Obi/Datti movement reflects crave for new order –Uzodike
Ahead of the conduct of the 2023 general elections in the country, the Anambra State Director General of Obi/ Datti Campaign Organization, Jeo Martins Uzodike speaks to OKEY MADUFORO on the chances of the party’s presidential candidate and his running mate
It is no longer news that the Obi/ Datti movement is spreading like wildfire, but how can this be translated to votes?
This movement is not just about Peter Obi and his running mate Yusuf Datti, but the expression of Nigerians against the disconnect of governance from the people and that explains the movement.
Nigerians want a change from the old order and the monotony of successive administrations not carrying the people along in governance. Basically this is more on the part of the youths that are the younger generation of Nigerians who appear to have lost faith and confidence in the country and the duties of the leaders.>>>>>CONTINUE READING HERE>>>>>
This movement is unstoppable at this stage and the entire Nigerians are aware of this situation. Our people want a government that can guarantee them security, improved basic infrastructures and gainful employment at all levels and that is what the presidential candidate of the Labour Party stands for.
In the history of elections in the country the South-East has produced the lowest number of votes. What is the fate of Mr. Peter Obi and his running mate Yusuf Datti?
This coming election is not one that you would begin to compare with the past elections.
When you go to the North-East, North Central and parts of the Middle Belt you will discover the mass movement and you see youths from those regions going from house to house and shop to shops campaigning for Peter Obi and his running mate Yusuf Datti.
So you can agree with me that the argument about the South-East casting a lesser number of votes is neither here nor there. Even the South-East that you are talking about is better emboldened at this point and the turn out on that day would be totally gargantuan.
Even those people feel are not with us are even doing more than one expected and in the South -South we have this large unflinching support for Peter Obi.
It appears that top leaders from the North as well as former Heads of State are backing the candidacy of Obi?
Well, you can say that again, but what is important is the sustenance of this country and the improvement of the country economically and otherwise.
These people that you are talking about see this as a moral burden to keep this country united and so far Mr. Peter Obi has been able to meet with all of them and the response has been far reaching.
Their support is a pointer to the fact that the wound of the Nigerian Civil War is beginning to heal and it is also a pointer to the fact that it is not about mere support but a vote for a united Nigeria and they have found in Peter Obi and Yusuf Datti the only platform to ensure equity justice and fair play.
You are aware of the imbalance in the power sharing equation in the country and you know that the presidency has rotated round all other parts of Nigeria but the South-East and it has been found to be fair and just for it to go to the South-East geopolitical zone.
However, it is not just from the standpoint of power rotation but also the person in question. We are talking about someone that would return the country from consumption to production and the only candidate among those in the race that Nigerians can trust that would do this is the Labour Party presidential candidate Mr. Peter Obi.
Even before Peter became the candidate of his party, it has been discussed in several fora that with his track record of success in governance while he was in Anambra State and in business they feel that he is the one
You were a Commissioner during the regime of Peter Obi as governor. How did you work with him?
Well I have known Peter Obi for years now even while in school and have always seen him as one that does what is expected and not what is inspected.
He doesn’t dabble into things just for the fun of it or because others are doing that. He would always understudy the situation and its prospects, which has to do with it being fair to all and not for the interest of few people.
I was Commissioner for Information under his administration and I can tell you that it was indeed interesting working under him. He is not giving to grandstanding just to impress some people.
He is a prudent man and has zero tolerance for wasting taxpayers’ money on white elephant projects but what should bring governance down to the grassroots.
His main trusts were quality education, health care, basic infrastructures and all forms of social security for the people of Anambra State and we don’t see him deviating from those things.
Peter Obi believes that every part of the country has something to sustain their local economy and at large the country’s economy and with that the so much dependency on oil money would be reduced and you know that oil revenue is witnessing a down turn and it has become instructive that we discover other sources of sustaining the country.
You all were in the People’s Democratic Party PDP before joining the Labor Party, what actually happened?
The party PDP had an arrangement that if the National Chairman is from the North that the Presidential candidate would come from the South and we put our heart in the ring based on that principles but when it because clear that primary election is going to be a departure from what it should be we knew that there will not be fairness and internal democracy in the process.
If you take a look at what is happening in the PDP today you will discover that the party has a lot to do before the election and one wonders how the party hopes to get out of it and this is as a result of what took place during the primary election.
But we are not concerned about that because we are moving on with the election and we don’t lose sleep about that.
There are lots of unclaimed Permanent Voters Cards across the country, especially the South-East, are you not worried?
This is the duty of the Independent National Electoral Commission INEC and we as a party going for the election have been sensitizing the electorates on the need to go and get their PVC before the election.
But the awesomeness is high among Nigerians today and for the first time in the history of elections people are desirous to cast their votes on the election day. Also it is incumbent upon the leaders and standard bearers at the communities and other relevant agencies to continue with the campaign for people to go and get their voters card.
And I believe that INEC as a body is doing its best in the present circumstances to ensure that every eligible voter performs his or her civic responsibility.
The choice of Yusuf Datti as Obi’s running mate must have been a tough one?
Not really because Peter Obi is a man that has in the course of his activities across the world has enjoyed a lot of interpersonal relationships with people and some of those who you think that do not know Peter Obi have been his business partners and even school and roommates before now.
So it was not really difficult to get Datti onboard and you can see that the combination of these two young men is exactly what Nigeria needs at this moment.
The trend has changed and Nigerians need a type of government that would move with this modern trend so that the country would not be left behind economically, socially and technologically.
