As intrigues around the 2023 general election heighten, the powerful ex-generals are alleged to be backing the candidature of the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Mr. Peter Obi, writes Gabriel Emameh

It is not in doubt that the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, and his counterpart in the All Progressives Congress (APC), Ahmed Bola Tinubu, have but one last chance to achieve their life-long ambition to become Nigeria’ s president.

They will have the presidential candidate of Labour Party (LP), Mr. Peter Obi to contend with in next year’s presidential election as the chances of the former governor of Anambra State to win the election continue to brighten.

Obi has become the new bride in the country’s political space since joining the LP, with the youths organising massive movements across the country in support of his ambition.

Atiku, Tinubu and Obi are seeking to lead a nation at a crossroads, gripped by historic insecurity, economic crisis, social and ethnic divisions raging in nearly every corner of the country.

The former vice president and the former governor of Lagos State have painted each other as unfit to manage the affairs of country under the current circumstances. As they continue in their quest to outweigh each other, a new threat, Obi, also stands between them and Aso Rock.

Former Presidential Olusegun Obasanjo and other influential Nigerians are said to be backing a paradigm shift from the old order in a bid to enthrone new breed of politicians to run the affairs of the country.

There are strong speculations that some influential ex-military generals and former heads of government have thrown their weights behind the candidacy of Obi. These speculations followed Obasanjo’s disposition and romance with the former Anambra State governor.

But it will not be out of place to conclude that the show of interest the ex-generals in who becomes the president has also always been the tradition since 1999.

Nigeria’s democracy since the inception of the Fourth Republic has always been influenced mostly by the powerful retired generals.

The likes of Obasanjo, retired Lt. Generals T. Y Danjuma, and Aliyu Gusau, as well as retired Generals Ibrahim Babangida, and Abdulsalami Abubakar, among others, have either consciously or unconsciously seen themselves as custodians of Nigeria’s core national interests.

Either overtly or covertly, these underground power brokers have exercised their influence at every general election cycle, hoping to tilt the balance of sentiments on the selection of the occupant of the number one office in the land.

Little wonder that at such times the residences of these elder statesmen have become a sort of Mecca, where gladiators and aspirants visit usually to receive the holy anointing.

It is well known that Babangida, Abdulsalami and others were instrumental to the emergence of one from their own, Obasanjo, as civilian president in May, 29, 1999.

At the end of Obasanjo’s tenure in 2007, these top shots were unanimous that Umaru Yar’Adua, a brother of one of their own, the late Major Gen. Shehu Musa Yar’Adua, should succeed Obasanjo.

They also backed the doctrine of necessity after the sudden demise of President Yar’Adua, which ushered in the Goodluck Jonathan’s government. Jonathan also got their nod when he vied for the presidency in 2011.

But the Otuoke-born politician was believed to have overstepped his bound when he vied for an additional term in 2015, amidst the alleged massive corruption in the government and his inability to defeat the raging Boko Haram insurgency.

These power brokers backed Muhammadu Buhari’s ambition to lead the country, though they were not comfortable with his personality.

But after his first term in office, the ex-generals could no longer stomach the perceived chaos of the Buhari-led government. This prompted their backing of Atiku in the 2019 general election.

But Buhari, being a former head of state too, and with the power of incumbency, ensured that their plot crashed at the polls.

With the 2023 election around the corner, it has been rumoured in several quarters that Obasanjo and others have moved for a paradigm shift from the old order to a new breed of politicians to manage the affairs of the country.

Obi appears to fall in the category of politicians the likes of Obasanjo and former military generals would prefer as the next Nigerian president.

Recall that the former president recently stood up for Obi from the seat he occupied in a move considered as an open endorsement by the supporters of Obi.

The act of vacating his seat and asking Obi to take it over from him drew a lot of applause after which Obasanjo announced, “my job is done”.

Obasanjo threw up the show when both men met at an event to celebrate a national award given to the President of the Africa Import Export Bank, Professor Benedict Oramah. He had vacated his seat for Obi before giving a short speech and leaving the event.

