By Donu Kogbara

A LAGOS-based lawyer and I were chatting the other day, and she told me that she had been shocked to discover that quite a few of the foreigners she encounters are unenthusiastic about Peter Obi and don’t want him to win the upcoming presidential election. 

I’ve noticed this lack of enthusiasm too, and it annoys and puzzles me because the White folks who say that they are unimpressed by Obi can hardly ever come up with good reasons for writing him off.  

Also, given that most Whites who live here or have an interest in Africa are always complaining about Nigeria’s shortcomings, urging us to get our act together on every level, and instructing us to acquire quality democratic leadership, you’d think that they’d all be thrilled that millions of Nigerians are ready to try something new.  

Obi is not a saint or a genius. But he walks a walk and talks a talk that inspires voters who are tired of more established candidates. 

There is something different about Obi’s mindset, body language, utterances, and track record. He and Datti Baba-Ahmed, his equally atypical running mate, are generating a lot of excitement and at least deserve a shot at trying to turn this ailing country around. 

So why all this skepticism from so many of our foreign friends? 

All my life, because I grew up in the UK and am essentially Eurocentric, I have assumed that most of today’s foreigners wish us well. 

But I’m no longer sure!!! 

Apologies if this sounds paranoid and unfair, but I’m beginning to think that Obi-Datti makes their White detractors nervous because they will be less controllable…and that they will be less controllable because they don’t have anything to hide (so can’t be blackmailed). 

I want to think that they possess revolutionary streaks and the authentic self-confidence that characterizes men of substance and integrity. I want to think that they are proud rather than emptily vain…and that they are not weaklings masquerading as messiahs. 

I am convinced that Obi-Datti truly believes that Nigeria can be great and can see clear paths to self-sufficiency; he does not appear to be the type of guy who will doff their caps to – and constantly seek approval, advice, and assistance from – the West. …Which may be addicted to the Old Guard Naija mandarins, who have run the show since Independence and are psychologically and economically dependent on foreigners. 

Another possibility is that foreigners are cozily accustomed to predictable developments in Africa – a continent they basically owned for a long time – and don’t like the element of surprise that the totally unexpected ObiDatti movement represents. 

This time last year, nobody had a clue that a phenomenon that would galvanise youths, professionals, etc, was on the horizon. It happened all of a sudden and out of the blue shortly after Obi left the PDP to join the Labour Party; and the momentum has been amazing. Obi-Datti are becoming increasingly electable with each passing month.

And, sure they may not win. But, as numerous opinion polls have recently informed us, winning – which once looked like a distant dream for naïve idealists – is no longer out of the question. 

The negative reaction of some White onlookers to this unforeseen situation reminds me of something the Italian prime minister told my father at the outbreak of the Nigerian civil war, when Daddy was representing Ojukwu in London and curious about the irritation that most high-ranking Europeans displayed whenever he talked to them. 

“Mr. Kogbara, this Biafran insurgency of yours is very inconvenient!” he tetchily declared. “We had mapped out Nigeria’s foreign policy for the next 10 years and do not welcome this disruption!” 

May Obi-Datti cruise to victory next weekend and become heroic disruptors, dynamic forces to be reckoned with, and African nationalists who will write their names in gold…and transform Nigeria into a prosperous global giant we can celebrate!

Atiku

SEVERAL Vanguard readers have harassed me to take a brief break from my Obi-Datti obsession and state my second choice. 

For the record, I will not commit suicide if Atiku wins! 

I don’t think we should have another Northern President after Buhari has occupied the Villa for eight years. But Atiku – whom I have met a few times – is in reasonable shape physically, as well as pleasant, detribalised, clever, and entrepreneurial. 

And I could of course be wrong, but I think that he is so pained by his image issues that he will, if he wins, bend over backwards to prove that he is not a thief and prevent his acolytes from disgracing him! 

I also think that he is capable of confronting economic problems constructively.

Secret Obidients!

AN interesting thing I have noticed is the number of PDP and APC members in my social circle who are secretly rooting for Obi because they think that Tinubu and Atiku are too old and represent business-as-usual dysfunctions that are destroying Nigeria. 

In other words, if Obi wins, they will be happy for patriotic reasons; and if Atiku or Tinubu win, they will be happy for selfish reasons and collect any benefits they can collect as party “loyalists”!