ONWUASOANYA FCC JONES
But for his foresight and resilience in pursuing justice to a logical conclusion, most of the Southwest governors who give Bola Ahmed Tinubu credit for their emergence wouldn’t have made it to the governorship, even if they did, their stay would have been short-lived.
Peter Obi, an opposition politician in a State dominated by appointees and hitmen of the Party in power, persevered in his bid to preserve our democracy and strengthen our institutions. He pushed on against all odds, even when he could have gone behind to negotiate a favourable political settlement for himself. At the end, he became, I think, the first governor in Nigeria’s Fourth Republic to be restored by the courts, following, a tortuous journey through our courts and everything done to frustrate those legal tussles.
After securing his victory in the election tribunals, his stay in office was to be truncated on two separate occasions; one, as a result of a kangaroo impeachment sponsored by the People’s Democratic Party in order to throw him out of office. He went back to the trenches and had the courts reverse his illegal impeachment.
Just as he was about settling down to get to work, an illegitimate election was held to fill his seat with an Aso Rock anointed PDP candidate. Against every advice and seemingly insurmountable obstacles, the Agulu Anambra born self-made multibillionaire persevered, because he knew that both the law and God were on his side. Sixteen days after the illegal termination of his Constitutionally allowed term in office, the Supreme Court restored him to office.
Peter Obi’s victory ensured that the governors of Ekiti, Osun, Edo and Kogi did not only reclaim their victories in court, but also served their full Constitutional terms of four years. It goes without saying that had Peter Obi abandoned these legitimate legal struggles, our democracy would have still being on shaky sands and higher level of electoral impunity would have still persisted.
So, next time when you are giving credit to anyone or group of people for strengthening for our democracy and ensuring that people robbed of their mandates are given justice, do not forget to place Peter Obi on top of the log. We can’t truthfully discuss the struggles for the survival of the Fourth Republic without giving Peter Obi a prominent mention.
It is absolutely correct to say that without Peter Obi’s audacious struggles to reclaim his mandate and insist on his Constitutionally guaranteed tenure in office, ACN as a political Party wouldn’t have mustered the political clout and resources it did to survive until its merging with other small Parties to form the APC. It is not also out of place to believe that without Peter Obi’s successes, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu might be a member of the PDP today.
Beyond setting the groundwork for the overhaul of our electoral system through legislation and judicial reforms, Peter Obi also stands out as a model for rule of law and social justice. He epitomises resilience, civility and due process in the pursuit of justice. At no time during these struggles did he ever resort to self-help or encouraged his supporters to do so, he consciously pursued his convinction in line with the law.
NIGERIA MUST PREVAIL!