--In politics the world over, there are no permanent friends, but permanent interests - Professor Victor Okafor.
I beg to dis-concur with Professor Okafor and, instead, I will rather say that in national politics the world over there are no permanent enemies but permanent interests. Similarly, in international politics there are no permanent friends but permanent interest. Viewing national politics in Nigeria the permanent interest of all politicians should align with the socio-economic security of all Nigerians. No politician, because of personal interest should disagree that there should be constant electricity supplies throughout the country; should disagree that the nation's crude oil refineries should function daily at their installed capacities of 445,000 barrels per day; should not disagree over putting all children of school age in schools; should not disagree over providing all citizens with pipe-borne water; and should not disagree over providing citizens with decent houses and infrastructures; to mention few.
Professor Okafor was direct in point when he wrote: Furthermore, political parties in Nigeria function merely as platforms for pursuit of electoral positions at the federal, state and local government levels. There are no hardline or heartfelt ideological factors that distinguish one Nigerian political party from another. These political parties exist as vehicles for contesting for available political offices.
Most of the past and present Nigerian politicians regard a political office as a ready-made dinning table where they could gluttonously feed onbehalf of and, at the expense of the people they claim to be representing. These political ethnocrats cum religious pretenders often claim that as long as they are eating, their ethnic and religious groups will never be hungry. In another sense, political offices stand as stomach infrastructures for Nigerian politicians.
Factors that influence party affiliation also change over time prompting .... elective political office seekers to transit from one political office party to another. There is nothing immoral or abnormal about it in democratic spaces - Prof. Victor Okafor.
Professor Okafor had earlier asserted that Nigerian political parties lack ideological factors and that they only exist for politicians to pursue their personal interests. That in itself constitutes the greatest immorality or abnormality in Nigerian politics. Personal interests of politicians are superior and divergent to the national or people's interest.
Not done, Professor Victor Okafor concluded thus, "Therefore, it is not right to disparage the politicians, nor cast aspersion on their shifting political bases."
Nigerian politicians have demonstrated that their main reason for always hustling for secondhand political platform to contest for elections are personal interests implying to gain access to the public funds or national patrimony. For Professor Victor Okafor, politicians who steal public funds entrusted in their cares for national projects or loot the national patrimony are only corrupt and anyone stating that such actors are thieves and looters will be accused of disparaging or casting aspersion on robbers of public funds and looters of national patrimony.
Peter Onwubuasi Gregory Obi, is being presented as a new face in Nigeria politics. That to me is a fraud. He was Governor of Anambra State from 2007 to 2014. Therefore, he must be judged on his performance when he was the executive Governor of the state. In 2010, Anambra State was afflicted with dysentery and cholera because our people there drank and prepared their foods fetched from contaminated river stream. At the same time, Governor Obi invested millions of dollars in beer brewery named, Hero. The current Governor of the State, Professor Charles Chukwuma Soludo, has revealed that the share in the brewery which was N50 per share then is today worth only N5 per share. It was not only a bad priority but a bad investment. Let Peter Obi come out and declare his and her family assets publicly, and explain to Nigerians what he manufactured and sold to become a millionaire, then I will be rest assured that unlike his fellow Nigerian politicians, he has emulated Zacchaeus as stated in the Bible, particularly, in Luke 19 : 8.
Dr Oohay on his part wrote, "As long as Obi maintains good health .... and more importantly, (if) he discards any Marxist ideal, he could be very competitive.
To begin with, ships that came to Africa to ferry slaves to America were not owned by Marxists and those who exploited Black Slaves in America were not Marxists. Those who came to colonise us in Africa were not Marxists and when as a result of the World War II, colonialism was reformed to permit Africans to engage in self-managed colonialism under Bretton Woods economic control, no Marxist was involved. In the Savannah, Lions handed over to gazelles and zebras free market documents for implementation, following which they too will become flesh eating mammals like lions. Till date, as we have seen, gazelles and zebras are still vegetarians and have not become lions. If Dr Oohay were to ask me if I hate capitalists, I would answer in like manner as the late Mohammed Ali did during his trial for refusing to be drafted into the US Army for Vietnam War in the '60s when the judge asked him if he hated White People. Mohammed Ali replied, "Your Lordship, if a lion suddenly comes into this court room now, all of us will jump out through the windows, not because we hate lions, but because we know what lions normally do." In Nigeria, as in all African countries, we have never had Marxist or communist problems since they were not the ones who came to take us as slaves and later colonised us. Truly yours, Dr Oohay I must say that it is unwise, if not self-humiliating, to leave the problem that is actually troubling us to wail over an imaginary or a fictional problem.S. Kadiri
From: usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com <usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com> on behalf of Cornelius Hamelberg <corneliushamelberg@gmail.com>
Sent: 08 May 2026 21:35
To: USA Africa Dialogue Series <usaafricadialogue@googlegroups.com>
Subject: Re: USA Africa Dialogue Series - FWD: PETER OBI: A POLITICAL FUGITIVE AND VAGABOND By S. KADIRI
Re- “Consider that he will, for an instance, be 65-year-old on July 19, 2026, yet, he is touting himself as the voice of the Nigerian Youths.” ( S.Kadiri)
Surely, Obi attaining the mature age of 65 should not disqualify him from speaking on behalf of Nigerian youths ?
