunde Fashola, who have a greater duty of care) said and did in the campaigns for Buhari and the APC. Just focus on the goal and ignore the tantrums.
Remember the October 2020 Lekki Toll Gate massacre and Mrs. Victoria Chintex, among the most recent in the catalogue of unwarranted death you have suffered in the bid to liberate your country.Their soldiers shot you while singing and waving the national flag! The Police shoot at you indiscriminately everywhere, at the slightest altercation, even for carrying a laptop or any item of modern technology that you cherish.The blood of the heroes of your struggle should not be shed in vain but should fire you to victory. And victory is never attained on a platter of gold.
You have made the right choice in Peter Obi for the 2023 presidency. You have done a great job of awareness creation and mobilization. But you must still break your back in these final days to saturate the cities, the grassroots and the rural areas with the message of liberation and to institute measures to protect the votes and the voting process. As they say, it is not over until it is over and the devil never sleeps. You cannot come this far only to buckle. Shalom!
- Nwosu writes in via emmanwosu@gmail.com
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