The Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has built quite a number of followers ahead of the 2023 election.
He is looking likely to beat the record of the presidential candidate of his party in the last election.
All Obi needs is 5,075 votes in the forthcoming 2023 election and he would automatically outperform the 2019 LP candidate.
The 2019 LP presidential candidate, Muhammed Usman Zaki, managed to secure only 5,074 votes.
However, Obi may outperform Zaki with his newfound popularity under the umbrella of the LP.
Polls Predict Obi’s Victory In Election
The former governor of Anambra Sate, remains the top choice to become Nigeria’s next president, polls reveal.
According to a poll conducted for Bloomberg, a New York-based global television, Obi has the highest chance of winning the election.
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Two-third of respondents revealed their intentions to vote for Obi in the February 25 presidential election.
The results of the survey conducted were published only 15 days before the election.
All six polls conducted by a trusted San Francisco-based data company, Premise Data Corporation, have Obi in the lead.
In the polls, 93% of participants said they have decided to vote and 66% said their one vote belongs to Obi.
Another poll released by a Lagos-based media and data company, Stears also put Obi in the lead.
However, Stears predicts that Obi may lose to Bola Ahmed Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC) if participation is weak.
Obi’s Voters Are On Social Media
Although Obi’s campaign has generated momentum, the two established forces in the Nigerian Political space, the APC and the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) say his voters are only on social media.
The opposition parties say Obi’s appeal is too thinly spread across all 36 states and online polls do not reflect the reality of the polling units.
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His opponents have dismissed him as a “social media candidate” and they say poses no threat to them.
The LP candidate has amassed quite a number of followers from social media users known as “Obidients”.
The ‘Obidients’ went from social media presence to rallies and marches in several states.
Their presence at rallies is like a repeat of the 2020 nationwide #EndSARS protest that rocked Nigeria.
How #EndSARS Built Youth Interest In Politics
In 2020, youths came out to protest harassment and profiling by the Special Anti-Robbery Squad (SARS).
What started as an online protest gradually extended to the streets where hundreds of youths gathered in several states to express their displeasure in peaceful protests.
Listening to the cries of the youths, the government decided to disband the SARS unit.
Unfortunately, the protests led to the Lekki massacre of October 20, 2020.
Since then, the youths have started to hold the government accountable, asking questions and even monitoring the #EndSARS panel to get justice for the victims of SARS and the Lekki massacre.
Since 2020, the youths decided to participate in the 2023 elections which they have translated to support for Obi.
During the 2020 protests, Obi joined voices with the youths and also condemned the Lekki Massacre.
Your #CandleLight memorial of yesterday shows that you place premium value on your fallen patriots. I heard you loud and clear and stand in solidarity with you in the quest for a #BetterNigeria.#EndSARS#EndPoliceBrutality#EndInsecurityNow
— Peter Obi (@PeterObi) October 17, 2020
The killing of peaceful protesters at the Lekki Toll Gate and other parts of the country yesterday is condemnable. It should not have happened.
— Peter Obi (@PeterObi) October 21, 2020
Obi then built a following on the anger of the youths from the protests, promising to bring a ‘New Nigeria’.
For many youths, Obi is a way out from having ‘recycled politicians’ that have constantly cross-carpeted between PDP to Action Congress (AC), to Alliance for Democracy/ All People’s Party (AD/APP) to Congress for Progressive Change (CPC) to APC.
The defections have left the parties without an ideology that Nigerians can hold on to for a better future.
