The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) has downplayed the significance of former President Olusegun Obasanjo’s endorsement of the Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate, Peter Obi.
Obasanjo expressed his support for Obi in a six-page open letter addressed particularly to youths on Sunday, a move embraced by the LP and belittled my several politicians in the ruling party and opposition Peoples Democratic Party (PDP).
Deputy Director, Media and Publicity, APC PCC, Ali Muhammed Ali, during a live appearance on Channels Television’s Sunrise Politics on Wednesday, described Obasanjo’s decision to address Nigerian youths specifically as strategic.
In the wake of the endorsement, the former president’s popularity and electoral influence have been a bone of contention with supporters citing his pivotal role in resolving the two-year Ethiopia-Tigray crisis last November.
However, Ali’s position is that Obasanjo’s influence abroad has no bearing on his electoral value.
“Externally, beyond the shores of Nigeria, you can’t dismiss Obasanjo with a wave of the hand, but back home, he’s a paper tiger. It should worry some people that he is actually speaking to young people. And anywhere across the globe, young people are agents of change.
“We’ve seen that happen with the Orange Revolution in Ukraine, the Arab Spring in Egypt. So, young people actually are the target there and young people are largely unaware of the foxy nature of Obasanjo. Obasanjo oscillates between extremes,” the APC stalwart said.
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Ali debated the electoral value of the former president, saying that some people see perception as reality.
“The optics is going to be seen that Obasanjo actually is in support. What’s, after all, an endorsement? It’s an expression of support,” he said.
“And given his once-upon-a-time fame and influence, you would say it’s good to be seen to have Obasanjo in your corner.
“But if you look at it – [speaking of ] electoral capital, electoral asset – like they say, in Washington, there are no kids, there are only voters. So how much of that would translate into actual electoral asset?”
‘He Feels The Pains Too’
However, LP’s Deputy National Chairman, Ayo Olorunfemi, described the endorsement as a big deal and Obasanjo as a man of integrity.
According to him, the ex-president, like many Nigerians, feels the pain brought on by allegedly corrupt leaders.
“We’re looking at those few Nigerians that have stolen our money and believe that they are so powerful. They have weaponised poverty and they believe that money can do everything. No, Nigerians are departing from that narrative,” he said.
“He’s telling them right now that ‘you can’t continue to suffer in this manner. You don’t have any reason to suffer in this manner, and therefore, I am giving this guy a clean bill.’
“[Obasanjo is saying] ‘I’m giving this guy an endorsement, so that Nigerians will know that [with] the benefit of experience, this person is better than every other candidate, particularly those candidates from the two so-called major political parties.
“These are the people that ganged up against us and threw this country into this mess.”
