The Labour Party presidential candidate during the last presidential election, Peter Obi, has implored the Nigerian judiciary to leverage the election cases before it to further ascertain its neutrality and autonomy.
Obi, a former Anambra State governor, said Nigerians must re-evaluate its challenges and chart a new course for the country’s nascent democracy.
The former governor made the call on Monday morning, hours to the inauguration of the President-elect, Bola Tinubu.
Recall that the Independent National Electoral Commission declared Tinubu the winner of the February 25, 2023, presidential poll. The former Lagos State governor defeated Obi and former Vice President Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party to win the election.
Dissatisfied with the outcome of the poll, Obi and Atiku approached the court to reclaim their “mandate”. The duo claimed the election was marred with irregularities and that they both won the poll.
But in a litany of tweets on his verified Twitter handle on Monday, Obi explained that it had become imperative for Nigerians and his supporters to review “our missed opportunities and disappointments”.
He also said it was highly imperative for the Nigerian judiciary to prove its independence to Nigerians.
“For all Nigerians, this is a time for deep reflection. It is also a time to re-examine our assumptions, even as we reaffirm our hopes. Let us calmly review our aspirations, in order to recalibrate our expectations and pin down the causes of our missed opportunities and disappointments.
“We stand at that critical moment in time when, as a people, we must collectively come to grips with the reality of our injured destiny as well as the reasons for that injury. It is for us to reassess our plight as a young democracy and identify clear pathways to a better and greater future for us all.
“As we await the verdict of the election tribunal, I urge all Nigerians to use this opportunity to renew their commitment to the Nigerian ideal. That ideal remains noble and worth every sacrifice we can make.
“Nigeria remains our only patrimony and it is a patrimony we must protect, rather than violate. We have no other nation but this, so let us remain committed to rescuing and rebuilding it.
“The judiciary is part of the democratic enterprise and a critical governance tool for determining the propriety of the decisions and actions of every citizen and every institution of state. To that extent, and for that reason,
“I urge everyone to treat it with the respect and dignity it deserves. We expect that the Nigerian judiciary will use the election cases now before it to reaffirm its independence and integrity. It has to do so, for all our sakes and for itself.
“Nigerians must, therefore, remain peaceful and law-abiding. No matter the depth of anyone’s reservations about what is going on in the polity today, no matter the real and imagined provocations, and no matter the disagreement out there, we should remember that this will not last forever.
“I remain committed, and untiring, in my determination to work with like-minded fellow Nigerians to end the curse of missed opportunities and squandered hope that has become our lot here.
“I will never shrink from that original commitment, because I firmly believe that we must change from the present politics of criminality, and corruption, in order to make a new Nigeria possible.
“I call on fellow Nigerians, especially the youths to remain steadfast, calm, patient, and peaceful. Our journey may be long and difficult but it is worth it in every way. Victory is assured. We have to work together to move our beautiful country from corruption and criminality to a centre of productivity rather than aimless consumption.”