Conversation with non-believers: Make Peter Obi your leverage
Dear non-believers,
If you have sworn to live and die as a “party structure“, then your political leader or godfather should wake up everyday seriously concerned about how to better your life (even though he genuinely does not want to) because he is aware that political party is no longer a guarantee for electoral victory so he has to put in extra work in maintaining his “structure”. As a “party faithful”, your loyalty and labour of love should no longer be taken for granted simply because the party is in power at the national or state and you are overtly dispensable. If your party can pay national officers over N30 million as bribe to conceal corruption within the party, then your mobilisation fee as a “party structure” should be upgraded from N2,000 to N10,000 or even more. As a party structure, if the choice of the party’s presidential candidate is in your interest then it should start with you getting your own share of the dollars that rained at the presidential primaries.
As a non-believer of Peter Obi, the essence of this conversation is not to alter your belief but rather to strengthen it in a different yet more productive direction. Even in the most developed countries, people hold extreme partisan views so being a party extremist in Nigeria is not a taboo (at least, not to me). In the U.S., there are Republican (Donald Trump) supporters who consider the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol as heroic. If Nigeria’s presidential villa was to come under siege there are those who will justify the siege just to satisfy their partisan sentiments. So not supporting Peter Obi when he is clearly a better option for the country than your party’s candidate is not a crime. However, the essence of this conversation is to open your eyes to new opportunities for you as a party faithful. Precisely, how you can become a “capitalist” supporter of a capitalist political party with Peter Obi as your “capital””.
Believe it or don’t, the independence day march for Peter Obi across some major cities in the country was a signpost to an impending disruption in the country’s political dynamics. Reno Omokri, former aide to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, admitted to this fact in his social media post. “The Obidient rallies at Festac and Amuwo were amazing. They are great achievements. Anyone who tries to belittle them is not politically astute”. Omokri was simply expressing the fears of other political parties and as expected, in the coming days and weeks, there will be counter efforts to abate the momentum and significance of the rally. This is where better days begin for you as a “party faithful” cum non-believer of Peter Obi.
I’m sure that by now other parties are mulling over the idea of holding counter rallies. It’s a desperate move and you as a party faithful knowing that an opportunity like this only comes once in four years, has to be smarter. Your first step to better days – demand for mobilisation fee upfront to avoid being stranded after the rally. Imagine a Peter Obi rally across Nigeria and not even in one city was anybody stranded after the rally. As party faithful, you deserve some dignity in your labour. If a political rally that was not financially induced had that much swag, then the one with heavy financial investment should have a stamp of prestige. At the central planning committee of every of your party’s event, funds are sufficiently appropriated for mobilisation and like a modern slave, somebody collects a token on your head. His or her duty is to drag you by the chain called “loyalty” to the event. But now, you can stand on Peter Obi’s name to tell your mobiliser that “payment validates mobilisation“.
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Your next move to better days should target economic empowerment. For the Peter Obi rally, young people took the initiative of buying and branding very good quality T-shirts and face caps for sale. All the digitally printed placards and banners were done by young people in that line of business who were part of the rally. These materials were in high demand and paid for by others who took part in the rally. As a non-believer of Peter Obi, another smart move you can make to better yourself is to negotiate for production of rally materials from your own party. Ahead of the next rally, tell your mobiliser that in your group, you have people who sell quality T-shirts and face caps. You have artists who can brand the T-shirts, face caps and banners. Tell your mobiliser that if your party must beat the Peter Obi rally then you should be wearing good quality and well-fitted T-shirts because they are produced according to your specifications. In addition to your mobilisation fee, ask for fund to produce your own rally materials that will meet your taste. The goal is to outclass the Peter Obi rally.
With these two moves, you’re halfway through to better days as a party faithful. Now unto the next move. Outside Peter Obi and 2023 presidential election, majority of those at the Peter Obi rally have no business with Labour Party. So ordinarily, Labour Party owes them nothing. But in your case, you’re a loyal member of your party. Many of you have been members of your party for as old as democracy in Nigeria. Imagine that this was a civil service job, you will probably be a director by now. This is where you make you biggest move. From ensuring that the party has never lost election in your polling unit to expanding its membership in your community, put everything you have done for the party over the years on the table and negotiate as a director. Call it backlog of “political” promotion arrears or whatever you like, but make sure your demands are worth your years of labour.
Those who have chosen to support Peter Obi are doing so sacrificially because their presidential candidate does not believe in throwing money around. But you who is supporting a billionaire presidential candidate and a political party that counts everything in naira and dollars should have some bragging rights. As party faithful, this is a golden opportunity for you to realise how much value your party places on you. Should you have the courage to make these three moves, you will either succeed and unlock a new level of relevance as a party man or you will fail and watch someone else replace you because you’re not that important to the party. If you succeed, then you should ask yourself “if Peter Obi as candidate gave me this much leverage, how much more leverage will he as a President give me?” And if you fail, then you should advise yourself appropriately.
Dear party faithful, I am not asking you to believe in Peter Obi. I’m only asking you to believe that you deserve more than crumbs from your party because there are others who have made fortunes for themselves, their children and generations unborn from the same party and they are still not slowing down. Believe that after many years of hardwork and loyalty to your party, you should be much more than a tool for election. Believe that as a member of a billionaires’ party, you deserve a decent and sustainable source of livelihood. You don’t need to believe in Peter Obi, even though these are his heart desires for you – and with your party desperately needing you to be against him, you can use him as your leverage. As a party faithful, I hope you find this conversation valuable.
#ObiDatti2023 #ForOBIandCOUNTRY #GoAndVerify #obidientmovement #OBIdientlyYUSful #OBIdient
