Minabere Ibelema

It is a little over a month now since presidential candidate Atiku Abubakar chose Peter Obi as his running mate to a near universal applause. That is, outside the circles of the All Progressives Congress. Among the phrases that have been used to describe the choice are apt, deft and master stroke. I couldn’t agree more.
Yet, reading all the accolades only made me wonder about the option of flipping the roles and having Obi as the presidential candidate and Atiku as his running mate. This is not intended to slight Atiku, but to explore Obi’s potential.
Given the point of this column two Sundays ago about Nigeria’s politics of entitlement, flipping the ticket is, of course, an improbable proposition. Moreover, it would violate the rotational principle that cedes this electoral cycle to the North. Yet, there is ample reason for this flight of fancy.
The Atiku/Obi ticket reminds me of the pairing of Barack Obama and Joe Biden in the 2008 US presidential election. The only difference is that in that case the presidential candidate was a young newcomer and his running mate was an older political veteran. That election was driven by the dynamic of this non-traditional pairing. The trailblazing Obama lit the fuse of excitement while the veteran Biden anchored the candidacy in the political traditions. It was an even greater masterstroke.
Obama won the election against the odds by energizing electoral bases that were usually blasé about voting: racial minorities, young women and university students. Minorities and students in particular saw Obama as someone who truly represented them, a cut away from the usual.
Moreover, Obama’s vision of a country that could transcend its historical and contemporary ills was inspiring and galvanising. It made those who had been on the margins feel they had at last become a part of the centre. And so, they turned out in droves to vote for him.
Obi has much the same attributes as Obama and could have readily reprised the political magic. To begin with, they are both the same age, 57, though Obama was just 47, when he won the US presidency in 2008. They are both intelligent and articulate. And despite their social status, they retain the common touch.
https://punchng.com/obi-could-have-reprised-obama/

Atiku an obi has been into the business of building a lasting and prosperous institutions arround the globe, give them the opportunity come 2019 and see them transform this country for better.