Peter Obi, the political wanderer, moves again, By Mobolaji Sanusi

“I will not only remain in APGA, but I will die for APGA. The day I quit APGA is the day I will quit politics. APGA made me what I am today. APGA is like a movement. I have enough funds to last me outside politics any day I decide to leave APGA, which I have made up my mind never to leave. Igbos don’t need APGA in Aso Rock for them to achieve their aims. APGA is the identity and the reflection of the Igboman. No Anambrian should vote for PDP. PDP is a party alien to Igbos, The party is synonymous with destruction.”

The foregoing freely uttered and wantonly broken words/promise were made over fifteen years ago by Peter Obi. Yet, it still resonates today at the forefront of national discourse as underscoring the deplorable practice of politics that is devoid of any iota of principle in this part of the world.

Obi, the architect of the quote stands for everything antithetical to what he espoused in the past. He was the erstwhile two-term governor of Anambra State under his ‘beloved’ All Progressives Grand Alliance, (APGA); former Vice-Presidential candidate under his detested Peoples Democratic Party, (PDP); and the presidential candidate under his opportunity-grabbing Labour Party, (LP) platform.

Obi, a snollygoster, is alive, kicking, and playing partisan politics but not again with APGA, the party that he confessed made him what he is today. He claimed Igbos don’t need APGA in Aso-Rock Villa but has moved between political parties in his desperate bid to bring Igbos to the Villa in pursuit of ‘aims’ that he gave no clue about. Laughably too, he joined a party he claimed no Anambrian should vote for because the party is not only ‘alien’ to Igbos but also synonymous with ‘destruction’. In hindsight, Obi did not only swallow his words but also shamelessly stood for election under his stigmatised party. What a man of dual-personality!

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Obi underestimated the power of the tongue. Otherwise, what kind of man will utter all these powerful words without considering their serious implications when flouted? Looking out for a man who places premium on precept over example? That man is Obi who is currently one of the most auspicious political opposition figures in contemporary Nigeria. He achieved that feat not through sterling public service achievements as governor of Anambra State but through his largely underrated incursion into the presidential race where he stunned the nation by garnering six million votes, with an inconsequential war chest and a teeming expectant youth demographic support, identified largely as the “Obidients.” He deployed the social media platforms that he curiously turned into a political structure and it worked for him because the Gen-Zs mostly bought into his propaganda of being the one to usher in a new lease of fresh air into the governance of this country.

But since his attainment of this feat and even before it, the man will stop at nothing to achieve his personal ambition masked as the pursuit of political liberation through shameless electoral Forum Shopping. For a fact, Obi is not a true democrat because his political antecedent exposes his zero tolerance for party primary which he usually runs away from with his tail in-between his legs. For this, amongst other selfish reasons, he abandoned the APGA party that he publicly professed not to ever forsake. From APGA in 2003, he moved to PDP in 2019, Labour Party in 2022, African Democratic Congress (ADC) in 2025, and for the umpteenth time, the man has now moved again to Nigeria Democratic Congress(NDC). Obi is indeed a rolling stone who cherishes politics of survival over principle.

His brand of politics reminds one of Mahatma Gandhi’s popularised Seven Social Sins. Gandhi in 1925 published the Seven Social Sins which were originally traced to Frederick Lewis Donaldson. The sins bemoan the prevalence of moral decadence that destroys a society when he admonished on the peril of societal celebration of the relegation and subordination of ethical principles in all human actions. The hierarchical list exposes the dire consequences of placing high societal premium on detrimental values with perturbing outcomes.

A strong item on the hierarchy of the Seven Social Sins that is more relevant to today’s discourse on Obi and his clan of self-centered politicians/followers is the seventh item which dwells on politics without principle. Other social sins on this hierarchy include: Wealth without work: Pleasure without conscience: Knowledge without character: Commerce without morality: Science without humanity and: Religion without sacrifice. Rights without responsibilities has in contemporary times been added as the eighth item.

Obi epitomises everything about politics without principle, sadly without admitting it, but to the chagrin of a discerning public. In the pursuit of his presidential bids, he believes he’s superior to everyone and that everyone must submit to his momentous acclaim. He has contradicted himself on issues of state/national importance, and even on the ones bordering on personal values, without batting an eyelid. He pretends not to adore wealth or material possessions, yet his being a crass capitalist is undeniably clear for all to see.

Obi’s newfound love and political platform is called the NDC. Surely, he’s there to create another chaotic scene once he finds it difficult to get the presidential ticket on a platter of gold as he did in previous political parties and then shift the blame on his perceived enemies within the corridors of power. We ask: what manner of character is Obi who relishes political promiscuity with elan? If he can betray his beloved APGA; coveted PDP he once described as alien to Igbos and synonymous with destruction; abandoned a Labour Party that gave him over six million votes, absconds overnight from ADC over flimsy excuses, he definitely cannot be a reliable presidential potential as the Y2027 presidential election approaches.

At this critical point in history, the search for a presidential candidate by the opposition is far from being over since we cannot afford to field a man like Obi or his ilk that favour politics without principles considered as one of the most potently detrimental global seven social sins that can bring about the downfall of any society as espoused by Mahatma Gandhi. With a fellow like Obi and like minds, democracy assumes a class definition and a charade that will continue to be “a captivating magic that oppressed classes always wanted and the oppressing ones always promised.”

Nigerians are watching Obi, our epoch’s broken reed’s rabid pursuit of the presidency with which he plans, not to entrench a regime of ameliorating the Nigerian situation, but of consolidating his buying and selling business empire. More importantly, his insensitive deployment of religion and ethno-tribal sentiments during the weeks preceding the 2023 election campaigns and; his lack of a commendable public service developmental orientation are negatives that point in one direction: That he is surely not the president that Nigeria deserves at this point in history.

•Sanusi, former MD/CEO of Lagos State Signage & Advertisement Agency, is currently managing partner at AMS RELIABLE SOLICITORS.(WhatsApp Only-07011117777).