Aisha Yesufu, a member of the Labour Party’s 2023 presidential campaign team, has clarified that Peter Obi, the party’s flagbearer in the last general election, did not create the Obidient movement. According to Yesufu, the movement emerged independently of Obi’s direct influence.
Yesufu explained that the Obidient movement was born out of the collective anger and frustration of Nigerian youths following the EndSARS protests and the subsequent killings. The widespread discontent among the youth served as a catalyst for the movement’s formation.
She emphasized that the Obidient movement is a product of the youth’s desire for change and better governance, which Obi has subsequently become a beneficiary of. The movement represents the youths’ determination to push for accountability and reform in the political system.
Posting on X, Yesufu wrote: “Nobody created Obidient movement. After the #EndSARS killing by APC government many became interested in politics since they were mocked and told to vote those who killed the protesters. There was a collective anger to vote out APC. Peter Obi was a beneficiary of that collective anger of the people.”
“When he made his intentions to run for presidency many with that collective anger supported him and from there the name was coined to fit the candidate following the habit of naming supporters after a person supported in Nigeria. There was already a movement before the name OBIdient was coined.”
