BY NWACHUKWU RAYMOND
“Until the Lion gets his own historian, the story of the hunt will tend to favour the hunter,” Chinua Achebe.
It is a known fact that among the five governors of the South East extraction, none has come out to lend support to the Presidential aspiration of H.E Peter Obi come 2027.
In fact, the Governor of his home State, Anambra H.E Soludo, has been at the forefront of those vehemently campaigning against his ambition, while the other governors, probably except for Alex Otti of Abia State, have not only moved to the APC but are cheerleaders of President Tinubu’s re-election in their various States.
Curiously, their efforts at undermining the ambition of their fellow “brother” do not elicit any backlash as much as a sniff in the air by H.E Emeka Ihedioha and political observers are wondering.
The answer is not far-fetched. Ihedioha and Obi share the people’s affinity to a great degree. The reason why the people support Obi is the same reason why they support Ihedioha. They are presumably products of the people’s frustration over the government’s protracted neglect in various forms. They share a common aspiration for a better Nigeria, one that works for all, and respect our diversity irrespective of the political platform. They resonate with the yearnings of the youth and all well-meaning lovers of good governance.
The “much ado about nothing” about the lack of support, by Ihedioha to Obi’s Presidential ambition come 2027 only exists in the mischievous imagination of the 5th columnists who are bent on sowing a seed of discord between the followers of the two political gladiators. They allude to the fact that Ihedioha is not supportive of Obi for the mere reason that he did not ditch the ADC as soon as Peter Obi did, and in their warped imagination, it is a direct pointer to Atiku’s support. What they failed to realize is that at some time, Atiku and Ihedioha’s closet political ally, Aminu Tambuwal, left the PDP for the APC, but Ihedioha remained in the PDP.
Some, in their voyage of mischief, reference an outing of H.E. Ihedioha to Ghana in 2022, and in their overwhelmed emotion, exhibit a poor intellectual capacity to process semantic nuances.
As Winston Churchill opined, “The truth is incontrovertible, malice may attack it, ignorance may deride it, but in the end there it is.”
H.E Ihedioha has been and remains a huge supporter of Peter Obi. In 2025, Ihedioha, in a deft move to garner the support and solidarity of the Northern elites in the ADC, advocated that H.E Peter Obi should be adopted as a consensus candidate of the party for a one-term period in the interest of equity and justice come 2027. Speaking in a political engagement in Abuja, Ihedioha stressed that Peter Obi has been outstanding and has, over the years, shown the capacity to bring Nigeria out of the woods. According to him, “the ADC needed someone honest, savvy, humble, popular and charismatic, someone Nigerians love”.
He pleaded for support for Obi, stressing that Nigeria needed a competent and compassionate president who would restore the fading glory of the Country and not one elected on ethnic sentiments.
Nothing perhaps underscores the support of Ihedioha to Peter Obi in the ADC more than his strategic scheme and maneuvering to ensure that the position of the National organizing secretary of the ADC was zoned to the South East. Anybody acquainted with the workings of the party structure and organization will understand and agree that the National organizing secretary is the hub of all activities as far as clinching the Party’s primary is concerned.
This he handed over to Peter Obi, who eventually chose the person occupying that position in the ADC today, and by all intent and purpose, nothing could be more supportive.
At a strategic meeting of the ADC, Ihedioha made it clear that the Imo delegates’ votes in the Presidential primary will be secured for Obi. If the power to select the Presidential candidate of the ADC rested solely on Ihedioha, Peter Obi would be returned as a consensus candidate.
The similarity of Peter Obi and Ihedioha in governance is simple and unambiguous. It is based on their performance, record of service, and integrity they brought to governance during the time they superintended over their States as governors. This includes, but is not limited to:
1. Salaries, Pension, and Gratuity payments.
2. Infrastructural development with special emphasis on rural roads.
3. Youth development
4. Education
5. Due process.
It is perhaps on this understanding that Ihedioha invited Peter Obi to give the inaugural lecture on his assumption of office as Imo governor, where Obi emphasized his three DON’TS and a DO:
1. Don’t fly chartered jets. Don’t waste Imo taxpayers’ money on chartered jets.
2. Don’t maintain the office of the first lady. Your wife is the first lady of your house and heart.
3. Don’t turn the government house into a party house. Those who want drinks should go to the bar.
4. Listen to those who criticize you; they are your best wishers.
The events that led to Peter Obi leaving the ADC for the NDC are clearly a mixture of both internal and external forces, which every discerning mind understands because a Monkey that honors a Lion’s invitation to a feast must take a seat next to a tree.
H.E Peter Obi and Emeka Ihedioha, irrespective of whatever platform they choose to attain their political aspiration, are very close friends and allies who share the same political affinity and drive premised on taking back Nigeria from the visibly failed APC Government, and their respect for each other is mutual.
