When the dust settled after the dramatic 2023 general elections, one man emerged as a symbol of a new Nigeria: Peter Obi. With over 6.1 million votes, he didn’t just contest – he electrified. He reawakened hope among millions of young Nigerians, many of whom had never bothered to vote before.
But today, two years later, Nigerians are asking: Did Obi squander a historic chance to create a real people’s party that could finally end the stranglehold of Nigeria’s political dinosaurs?
Let’s rewind. In 2023, over 93 million Nigerians were registered to vote, according to INEC, and the youth bloc – Nigerians aged 18–34 – made up a staggering 37% of that number. It was this restless, angry, and hopeful army that rallied behind Obi, pushing him to unexpected victories in urban centers and flipping traditional strongholds.
Yet, instead of consolidating this unprecedented momentum into a new political structure, Obi chose to remain under the Labour Party – a party many describe as an accidental vessel, hurriedly adopted and lacking ideological backbone.
Imagine this scenario: Immediately after the 2023 polls, Obi announces the birth of a new, people-driven party – call it “The Obidient Movement Party” or any symbolic name – a platform anchored on transparency, meritocracy, and social justice.
Within months, this movement could have: recruited young, credible, and passionate leaders ready to sweep local and state elections; planted grassroots structures across all 774 LGAs; established policy think tanks and training centers to build a future-ready political army; and forced other opposition elements – including the so-called “coalition of internally displaced politicians” – to either align or risk irrelevance.
Globally, this is not a pipe dream. In France, Emmanuel Macron shattered the old party order in under a year, founding La République En Marche in 2016 and winning the presidency in 2017 with a landslide. His new party also won a commanding majority in parliament. In Ukraine, Volodymyr Zelensky’s Servant of the People party followed a similar trajectory.
Meanwhile, in Nigeria, the ruling APC tightens its grip. From consolidating state structures to deepening patronage networks, the party is positioning itself as the unstoppable juggernaut ahead of 2027. The PDP, once the main opposition force, now limps from one internal crisis to another – rudderless and gasping for relevance.
In the middle of this political vacuum, Obi’s massive moral capital – his unmatched credibility, urban youth support, and cross-ethnic appeal – remains intact but dangerously underutilized. Nigerians are not begging for saints; they are demanding leaders with courage to build real structures, not borrowed platforms.
Obi’s reluctance to break free from Labour Party constraints has also emboldened the APC, whose surrogates gleefully point to the opposition’s disarray as proof of their inevitable victory in 2027. Each day that passes is a gift to the ruling party – a day closer to another “easy win,” and another day further from Nigeria’s long-desired rebirth.
The lesson? Politics is not just about popularity. It is about seizing the moment to build machinery that can outgun entrenched powers. Nigerians are not asking for another politician – they are asking for a new political architecture, one that can transform millions of frustrated voters into empowered citizens.
Obi’s story could still be that of a man who dared to turn a movement into a revolution – but only if he acts boldly, and acts now. Because in politics, as in life, timing is everything.
Nigeria waits. But for how long?