Check out The Devil’s Dictionary definition of Youth
Hopefully , Baba Kadiri will flesh out portraits of some of the various contenders for the throne, the wannabe president, the wannabes that he either doesn’t like or those he thinks don't make the grade. After his finishing touches he could entitle the collective portraits “A Gallery of Rogues”
From his very first sentence I already had second thoughts about posting Baba Kadiri’s takedown which erroneously states that Peter Ob joined the ADC party “as recently as 31st of December 2026” - fearing that there could be similar gross errors which would cause Obi’s fans and the diehards known as “Obidients” not to take Baba Kadiri seriously.
Perhaps what Obi, an Anambra and not a Bambara man, actually said to his “ Daddy” David Oyedepo was “ Na Wah O!” - and not “It’s a religious war” - which should automatically disqualify him from harvesting any Nigerian Muslim votes in any part of the Nigerian Fedreration….
Love him or even hate him for being a church goer
especially in Nigeria at this in this era of security crisis
when it’s a matter of stand firm, or you gonna feed worm
N.B. Saro people love conferring titles. Indeed, given his versatility, his adapt-ability and most essentially add the survival instinct of his effervescent personality in meeting the ever-changing circumstances and challenges - precious qualities needed for survival in the Naija political jungle, although some of his detractors such as Baba Kadiri might say that these are chameleon-like qualities to be sneered at - in this case too I’ll swing with Dr.Oohay in conferring this new title on the venerable Peter Obi , the title (AMOAS) after his name: AMOAS a man of all seasons, better still, if he so prefers, AMFAS : A Man For All Seasons
Of relevance ( the wider picture) to expand our tolerance a little, all the chapters in this book: [PDF] Love's Body, Reissue of 1966 Edition Download
On Friday, 8 May 2026 at 13:34:10 UTC+2 Dr. Oohay wrote:A man of all seasons AND STILL NOT SEASONED. Oohay
On Thursday, May 7, 2026, 1:51 PM, Cornelius Hamelberg <cornelius...@gmail.com> wrote:
PETER OBI: A POLITICAL FUGITIVE AND VAGABOND By S. KADIRI
In the online Nigerian Cable of Sunday, May 3, 2026, I read Peter Obi's letter to Nigerians explaining his political vagabondage from the ADC which he joined as recently as 31st of December 2026, after divorcing the Labour party on which platform he contested the 2023 Presidential election.
Obi wrote, "Fellow Nigerians, good morning. I woke up this morning after my church service with a deeply reflective heart, and despite every constraint I felt compelled to share these thoughts with you." In trying to understand the afore cited Obi's written statement I believed that Obi first attended Church Service, then went back to sleep from which he woke up with a deeply reflective heart. It became clear to me after reading the whole letter that Obi is a master in roasting the truth for self-conceited fragrance. He smuggled and mixed up church service into his reflection to induce public sympathy. Obi continued his letter, "Let me state clearly: my decision to leave the ADC is not because our highly respected Chairman, Senator David Mark, treated me badly, nor because my leader and elder brother, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, or any other respected leaders did anything personally wrong to me. I will continue to respect them." The reason for his vagabondage from the ADC, he wrote, "The same Nigerian State and its agents THAT CREATED UNNECESSARY CRISES AND HOSTILITY WITHIN THE LABOUR PARTY THAT FORCED ME TO LEAVE NOW APPEAR TO BE FINDING THEIR WAY INTO THE ADC, WITH ENDLESS COURT CASES, INTERNAL BATTLES, SUSPICION, AND DIVISION, INSTEAD OF FOCUSING ON DEEPER NATIONAL PROBLEMS AND PLAYING POLITICS BUILT ON CONTROL AND EXCLUSION THAN ON SERVICE AND NATION BUILDING." Peter Obi needs to be confronted with certain historical facts in order to prove his reasons for exiting ADC wrong. Obi was Governor of Anambra State for eight years which expired in March 2014. When his successor, Willie Obiano, began to ask uncomfortable questions about the finance of the State, Peter Obi divorced himself from the APGA party on which platform he ruled Anambra State for eight years and joined the ruling party, PDP under President Goodluck Jonathan, who rewarded him with an appointment as Secretary of Security Exchanges. In the 2019 presidential election, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi, were PDP running mates. Atiku Abubakar was a PDP Vice President between 1999-2007, in the Olusegun Obasanjo's Presidency. He contested the 2007 presidential election on the platform of ACN then led by Bola Ahmed Tinubu but lost to Umaru Musa Yar'Adua. Atiku returned to the PDP in 2010 after calculating coldly that even if Yar'Adua were to survive the 4 years tenure, he would not be able to contest in the 2011 Presidential election. As it were, Umaru Musa Yar'Adua died in May 2010 and Jonathan became the substantive President. Atiku Abubakar campaigned vigorously