We once had a governor who greets the people of his state with this unique slogan: ‘My people, my people.’ He was very charismatic. But a critical evaluation of his tenure as governor doesn’t seem to suggest that he truly understood the concept of ‘the people’ in relation to governance. Politics exists for the people. Political office, just like religion, is for the good of the people.
Hence, Abraham Lincoln in 1863 defined Democracy as Government of the people, by the people and for the people. In like manner, when the church at Second Vatican Council was confronted with the question of what is the church? The classical but simple response among other things was and remains: The Church is the People of God (Lumen Gentium, Chapter II). Social Contract Theories of (Thomas Hobbes, John Locke and Jean Jacque Rousseau) explain the origin and reasons why people live together in a society under an agreement and established rules.
The people are central to their individual theory to the extent that even the absolutist Thomas Hobbes calls for the disobedience of the Leviathan once he fails in his duty to protect the lives of the people. The people are a do without in politics and are actually the real political structure especially when you talk of democracy. Once in every age, the people are gifted with leaders of sterling qualities akin to the bird Pelican.
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Pelicans are unique water birds. The first time I heard about the pelican is in a traditional Igbo catholic hymn for Eucharistic worship: New Igbo Catholic Hymn Book, Hymn number 90, Esekpuorom gi Chukwu di na nzuzo (I kneel before thee, O mysterious God). In the 6th stanza of this hymn, Christ was likened to the pelican the bird, who feeds his children with its blood. The belief that the pelican uses its blood to feed its children had influence in medieval liturgical art, wherein the pelican was used as a standard symbol of selflessness and sacrifice.
It is in like manner that the symbol refers to Jesus who sacrificed himself with his blood for his people. Another unique characteristic of a Pelican is that it can stay on the air for 24hrs. That’s a show of resilience.In the 19th and 20th centuries, there are exceptional global leaders who like Pelican made heroic sacrifices for their people. Among them are: Mahatma Ghandi (1869-1948), Martin Luther King Jnr (1929-1968) and Nelson Mandela (1918-2013). Mahatma Ghandi was the architect of non-violent resistance.
The philosophy of non-violence became also a tool of victory for Martin Luther King Jnr and Nelson Mandela. These leaders have eternal influence on their people of India, Negros in America and the people of South Africa respectively. A critical evaluation of their individual leadership shows that they never greeted their people with any unique slogan. But yet, like pelican, they fed the people with their ‘own blood’, rather than ‘suck the blood of their people’.
They were and remain symbols of sacrifice and selflessness for their people till date.
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From every perspective, Mr. Peter Obi has joined the league of these ‘Pelicans’ in the socio –political sphere. He is in the mould of Ghandi, Luther and Mandela in their eternal influence and non-violent resistance, even in the widest provocations. They all returned hate, insults and even physical abuse with love. Mr. Peter Obi would in like manner describe his assailants in words like: ‘he is my respected senior brother…’ When he speaks to the people, the words of his mouth resonate like that of Martin Luther King Jnr burning in their hearts, offering hope amidst disillusionment. Such was his post-election international media press conference on 2nd March 2023 wherein he once more offered a message of hope and revival to the millions of Nigeria young people who have lost hope in the struggle because of INEC perceived but obvious electoral malpractice.
Today, like Mandela’s ANC in the 90’s, Labour Party through Peter Obi has become the structure of hope for the common man in Nigeria. These ‘Pelicans’ demonstrated goodwill for their people and nation, and so do Mr. Peter Obi.Goodwill as an ethical principle is according to Immanuel Kant that which makes one to take actions based on moral obligation and sense of duty. Goodwill therefore is good in itself. It is doing things not necessarily about gains, but simply on the basis that the act is necessarily good to be done.
The obidient movement in Nigeria under the National leader, Mr. Peter Obi is an expression of goodwill. It is a struggle for good governance; for a just and egalitarian society. Also, in addition to the ethics of goodwill, there is the economics of goodwill too. In Financial Management, goodwill is an intangible non-financial asset. In simple terms, it is the reputation which a company or firm have built over time.
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It is regulated under International Accounting Standards 38, and is reflected on the balance sheet. Other intangible assets are Licence and in some places, Research. The characteristics of intangible assets are: they are identifiable, controllable and measurable; and have capacity to produce future economic benefits. Again, just like Land is non depreciable tangible asset, Goodwill on the other hand is the non-depreciable intangible asset.
It doesn’t lose value over a time. When you buy a reputable firm, you also pay for the goodwill. Imagine the cost of Mr Peter Obi and his obidients goodwill in the present day Nigeria? Can you afford it? The obidient movement have both ethical and economic value. It is not wrong to classify it as a struggle for survival of the Nigeria State. After all, Karl Marx would conclude that all struggles are primarily economic. Hence, ‘Aluta continua’! The pelican, Mr. Peter Obi and his obidient people have demonstrated very successfully with the 2023 presidential elections held on 25th February that people are the political structure.
The obidients have no physical assets (structure), but have an overdose of intangible ‘assets’ which is their goodwill in all its ethical and economic value. It is this goodwill that made Efidi Bina Jennifer who was stabbed on election day, and dripping in blood, to insist on voting against the all odds. Her resilience reminds me of the sacrifice of the Jewish people in their struggle for nationhood. Golda Meir a former head of State of Israel gave a description of such resilience in her speech before the United Nations on 2nd January 1948. According to her, the last boy killed in their struggle with no more ammunition left, died with a stone in his hand.
That means, he fought to the end. Such was the heroic act of Jennifer. Obidients goodwill must be kept alive, and the Labour Party must not ‘politicize’ this goodwill. The lucky and incoming National Assembly Members, State governors and House of Assembly members of Labour party must join to shoulder the yoke of this movement, and that is: working for the people and being on the side of the people. It may not be out of place to also demand for the establishment of Obidients Value Orientation’ office across the 36 states and FCT.
This will be a channel to keep alive the spirit for a new Nigeria that is ‘POssibe’. Though it may tarry, but we will fight till the end. Yet a question beckons: In the next 20 years, will there be ‘Pelicans’ in imitation of Peter Obi from among the today’s obidients?
Theodore Ekwem
Rome, March 2023
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