In a video that went viral, Obasanjo was seen when rounding off his speech, saying, “the president of Nigeria”, while looking at Obi’s direction.

There are many reasons people believe that Obi may have emerged as the choice of the ex-generals.

Babangida, who spoke in an interview with ARISE NEWS crew in his country home in Minna, said Nigeria’s next president should be in his 60s and should possess the requisite economic intelligence because of the nature of the work required.

According to him, one of the reasons Nigeria has failed to make progress and achieve the dreams of the founding fathers was because Nigerians no longer believe in the future of their own country.

Although Babangida did not mention any names as ineligible, he however added that he was confident that the nation is endowed with both human and natural.

Babangida reportedly said: “If you get a good leadership that links with the people and tries to talk with the people; not talking on top of the people, then we would be okay.

“I have started visualising a good Nigerian leader. That is, a person, who travels across the country and has a friend virtually everywhere he travels to and he knows at least one person that he can communicate with.

“That is a person, who is very verse in economics and is also a good politician, who should be able to talk to Nigerians and so on. I have seen one, or two or three of such persons already in his sixties”, he explained.

Among the leading presidential candidates, Obi seems to be the one who fits Babangida’s description of the ideal presidential material, being in his 60s, precisely 61 years old as opposed to Tinubu and Atiku who are 71 and 76 years, respectively.

Although when Babangida was reeling out these qualities of Nigeria’s next president, many thought it was an endorsement of the current Vice President Yemi Osinbajo.

While Obasanjo has been a strong advocate of power rotation from the North to the South, observers believe that he would definitely not be inclined towards Tinubu, who is also from the South like Obi.

Recall that during Obasanjo’s days as president, he did not have very palatable relationship with Atiku and Tinubu, even though in recent times the former vice president has tried severally to mend fences with him, just as both candidates have visited him to seek his blessing ahead of next year’s election.

Recall also that in July, both Obi and his running mate, Datti Baba-Ahmed met with Obasanjo at his residence in Abeokuta, Ogun State. Obi subsequently visited the latter again in September, days after visiting both Babangida and Abdulsalami in Minna.

Obasanjo is believed to be lobbying Rivers State Governor, Nyesom Wike to throw his weight behind Obi’s bid. Wike and his group of other four aggrieved governors have been a thorn in the flesh of Atiku.

While many waters have passed under the bridge with no hope of reconciliation in the PDP, Wike was recently quoted as saying that retaining presidency in the North is as bad as the controversial Muslim-Muslim ticket, perhaps a sign of gravitating towards Obasanjo’s overtures.

And as if a sign of a perfect plan, speaking just days back in Enugu, the former president said he was working with other elder statesmen to enthrone a new Nigeria where everyone would have a sense of belonging and there would be justice for all.

Obasanjo said Nigeria is at a critical moment in her political history and needs a leader with the right character and capacity to turn things around.

He said: “I have shed my blood for this country. I have gone to prison for this country. So, what are you going to frighten or threaten me with? The only thing that my senior brother (Adebanjo) hasn’t done is that he hasn’t shed his blood, but he has gone to prison.

“What I believe and what I think Pa Ayo Adebanjo believes is not ethnic; it’s not sectional; it is not religious; it is Nigeria. I believe in equity, I believe in justice, I believe in one Nigeria.”

The former president lamented that Nigeria was yet to have a leader with the right type of character.

“The problem we have in our hands in Nigeria is not ethnic. It is national. And for me, the most important thing in a leader is character.

“If I put my hand on someone, it means that comparing with the other, I see that there is a merit that will be of benefit to Nigeria,” he said.

The leader of Afenifere, Chief Ayo Adebanjo, had recently declared that Afenifere was backing Obi, a claim that was disowned by many other leaders of the group, who endorsed Tinubu.

As the atmosphere continues to charge ahead of the election, Nigerians would just have to wait a little while to access the impact of the perceived support of Obi, if any, by Obasanjo and his ex-military allies.