against Jonathan contesting the 2011 presidential election on the ground that it was the turn of the North to produce the President according to the constitution of the PDP on rotational presidency between the north and the south. Atiku contested the PDP presidential primary election against Jonathan in 2011 and lost. Jonathan proceeded to win the election and when it was clear that Jonathan was going to contest the 2015 presidential election, Atiku Abubakar left PDP to join the newly formed APC and he contested the presidential primary election against Muhammadu Buhari without success. Following the victory of Buhari in the 2015 presidential election, the PDP was in disarray and once again Atiku Abubakar re-joined PDP to become its Presidential flag bearer in the 2019 Presidential election while Peter Obi was his running mate. They were both defeated by the joint tickets of Buhari and Oshinbajo. As the PDP presidential primary election of 2023 was approaching, Atiku Abubakar insisted on contesting against the will of the members of the PDP from the South who invoked the provision of the Constitution of the PDP on eight years rotational Presidency between the North and South. They argued that it would violate PDP's constitution for another Northerner to be President after eight years tenure of Buhari, a Northerner, as President. Although Peter Obi was among the 15 PDP members screened to contest its presidential primary election in 2022, Peter Obi, quickly withdrew his participation three days before the primary election and joined the Labour party to become its presidential flag bearer in the 2023 presidential election.
Regarding political whore, it is very clear from the above narratives that Atiku Abubakar and Peter Obi are birds of the same feather. That was why Peter Obi could categorically state in his letter to Nigerians, "Let me state clearly: my decision to leave the ADC is not because... my leader and elder brother, Alhaji Atiku Abubakar or any other respected leaders did anything personally wrong to me." The Nigerian State and its agents were not involved when Peter Obi wandered from APGA to the PDP 2014; and from PDP to LP, 2022. In what ways were the Nigerian State and its agents responsible for internal squabbles within the Labour party and now ADC? Peter Obi joined the Labour party on Friday and emerged as its presidential flag bearer after 72 hours of becoming a member. His name was not even in the register of members forwarded to the INEC 30 days before the Labour party primary. Protesting members of the LP alleged that the letters of withdrawal from contestants in the LP presidential primary were forged and presented to the INEC in order to pave the way for Peter Obi to emerge as its presidential flag bearer in the 2023 presidential election. That led to members' discontent and strife within the Labour party. The Nigerian State and its agents were not involved.
As for the ADC political party, it was captured by the trio of a Military General Emeritus, David Mark; Vice President Emeritus, Atiku Abubakar; and State Governor Emeritus, Rauf Aregbesola. Historically, ADC was formed in 2005 with the name Alliance for Democratic Change (ADC), but while being registered with the INEC in 2006, it changed its name to African Democratic Congress (ADC). The ADC presidential candidate, in 2007, was Patrick Utomi; in 2011, Reverend Peter Uchenna Nwangwu; in 2015, Dr Mani Ibrahim Ahmad; in 2019, Obadiah Mailafia; and in 2023, Dumebi Kachikwu. Then in July 2025, the National Chairman of the ADC, Ralph Okey Nwosu, called a hocus-pocus meeting where he announced the resignation of the National Working Committee of ADC and handed over to the interim Chairman and Secretary in the persons of David Mark and Rauf Aregbesola, respectively. However, Peter Obi remained in the Labour party. By September 2, 2025, the Deputy National Chairman of the ADC, filed a suit at an Abuja Federal High Court saying that he had never resigned as the Deputy National Chairman of the ADC and according to the constitution of the party, if the Chairman resigned, he should act as the National Chairman until a new election is held. He emphasized that as at the time of take over of the ADC by David Mark and Rauf Aregbesola, both were not even registered members of the Party in their wards to accord with the Constitution of the ADC. David Mark's NWC quickly forwarded their names to the INEC causing their names to be uploaded by INEC on September 9, 2025. At the High Court, David Mark and companies argued that the suit should be quashed because the Court lacked jurisdiction to adjudicate on internal affairs of a political party. The Court ruled that it had the right to hear a case of violation of the constitution of any political party. David Mark appealed against the decision of the High Court to the Appeal Court. All of that happened in 2025 while Peter Obi still remained in the Labour Party and when he felt that the capture of ADC by the Mark's gang would succeed, he resigned from LP in December 2025 and wandered into the ADC party.
