After two months of back and forth, we’re pleased to announce the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi, has finally released his manifesto!

The manifesto has attracted mixed reactions from fans and haters alike since Obi announced the 72-page document on December 4, 2022.

But, what exactly is the content of this document? 

Introduction of a state police system

Obi plans to put in place policies that would implement the principles of a state police system in the Nigerian constitution. But these could create some problems.

The Senate is already hostile against state policing due to fears that officers will become errand boys for governors who may also neglect to pay them well. 

This could become an issue as Obi needs a National Assembly aligned with his interests and plans for the country to succeed. But how many Labour Party candidates are likely to win seats in the National Assembly in 2023? 

The All Progressives’ Congress (APC) controls a majority of the current Senate with 66 members and only one of the remaining 43 members is an LP senator.

According to the list released by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), the Labour Party is contesting for only 78 seats out of the 109 seats in the Senate. It also doesn’t help that most of the vacant slots will favour Obi’s rivals more, as there are no Labour Party candidates in key states like Kebbi, Katsina, Lagos, Borno, and Ekiti. 

Hourly national minimum rate

Peter Obi’s answer to Nigeria’s low minimum wage problem is to introduce a minimum rate based on one’s productivity per hour instead of the current ₦30,000 per month.

It’s not hard to know where the inspiration for this came from, as Western countries such as Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States all run a minimum wage per hour system.

The plan creates a semblance of fairness, as workers would get paid based on how much time they work. The more hours you work, the more money you get to put in the bag.

Also, this section of the manifesto mentioned the “criminalisation of non-payment of salaries, wages, pensions, entitlements, benefits, and violation of collective bargaining agreements,” which means the law will start frowning at horrible bosses who delay payment of workers.

This is how we imagine every worker would feel if that happened:

Equal pay for politicians and civil servants

Obi intends to implement a Common Regimentation Emolument Structure Table (CREST). This is a policy that’ll enable elected politicians and appointed officials to earn the same as civil servants.

But are the National Assembly lawmakers interested in earning the same paycheck as civil servants?

The move from consumption to production

“Consumption to production” has become a catchphrase of the Obi campaign. We’re not surprised the idea appeared in his manifesto. How does he plan to make it happen for Nigeria? 

• Re-skilling youths in the Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics (STEM) field for the nation’s economy. This is needed given that most students in Nigeria don’t feel the need for STEM. This is due to the slow rate of curriculum updates, and poor funding, especially in rural areas.
• Venture capital fund for young entrepreneurs 
• Apprenticeship system for technical skills.
• The rise of a “Green Army” whose mission is to use the $3 trillion from international climate finance to create economic growth and employment for youths.
  
  But how does he intend to do that? That definitely wasn’t specified.

Multiple exchange rate system

In his manifesto, Obi expressed his feelings about Nigeria’s current exchange rate system. Here’s what he had to say:

While these problems are true as Nigeria currently has rates from the Central Bank and black markets, we’re still waiting on Obi to give us a solution to the problem.

The Afro-centric diplomacy 

Obi also plans to protect the rights of Nigerians abroad through Afrocentric diplomacy. Compared to Nigeria’s current foreign policy which only seeks to promote relations among member countries, his Afrocentric policy has benefits. This would help to both protect Nigerian citizens abroad as well as promote their businesses.

This would be done by rebuilding Nigeria’s military power, establishing leadership roles in African affairs, and even using our top position in entertainment to enhance economic strategies.

This will definitely be a welcome change. Nigerians are suffering from physical harassment overseas even as many more are using any means necessary to japa.

Election season in Nigeria isn’t only about who can hold the biggest rallies or make the most eye-catching promises, it’s also about who can throw the biggest insults. 

That’s why it’s not a surprise that the camps of the presidential candidates of the Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi, and All Progressives Congress (APC), Bola Tinubu, have been at each other’s throats lately.

How did the argument start?

Tinubu struck the first blow during a rally in Delta State on November 25, 2022 when he accused an unnamed candidate of always giving the wrong statistics. He also stated that mentioning the person’s name would be a disgrace to him. 

Even though he didn’t mention anyone’s name, anyone following the campaigns closely would know which presidential candidate loves dishing out statistics:

It’s… Peter Obi [Leadership News]

The chief spokesperson of the LP’s Presidential Campaign Council, Dr Yunusa Tanko, then cut Tinubu down to size by saying he’s “someone who cannot even identify his own mother”. He also challenged Tinubu to show up for an open debate with Obi. He was confident the former Anambra State governor would win and humiliate Tinubu.

It didn’t take long before the APC flung its own dirt when Tinubu’s campaign spokesperson, Festus Keyamo, told Obi not to expect his candidate to debate with him based on “ideas in his head”.

According to Keyamo, there are some key documents Obi should reveal to Nigerians if he ever wants an intellectual faceoff with the BAT:

• A release of Obi’s manifesto for scrutiny.
• A comparison of his achievements as Anambra State governor versus Tinubu’s achievements as the governor of Lagos State.
• A list of current associates he mentored in politics as the governor of Anambra.
• Names of any political party Obi has helped to form or partner with which he still belongs to today.

While it’s obvious Keyamo used some of his points as a cheat code for Tinubu  — given his track record of infrastucture in Lagos and godfatherism — his point on Obi’s manifesto is indeed one that has caused some concern for voters as he’s yet to release his manifesto.

What’s the update on Obi’s manifesto?

In October 2022, a document believed to be Peter Obi’s manifesto trended on social media. But the candidate announced later that day that the document wasn’t his manifesto but an earlier draft copy under review.

Weeks later, he’s still not released a final version of his manifesto. His failure to release one stands out because he’s the only major candidate yet to do so. Candidates of the APC, Peoples’ Democratic Party (PDP), New Nigeria People’s Party (NNPP) and even the Social Democratic Party (SDP) have all dropped their manifestos.

What’s taking so long?

According to LP’s Special Adviser on Public Affairs, Katch Ononuju, the manifesto is still being “fine-tuned”, as the party is trying to be careful not to plagiarise other party manifestos. 

He also told Nigerians not to worry about the manifesto, as it’s not a “big deal”, since what Obi would have written as a manifesto has been said in interviews anyway. 

Are manifestoes a big deal?

Unlike Nigeria, countries in other parts of the world don’t play with their manifestos. In Mexico and even Bhutan in South-Asia,  political parties are required by law to submit a copy of their election manifesto to the electoral commission before general elections. Citizens can only access these manifestos with the approval of the commission.

Why should you care about manifestos?

In all this, you must be asking — why should you care whether manifestos are released or not?

The answer is quite simple — for accountability. If a politician makes a set of promises and it’s properly documented, it makes it easier for us to hold them by the neck when they fail to deliver. 

So even though we know Tinubu is just looking for an excuse not to debate anyone in public, the question still remains — where’s Obi’s manifesto?