Dear Eustace —
That’s the illusion he sells. His tenure was anything but excellent. He was impeached — a testament to his (in)ability to lead people of diverse backgrounds, abilities, and opinions.
He also showed his hand in his leadership of the Labour Party — or rather, his lack of it.
He showed it again during the presidential elections when he did a reverse Usain Bolt — celebrating from the 10-metre mark when he still had 90 metres to run.
“I don’t need structure. I don’t need manifesto.”
On and on, he showed he lacked the political acumen required for the job.
Yet, in spite of all this, I still voted for him — simply because I could not possibly vote for Atiku or Tinubu.
As it turns out, INEC cheated (if we are to believe APC decampees).
But here’s the question: What did he expect?
It took a former head of state to defeat an incumbent — and you think your lazy, lacklustre campaign style would do it?
Jogging from the 10-metre mark, celebrating a victory you hadn’t won?
Fast-Forward to Today
By all indications, he’s even lazier than before.
He seems to believe he has stumbled upon some secret cache of ideas for good governance no other Nigerian in history has been privy to — and that is naïveté.
The challenge in governance here isn’t a lack of ideas. It is purely cultural.
We’ve been doing things the wrong way for so long that our minds have become twisted — literally out of shape.
Here’s an example: people get to a roundabout and make a U-turn rather than respect themselves and go around — even when there’s not a single car in sight.
Why?
What corners are they cutting? Zero.
It’s simply a mindset that enjoys rule-breaking. Cheating.
It’s foolhardy for anyone to think they can build a viable nation on the back of a citizenry which enjoys rule-breaking and cheating.
Even worse — to believe that mindset, held by millions, has nothing to do with our current predicament.
Leadership and the Cultural Crisis
Leadership does have a role to play in fixing what’s wrong with the country — unquestionably.
But that leadership must be multidimensional in its understanding of the forces that shape society.
Peter has not shown this multidimensional perspective.
He loves to talk about Singapore.
Here’s what their multidimensional leader did decades ago:
It’s said that after sending their brightest minds to the best universities in the world, Lee Kuan Yew made a startling discovery during state functions — their children behaved no differently from those of uneducated parents.
What did he do?
He discouraged marriage between his newly-linked elites and uneducated women. He reasoned that culture came from the mothers.
Gradually, he noticed a difference in how their children behaved at subsequent Christmas and New Year parties.
That is leadership which never rests — forever seeking new ways to do better things and do things better.
Peter, on the other hand, is too much of a self-exalter.
A self-glorifier.
He comes across as humble and simple to many, but a true leader must be able to move fluidly across the ladder of inference — an old term I first encountered about 25 years ago in a course titled Self-Leadership Challenge by Tony Arabome, back in Port Harcourt.
Final Word
Peter Obi isn’t being condemned here.
I’m saying he’s done nothing different from what he did last time. He’s shown no sign of learning, no evolution — and so? He’s not for me.
If we agree we are settling for less, then fine — let’s admit it.
But to pretend we’ve found the best deal for Nigeria? Simply not so.
I rest my case.
— Don Kenobi
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