Peter Obi’s Fever, by Promise Adiele – THISAGE

Nigerians and their socio-political spaces evidently suffer from a rare acute fever called Peter Obi. It became a daily fever. The symptoms are immediate and of great impact. It manifests itself anytime and anywhere. Given its overwhelming spread across the country, millions of people have become its victims. The fever is unleashed on Nigerians in positive and negative ways.

The positive victims of the fever claim: he is the best man to bring the country out of the current cesspool. Fever negative victims insist: he is the last thing Nigeria needs right now. In any case, Peter Obi fever hovers over Nigeria’s stratosphere like clouds holding back the imminent release of a violent deluge. But this is an understatement.

While the positive victims of Peter Obi’s fever daily enjoy and revel in their belief, the negative victims of the fever daily suffer from internally induced bitterness. They demonstrate a subtle cognitive hemorrhage that leads them to betray hidden neurotic tendencies in public.

The fever of Julius Caesar also hovered over Rome and the Romans in the same way. Flavius ​​and Marullus, two tribunes, negative victims of Caesar’s fever, chased away the plebeians for having honored Caesar with a feast. Today, the negative victims of Peter Obi fever haunt the positive victims far from any space. But the latter are stubborn and insistent. They refuse to capitulate.

Peter Obi fever began in 2023 at the national level when he contested the position of president of the Labor Party, a hitherto unknown, little-publicized and obscure political party. It was hell. Immediately declaring for the Labor Party, it became a national rallying cry for millions of humiliated and suffering young people across the country.

For these youths, Peter Obi was the shining armor to remove the criminal superstructures in the country and point a way forward for a process of redemption that would lead to collective national recovery. The fever in 2023 was palpable. With just nine months to go until the 2023 elections, under an obscure political platform, Peter Obi fever has taken millions by surprise.

While positive victims dominated the streets and social media platforms, convinced that their principal would win the election, negative victims swore that he would never garner more than a hundred thousand votes.

Unfortunately, Peter Obi won in Lagos, the most populous city in all of Africa. He won in Abuja and other major cities in the country. According to INEC he obtained more than 6 million votes. Many people insist that he achieved more, especially in Rivers State. He won in ALL military formations across the country.

It was quite symbolic. It was not possible to carry out maneuvers in those places. Only if there were no maneuvers all over the country. It has now moved on to the Democratic National Convention (NDC). 24 hours after joining the party, the membership registration almost broke the party website. According to the party, more than ten million people registered in one week. The fever is real.

Peter Obi fever has returned towards the 2027 elections, this time with a more devastating fury. I am worried because fever claims more victims these days than in 2023. I am worried because more government officials and members of opposition parties are affected by fever.

I am worried because governance has stopped due to the spread of fever. I am worried because government officials, ministers, governors and the president are suffering from fever. They constitute a sinister petty-bourgeois force that threatens the redemption of the country. No one talks about important issues that border on people’s well-being. No one holds the current government responsible.

The answer and answer to every political and social issue is Peter Obi. Ask a minister in the Federal Republic of Nigeria what the achievements of his ministry are and what he is doing to improve the lives of the people through his ministry. The answer is simple: Peter Obi is this and that. Ask any civil servant working for the current government to provide insights into the realities of their sector and the response will always be measured – Peter Obi.

Ask presidential spokespersons to explain the achievements of the current government and sell the president to Nigerians for a second term. The answer is given without shame: Peter Obi. Ask any opposition presidential candidate what his plans and manifesto are for the 2027 elections. The predictable answer is Peter Obi. Peter Obi fever is real.

These days, government officials, presidential spokesmen and other opposition politicians go on national television, not to discuss national issues but to discuss Peter Obi. Social media spaces and mainstream media are not excluded from Peter Obi mania.

It hovers with relentless intensity. No one is interested in discussing the country’s harsh economic reality. No one is interested in questioning the policies of the current government as responsible citizens. No one is interested in asking the government what it is doing with all the loans amounting to almost $150 billion, plunging the country into the abyss of debt.

No one is interested in asking the simple question of why the government continues to borrow money after eliminating fuel subsidies. No one wants to ask the president why he deserves another term after failing spectacularly in his first term.

Peter Obi fever is real. It has blinded millions of people across the country to the realities they confront. Many people also make money from Peter Obi fever. Any news about him attracts immediate and massive patronage.

Many people adversely affected by Peter Obi fever have smiled at the bank across Elon Musk’s social media platforms. Post something negative about Peter Obi on social media and your engagements will increase astronomically. My son, a student in SS 1, the youngest of the house, told me that their maths teacher talked about Peter Obi for more than 30 minutes before starting class. University classrooms are not spared from Peter Obi fever.

The big question is: why is everyone talking about Peter Obi? Why are we all victims of Peter Obi fever? Why does someone who is not a government official and holds no political position attract so much scrutiny, while government officials are hardly known?

Why do schools and other institutions call him for different financial interventions instead of calling the government or government officials? Why does Peter Obi disrupt traffic and markets when he passes anywhere in Nigeria, even with minimal security? Students of Sociology, Psychology, Political Science and Literary Studies have the duty to provide answers to the above questions.

Positive victims of Peter Obi fever insist that their support for his presidential aspirations is a response to the country’s systemic decay. Instead of attacking the current government or taking to the streets to protest against the country’s documented misdirection, they submit to Peter Obi fever as a safe vehicle to El Dorado.

The negative victims of Peter Obi fever are mostly government officials and other sympathizers of opposition parties. They deserve pity. Peter Obi fever clouds their perception and reasoning. They hardly think of anything other than Peter Obi. Their relevance in their respective offices is measured by how much they talk about Peter Obi.

It is tragic because the governance of the country is paralyzed and consequently lame. All the arms of government are no longer up to their responsibilities. It must be Peter Obi, morning, afternoon and evening. It is the tragedy of a country trapped in the grip of survival. Atiku Abubakar is a presidential aspirant. Rotimi Amaechi is a presidential aspirant. Goodluck Jonathan is a presidential aspirant. However, they have not reached fever pitch in the country.

No one is talking about the reintegration of terrorists into normal society without consequences for their horrific crimes against Nigerians. No one is talking about the recent wave of police brutality against Nigerians. No one disputes the government for allocating 135 billion naira for the 2027 election causes.

No one wonders why 4,000 doctors have left Nigeria in the last three years. No one is talking about the collapse of the Nigerian paper industry, which will lead to the loss of over 300,000 jobs. No one is interested in the abysmal state of electricity in the country after the President promised to revamp the sector.

Nigerians must recover from Peter Obi fever now. It must be left alone to chart its political path while we confront the incumbent government and hold it accountable.

We need to ask governance questions at all levels. We must demand accountability from government at all levels. We must demand accountability from legislators and other public officials. Government officials must use every opportunity to educate people about their management.

To make Peter Obi the center of the national discourse is to admit our complicity in the submergence of the country by a cabal of political and economic marauders. Let the negative victims of Peter Obi fever recover, and urgently too.

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