By: Abonyi Hyginus Ebuka.
Among the list of officially Registered Political Parties that is eighteen(18), Labour Party is one of the least. Founded on 21 April, 2007, has only secure one seat out of 360 in the National Assembly without any major or minor political position. The fact about Labour party is that, it has no major structure in all the constituencies and for such has no members therein. To be truthful, labour party cannot even secure a local governorship seat with the stand of Nigeria politics talk of the seat of presidency, yet, Peter Obi chose the party after he left PDP. People have criticised Obi for joining a no name party which in Wike's words is a party that cannot transmit energy. People will be asking, why was it Labour Party that Peter Obi seeks to belong weighing it's dilapidated nature. There are couple of things that made Obi to choose Labour Party:It Matches it's Principle
Peter Obi in an interview when asked why he left PDP, made an illustration. Not quoting him verbatim, he said, PDP is like an organization, and when one joins an organization, it means the person's personal principles align with that of the organization or association but if along the line the person finds out the organization's principle doesn't match with his, what he will do is to leave the organization. He said he left PDP because some of their principles do not match with his. The implication of this is that joining Labour Party means his principles match with that of Labour which is all about working for the people. This is evident in Peter Obi's acceptance speech after he won the party's primary election:
"Let Us Return Nigeria to Their Rightful Owners. I thank Nigerians; especially members of the Labour Party who have gathered here since yesterday to partake in the primaries to choose the person that will fly Labour flag in the forthcoming National election to choose the President of Nigeria.
History beckons. Nigerians remain hopeful for a national rebirth, which implies returning Nigeria to Nigerians – farmers, teachers and students, lecturers, artisans, workers, pensioners and over a hundred million poor Nigerians who are not sure where their next meal will come from.
Therefore, what you are doing today is a patriotic duty towards seeking the desired political emancipation of our dear country, which stands wounded by many years of cumulative leadership failure. Painfully, our current dysfunctional system rewards unearned income and conspicuous consumption; allows university lecturers to remain on strike for months; keep our youths at home; and owe pensioners, who gave their patriotic sweat and their youthful energy to serve this country.
The despicable contrast is that those responsible for the mess -those elected to take care of them - have abandoned the national currency and are living in opulence and like kings, spend dollars to buy delegates as well as houses all over the world.Meanwhile, they owe most workers, lecturers and retirees.
Yes, our country stands hijacked by forces of retrogression. We are almost zero in all indices of development. As a result, our future, especially those of the youth and generations unborn is in ruins. We have become a laughing stock among other nations, including African countries where we were once revered.
As a party that represents the workers and masses of this great nation, we are people organised and working for our economic rebirth. As I am nominated today, I humbly proclaim that the journey towards the emancipation of the country has begun.
I note with humility that the journey is going to be a collective one that will certainly require the cooperation of critical stakeholders in our country, especially the youth, whose future has been thoroughly degraded.
I therefore thank all of you and call for your sustained support towards returning Nigeria to Nigerians from forces of bad leadership and retrogression. Such a noble tasks brooks no conscientious objectors.
I hardly use war metaphors for political analysis due to my belief that politics is not adversarial and not war. However permit me a little indulgence here, to relate what we are embarking on to the ancient battle of Thermopylae, where the Greek forces, conscious of fighting for the life of Greece held on against great odds in the defence of their country.
In the battle to re-take Nigerian, the odds are great and seemingly insurmountable, but with our commitment, patriotism and understanding that we are doing, what we are supposed to do for our country, lest she shall die, we shall move on discontent with what is and focused on enthroning what ought to be. In doing this, our battle cry shall remain: get your PVC and become part of this great libration!
Our governance mission will be twin-tracked. Secure Nigeria in every ramification: national security, human security, food security and tackling insecurity created by unemployment.
We will also seek to unite our nation by pulling our people out of poverty, and creating a new sense of nationalism and patriotism. Nigeria shall rise again: and her people will be proud to claim ownership of her patrimony. Doing so is in our collective national interest.
As I earnestly thank Nigerians for their faith in me. In the days ahead I will publish our governance manifesto, which will spell out our top governance priorities. I assure you that no region; state, local government or communities will be left behind.
I also assure you all that the struggle continues and that victory is certainly in sight towards the guarantee of a meaningful future for our youths and making this country a respected and viable member of a 21st century world, that places high value on production over consumption. God bless you all and God bless Nigeria".
Peter Obi is not Eager or Desperate to Win
It is clearly that Obi is not like Political cabals who are desperate to win election by all means. For Peter Obi, he is here to serve Nigerians and nothing more. This is really true because he has not been seen or heard that he shares money for people to vote him unlike WIKE and ATIKU that is rumored to have shared $15,000 and $35,000 respectively, to delegates just to win PDP primary presidential election. Because he doesn't share money, people see him as being stingy.
Lastly, joining Labour Party that is dilapidated in nature might be a way to send message to Nigerians that no matter how bad Nigeria is, it can still be redeemed.
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