Voters can ask what other role Obi can play apart from being a candidate jostling to take over from Muhammadu Buhari. In the forthcoming general elections, Peter Obi, the media popular Labour Party presidential candidate, can perform more roles than just being a candidate.
No candidate is a write-off, and at the same time, all candidates do not have the same chance considering how structured their parties are coupled with other factors including ethnicity, religion and finance. Peter Obi doesn’t have as much chance as Bola Tinubu of the APC and Atiku Abubakar of the PDP.
Yet the former Anambra State governor can make or mar the chances of either of the other two contestants for the office of the president. In fact, Mr. Peter Obi can be the de facto kingmaker in the contest even though he himself is in the race.
Obi has the allegorical leprous hands. He can spoil the chance of either the ex vice president or Bola Tinubu. And that is the other role Mr. Peter Obi actually perform.
Presidential election in Nigeria has always been between two titans, two strong candidates. The participation of the Labour Party candidate may not change many things even though the number of strong candidates has increased by one. Obi will just be a character in the drama to come.
Note that Obi is from southern Nigeria just like Mr. Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the APC candidate. As a matter of fact, Obi will get thousands, if not millions, of votes in the region by virtue of his being a southerner. And that will ultimately affect Tinubu.
In order to beat his archival, Atiku Abubakar, the ex Lagos state governor needs to get many votes from south as possible. Atiku will cash in on his ethnicity to get supports from his kinsmen in north. If Obi gets votes in south, Tinubu’s chances will diminish.
At the same time, Atiku won the southeastern and south-south geopolitical zones in the last general elections. To state the fact, PDP has always won the two regions. The narrative will, most certainly, change this time around.
There is tendency that the people of southeastern Nigeria will sympathise with their “son”. That’s been the norm in the country. If Obi gets support from the two sides of the country, surely, Atiku is weakened. That’s the reality.
The PDP may lose its traditional supporters who will tilt towards Peter Obi’s Labour Party. Meanwhile, the PDP is more popular in south than in north. What does this mean? It means PDP will be weak at its usual strongholds.
The other role Obi can play in the 2023 general elections can determine who wins the presidential election at the end of the day.
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