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Sixty-one-year-old Peter Obi is the youngest of the three frontrunners in Nigeria’s presidential race and is the candidate for the Labour Party. His main opponents are former Lagos governor Bola Ahmed Tinubu, running for the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), and former vice president and sixth-time hopeful Atiku Abubakar of the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP)
Sixty-one-year-old Peter Obi is the youngest of the three frontrunners in Nigeria’s presidential race and is the candidate for the Labour Party. His main opponents are former Lagos governor Bola Ahmed Tinubu, running for the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), and former vice president and sixth-time hopeful Atiku Abubakar of the main opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Peter Obi is from the southern part of Nigeria, an Igbo-speaking region. He has served as Anambra state governor and during that time he earned a reputation for practicing frugality and integrity. Obi is gaining traction in social media, particularly from the youth, and promises to wage a war against corruption that has plagued Nigerian politics for decades. There are reports that he has an edge over the other two frontrunners. But one has to keep the fingers crossed till the results are out since analysts say his popularity is restricted to social media and that is not the basis for extrapolating the number of votes that he can command.
Obi has powerful backers. One among them is former president Olusegun Obasanjo and his fellow Yoruba leader Ayo Adebanjo. They have publicly endorsed Obi’s bid. They insist that it is the turn of the Igbo to get the presidency since other regions have had their chance at the top job.
Former Nigerian vice president Atiku Abubakar (76) is vying for the sixth time for the country’s top job. He is representing the opposition’s People’s Democratic Party (PDP). Abubakar is from the Fulani ethnic group. The current president Muhammadu Buhari is also from the same ethnic group. Abubakar is a successful businessman and has a history of switching parties. Abubakar, upon his election, promised to tackle five key areas, such as security, economy, restoring the unity of Nigeria, investing in education, and devolving more resources and powers to regions of the federation.
Not to fall behind, ruling All Progressive Party’s (APC) candidate Bola Ahmed Tinubu, (70) believes his ruling party supporters are solidly behind him and asserts that he can fix the country’s problems of double-digit inflation, weak economic growth, and mounting insecurity. He has the tacit support of the current president Buhari, who campaigned for him. The question being asked is how he can alienate himself from the party, which ruled the country for two terms when all those unsavoury developments were taking place.
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More than 93 million Nigerians are registered to vote in the February 25 election, with their country struggling with growing insecurity and a stumbling economy. The outcome of the keenly contested election though unpredictable; but will be interesting. There are analysts who believe that the multi-faceted election will open up a new chapter in the democratic tradition of not only the west African country, but the whole of the continent.
