Donu Kogbara, a former Obidient Movement follower and international journalist, claims that Peter Obi, the 2023 Labour Party (LP) presidential contender, is falling short of expectations.
She claims that although Peter Obi inspired many Nigerians and won many followers in the run-up to the 2023 elections, his reputation took a sharp decline following the election.
Kogbara claimed that the Labour Party is like a sinking ship and that its politicians must fight to stay in power in the face of recent high-profile defections.
In an interview with Arise News, she insisted that although Obi is still a decent man, he has failed to deliver the kind of opposition leadership that garnered him a lot of support from young Nigerians and other Nigerians in the run-up to the 2023 elections.
Many obedient movement followers, according to Kogbara, have lost faith in Obi.
“Well, rats have always abandoned sinking ships,” she said, adding that the Labour Party ought to bid those five lawmakers farewell. If it’s within the bounds of the law—which I’m not even convinced it is—they have the right to do whatever they want. However, it seems to me that the Labour Party is in a crisis. Their chairmanship and the traitor, who was being targeted by outside forces, were the subject of all that drama.
“I simply cannot put up with dishonorable individuals. The entire problem was followed by further issues that hindered the Labour Party’s ability to operate as a legitimate party. However, it is Peter Obi himself who depresses me more than the actions of the senators and members of the House of Representatives.
“I simply don’t understand how someone who was this brilliant, inspirational leader who started a movement practically overnight, inspired young people, intellectuals, and anyone with any kind of moral compass to at least somewhat admire him even if they weren’t going to vote for him for whatever reason, has gone from the top to the bottom.
From my perspective, he resembles a firework that has transformed into a wet squib. He’s extremely successful now. I only see him occasionally making bland remarks on TV, giving away boreholes, or something similar. Everything is positive. He remains a decent man, but where is the opposition’s much-needed leader? He doesn’t appear to be.
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Kogbara went on to say that not just Obi but also Atiku Abubakar and the rest of Nigeria’s opposition movement are not doing enough to challenge President Bola Tinubu’s administration.
She also accused Nyesom Wike, the Minister of the Federal Capital Territory (FCT), of being responsible for the turmoil that has shook the PDP.
However, she held Obi mostly responsible, calling him a letdown who lacked the courage to confront the present administration for its shortcomings.
“I hold the entire opposition, the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), accountable for letting my good friend Nyesom Wike pull it off course. In addition, I told him that “I would have thrown you out by now if I were a PDP Mandarin” when I saw him a few months ago. I also blame Atiku Abubakar for not successfully challenging the administration and instead spending more time as a big man akin to Dubai.
And the main reason I blame Peter Obi is that he was a bright star, and many people, including myself, emotionally devoted themselves to him. To tell the truth, I’m no longer Obidient because he is such a letdown. There isn’t any aggression, really.
“The administration is awful. And since there haven’t been any herdsmen antics since Tinubu took office, I believe that the only positive thing he has done is to keep herdsmen at bay. If that is his doing, then I commend him for that.
“But it’s kind of like, this government is doing so many things wrong, like awarding contracts without due process, economic collapse, raging inflation, widespread hunger, and disillusionment, and you never hear anything seriously punchy from Peter Obi,” she said.
Kogbara continued her jabs, claiming that Peter Obi is too gentle and that his actions have let many people down. She argued that the former LP presidential candidate could do more because she was the leading opposition figure.
He’s too gentle. Although he has a lot, he could pursue a lot more, and doing so would garner a lot of popular support. I’m not just speaking for myself; I’m speaking for hundreds of dissatisfied Obidients, now or in the past. We do not want a weak leader of the opposition. The main attraction is him. Also, Atiku and the PDP ought to be doing more. However, Peter is actually the best opposition player, and he’s not performing well enough,” she remarked.