On March 12, 2026, the Appeal Court ruled that the High Court had jurisdiction to hear the case over the violation of the constitution of the ADC when it was captured by David Mark's gang. Beside referring the case to the High Court for continued hearing, the Appeal Court also ordered all parties involved in the case to maintain what was called Status Quo Ante Bellum (SQAB). Since Nafiu Bala Gombe filed his Suit on September 2, 2025, against David Mark and his gang against the take over of ADC and was recognised by the INEC on September 9, 2025, which was 7 days after Nafiu Bala Gombe had filed his Suit, INEC decided not to recognise either Gombe's or Mark's faction of the ADC. David Mark's faction cried foul of the decision of the INEC and appealed to the Supreme Court, asking it to overturn not only the Status Quo Ante Bellum decision but also that the Court lacked jurisdiction over the internal affairs of the party.
What is Status Quo Ante Bellum? Legal pundits define it as the position before the wrongful act, or conduct that gave rise to the dispute, was committed. That is different from Status Quo Ante Litem which is the position of things after the conduct complained of took place. The Court could also declare simply, Status Quo meaning maintenance of position of things as they were at the Court hearing.
Having appealed the decision of the Appeal Court to the Supreme Court, David Mark's faction of the ADC went back to the High Court to request it for continued hearing of which of the ADC factions was legitimate. The High Court decided to wait for the decision of the Supreme Court on the appeal since the decision of the Apex Court might render the continuation of the lower Court unnecessary. However, the Supreme Court gave accelerated hearing to David Mark's appeal and reserved judgment.
On April 25, 2026, the Ibadan opposition summit hosted by Governor Seyi Makinde's version of the PDP gathered at Ibadan to decide on fielding a single and common candidate for the purpose of dislodging Tinubu from the Presidency in the coming election. In attendance were Atiku, Amechi, Obi, Kwankwaso, Mark, Aregbesola, Makinde and others. The group could not agree on whether to zone the presidential candidate to the North or South. Bearing in mind that it was the refusal of Atiku Abubakar to agree to zoning the Presidency to the South in 2022 which made Peter Obi to wander away from PDP to LP, the inability of the group to decide on zoning caused Obi to suspect that Atiku Abubakar would once more upstage him as ADC presidential candidate in the coming 2027 election. On Monday, 27 of April 2026, the Supreme Court announced that it would deliver judgment on Mark's appeal on Thursday, 30 April 2026. Yet, in another case, a Federal High Court in Abuja on Wednesday, April 29, 2026 restrained the INEC from recognising ADC congresses, as reported by the online Nigerian Punch. Speaking on the restraint, the ADC presidential candidate in the 2023 election, Dumebi Kachikwu said, "Mark led ADC trying to hijack our Party has failed woefully." On April 30, 2026 the Supreme Court decided to return the ADC suit to the trial Court for continuation even though it rescinded the Status Quo Ante Bellum which it said was unnecessary.
Any registered political party wishing to participate in the 2027 election should, according to the electoral Acts, submit a register of its members and its executive latest 10 May 2026. With the Court cases over which faction of the ADC is legitimate, the ADC is not likely to submit a register of its members to INEC by May 10, 2026. This, combined with Atiku Abubakar's declared intention to contest for the ADC presidential primary election caused Obi to search, as usual, for another second-hand political party on which platform he can contest the coming 2027 presidential election in Nigeria.
Nigerians have been forced to witness a political theatre of personal ambitions with shifting loyalties and ideological emptiness. Politics to Peter Onwubuasi Gregory Obi and his acolytes is not about social justice, economic equity and democratic accountability. Obi aspires to be the Commander-In-Chief of Nigeria but he has never, throughout his political career, been able to be a Commander-In-Chief of a political party, an obligatory requisite to be fulfilled in order to become the Commander-In-Chief of Nigeria. Instead of creating a political party, he always searched for a dormant second-hand political party for capture through bribing some of the executive members of the captured party. Consequently, party executive members who are excluded from sharing in the money for captive bribe initiate legal suit asking the court to determine who is their legal Chairman. That has nothing to do with the Nigerian State or its agents. Everything about the politician, Peter Onwubuasi Gregory Obi, is fake. Consider that he will, for an instance, be 65-year-old on July 19, 2026, yet, he is touting himself as the voice of the Nigerian Youths. Typically, Nigerian Politics allow a deaf and dumb to declare self as the voice of the people. The political behaviours of Peter Onwubuasi Gregory Obi as observed above remind me of the American playwright, Tennessee Williams, who wrote once that, "The only thing worse than a liar is a liar who is also a hypocrite."
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