Supporters of the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Mr Peter Obi, on Saturday, staged a mega rally in the Federal Capital Territory, Abuja.
The supporters comprised entertainers, members of a coalition of support groups and other individuals, majorly young people.
The rally began from the Unity Fountain and the Millennium Park in the Central Business District of the FCT through the city centre to the City Gate along the Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport Road.
At the rally, a new socio-political word, ‘Obicracy’, was unveiled.
According to the supporters, ‘Obicracy’ is a system where the masses choose a competent leader without structure over incompetent leaders with structures.
Singer, Charles Oputa, popularly known as Charly Boy; Nollywood actor, Kenneth Okonkwo; and a spoken word artiste, Uche Chukwumerije, were among the crowd.
Officers and men of the Nigeria Police Force and the Federal Road Safety Corps were on hand to ensure the safety of lives and property during the rally.
Okonkwo, a former member of the ruling All Progressives Congress, noted that the march was for the freedom of Nigerians
He stated, “We are here to march for our freedom. Freedom at last! Before now, Nigerians had been living in bondage. But we are no longer living in bondage; we are free.
“Enough of these old men spoiling our destinies. They have spoiled their own destinies; they cannot spoil our own destinies. We have waited enough for them. We can no longer wait.
“We are taking our destinies in our hands. Nigeria should be one of the first in the world, but these evil leaders want to make us last and we are saying no to them.”
There was also euphoria when a newlywed couple stormed the rally to show their support for Obi.
The groom, who identified himself as Desmond Adamson, stated that he could not afford to miss the rally despite the fact that it coincided with his wedding.
“Knowing that today, which is my wedding, happens to also be the day for the Obidient movement, I told myself that after church service, my partner and I would come straight to join the rally,” he said.
The bride, Mrs Adamson, also noted that she and her husband would like to have kids in a country that was free of violence.
“We want to have kids in a country that is free from violence, insecurity, poverty and hardship. That is why I said I must be here today to lend my support to the Obidient movement,” she said.
Similarly, members of 32 groups, on Saturday, staged what they termed a five-million-man march for Obi in Kano.
One of the coordinators of the 32 groups, Onyekachukwu Godwin, described Obi’s mandate as divine and not ordinary.
According to him, youths in their thousands voluntarily assembled in Kano to express their support for Obi, who was in the city to seek royal blessings from the Emir of Kano, Alhaji Aminu Ado Bayero, to emerge as Nigeria’s next President.
In a related development, thousands on Saturday rallied in support of the Peter Obi/Ahmed Datti presidential ambition after an initial hiccup with the police.
The group made up of young people trooped out in large numbers and gathered at the Stella Obasanjo Multi-Purpose Hall junction along Ajase-Ipo Road in Ilorin with branded T-shirts and posters of the presidential candidate and his running mate.
Policemen engaged the organisers of the rally and some participants in a long discussion before later allowing the supporters to march towards the Offa garage roundabout area.
The Kwara State Coordinator of the Coalition of Obi Support Groups, Mr Aloysius Nwora, said the rally was in solidarity with the political aspirations of Obi.
Speaking on the initial hiccup with the security operatives, he explained that the group sought approval from the police to avert possible hijacking of the peaceful rally.
Nwora stated, “We wrote to the security agencies to inform them about this rally, but unfortunately, early this morning, we got information that we should not hold the rally.
“We insisted that this is a peaceful rally and not a political campaign, and here we are, although this can serve as a discouragement to some people that have not come here this morning.
“But, I believe they will soon be joining us as we are marching on. We have put in every arrangement for this rally and regret the little delay that occurred.”
Also speaking, the state Coordinator for the Peter Obi Youth Vanguard and Secretary for the Coalition of Peter Obi in Kwara State, Omoniyi Idowu, said, “We are only here for a solidarity rally because as our slogan goes, we are obidiently useful; we are not here to disturb the peace of the people in the state.
“The presence of police officers in their numbers is just to intimidate us, because I was one of the persons that signed the letter submitted to the security agencies to intimate them to this rally today.”
The Police Public Relations Officer in the state, SP Okasanmi Ajayi, said, “We saw them gathered and they claimed that they wanted to march for Peter Obi of the Labour Party. – Punch.
