2027: Obi Moves from Obidient to Coalition in Preparation for 2027 Presidential Election

By Elempe Dele

Mr. Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 election, has confirmed he will contest the 2027 presidential election. He said, among other things, he was willing to serve a single four-year term if elected and would work with any coalition if the idea is right.

He made these declarations on Sunday night while speaking during a live session on X Spaces, where he answered questions from supporters both in Nigeria and abroad.

One key ingredient that was missing in his statement was the ‘Obidient Movement,’ the movement that gave him over six million votes in the 2023 presidential election. Rather, he supplanted the name of the movement with the Coalition.He admitted being open to coalition talks, only if they are focused on addressing Nigeria’s core problems.

In May this years, Obi was present during a high-level coalition meeting. Speaking at the strategic meeting with Northern political stakeholders under the National Political Consultative Group, Obi described the North not as a problem, but as “Nigeria’s greatest untapped asset.” Among those who were there present was Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, one of the conveners of the Coalition. Also present was the former Minister of Justice and Attorney General of the Federation, Abubakar Malami.

The gathering ended with a commitment from the political stakeholders to work together towards a pan-Nigeria coalition built on trust, competence, and common purpose.

The Obidient Movement was made up of Nigerians, youth especially, who were disenchanted and tired of the ‘establishment’ and ‘usual’ politicians. They sort for a ‘messianic leader’ who will convocate a corrupt-free Nigeria within the shortest possible period – perhaps two years.

The movement, especially in urban areas and down South, energized young voters by fostering hope for the future. The movement, within a short period of time before the 2023 presidential election became a very powerful force using both physical and online campaigns to rally Nigerians to support

Obi, The group’s main strategies were mobilization of the youth because they form the bulk of voters, raised awareness through several social media platforms about Obi’s candidacy and shifted public perception by instilling in voters that there is potential for a tectonic political change where the old guards will be flushed away. Although some of their views were fundamentalist in nature, they had wild support.

These strategies worked to a very appreciable extent: Obi got 25% of votes totalling over six million. Unexpectedly, Obi won Abuja FCT, Edo, Delta, Lagos States…Although the results of the election were contested, Atiku and Obi could not prove their cases of rigging beyond reasonable doubt.

In recent times, Obi has not mentioned the Obidient Movement that did all these for him in 2023. Rather, he has been relying on the new group, Coalution, to help him actualize his mission to win the presidential election come 2027. Some political pundits have questioned how he will be able to achieve the feat under such an arrangment when key stakeholders like Atiku are interested in running for the elections too. Other key members of the coalition are Rotimi Amaechi, El Rufai, David Mark, Aregbesola, Tambuwal, Oyegun and a host of others. Most of them have the same ambition as Obi: to rule Nigeria.

Obi will be risking his political future if he decides to alienate his old core support base, the Obedient Movement, if he chooses to fully align with members of the Coalition, who were and are still members of existing political parties he has resentfully criticized in the past. This will cause him a political hamstring. His aspiration as a common man, unlike those who he is now romancing with in the name of Coalition, will fizzle out. Rather, what will be left will be that of the customary highfalutin complexity of the usual politician who will dine with the devil to gain power.

I have spoken candidly with some former members of the Obidient Movement and their take is firm: except Obi is not different from those politicians like Malami, those old order politicians like El Rufai, those serial contestants like Atiku

…They will not support him this time.

They want him to disassociate himself from the Coalition subterfuge and remain with the Obedient Movement that gave him over six million votes without asking for any shi shi in return. They want him to distance himself from desperate ideologues like El Rufai who became a vexed person of interest only after he failed to be made a minister under this administration.

Some supporters want Obi to continue to stay dug in the trenches with the movement that brought him fame and the type of campaigns which almost defeated the ruling party. They want him to give his supporters who swear by him that he is a different politician, not one swayed by desperation to grab power as it is evident in the crux of the Coalition.

Will Obi be able to go back to embrace the Obidient Movement before 2027? Does he have the gravitas to remobilize the demoted movement having shifted his principles from populism to horse-trading features even if he now dresses as an Indonesian conservative leader?

Elempe Dele Wrote from Okpe, Akoko-Edo.