By Seye Oladejo<\/b>, Lagos APC Chieftain<\/p>\n
I had always assumed that the finest dramatic performances were the exclusive preserve of Hollywood. However, after watching the recent interview between Rufai Oseni and Mr. Peter Obi on Arise Television, I may have just found my nominee for the 2026 Oscar Award.
\nPlease note that the suggestion of the Oscar award is deliberate since Mr. Peter Obi is obsessed with examples from overseas.
\nThe entire encounter was a fascinating piece of political theatre.<\/p>\n
What made the performance even more remarkable was that the interviewer, Rufai Oseni, who is widely perceived as Mr. Obi\u2019s unavowed and unrepentant supporter, could not resist confronting him with fundamental questions of governance. These were not tricky questions. They were basic, unavoidable issues that any presidential aspirant worthy of the office should have thoroughly reflected upon.<\/p>\n
On matters of power generation and distribution, national security architecture, economic recovery, fiscal policy, and practical pathways to national development, Nigerians expected clarity, conviction and concrete policy alternatives. Instead, what they witnessed was an alarming absence of specificity and a resort to vague platitudes.<\/p>\n
Perhaps the most troubling aspect of the interview was Mr. Obi\u2019s apparent inability to provide direct and coherent answers to these fundamental national questions. Rather than articulate clear policy directions, he essentially appealed to Nigerians to trust him.<\/p>\n
Trust him to do what exactly?<\/p>\n
Trust is not a substitute for preparation. Trust is not a replacement for policy. Trust cannot stand in place of clearly thought-out solutions to Nigeria\u2019s complex and multifaceted challenges.<\/p>\n
For someone seeking to govern one of Africa\u2019s largest economies and most complex democracies, such a response was, at best, an insult to our national psyche. At worst, it was the crude exposure of an unprepared presidential candidate who does not appear to be taking either himself or the enormity of the office he seeks seriously enough.<\/p>\n
Nigeria\u2019s challenges are far too profound to be entrusted to assumptions and vague promises. The issues of insecurity, energy sufficiency, unemployment, inflation, industrial growth and economic competitiveness require rigorous thinking, practical experience and demonstrable preparedness. Nigerians deserve to know not merely what is wrong with the country but precisely what alternatives are being proposed.<\/p>\n
It is easy to criticise from the sidelines. Governance, however, demands substance over slogans and solutions over sentiments.<\/p>\n
President Bola Ahmed Tinubu inherited an economy that required bold and difficult reforms. He chose to confront longstanding structural distortions through policies that many previous leaders had avoided. The removal of fuel subsidy, the liberalisation of the foreign exchange market, aggressive infrastructure investment and renewed efforts to strengthen the fiscal capacity of sub-national governments demonstrate a leadership prepared to make difficult choices in pursuit of long-term national recovery.<\/p>\n
No administration should be immune from criticism, and no government can claim perfection. However, criticism itself must be accompanied by credible alternatives. The opposition owes Nigerians not merely a catalogue of complaints but a coherent blueprint for national renewal.<\/p>\n
Unfortunately, the Rufai Oseni-Peter Obi interview exposed precisely the opposite. Even under questioning from an interviewer generally considered sympathetic to his political aspirations, Mr. Obi still appeared to be searching for answers to the most fundamental questions of governance.<\/p>\n
That, perhaps, was the biggest revelation of the interview.<\/p>\n
Equally deserving of scrutiny are Mr. Obi\u2019s handlers and advisers, who continue to expose their principal to avoidable public embarrassment. One would have expected that after several instances of controversial public interventions, inconsistent data presentations and self-inflicted political wounds, those around him would insist on greater preparation and discipline before major media appearances.<\/p>\n
Instead, the pattern persists. When Mr. Obi is not dishing out fishy and questionable statistics that are promptly challenged, he is busy exhibiting poor judgment on highly sensitive national issues that demand circumspection, balance and statesmanship. It raises legitimate concerns about the quality of advice he receives and whether there is any serious effort to prepare him for the exacting demands of national leadership.<\/p>\n
For me, the interview was less a political engagement and more a dramatic production that unintentionally revealed the difference between popularity and preparedness, between rhetoric and readiness, and between ambition and capacity.<\/p>\n
The office of President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria is far too important to be entrusted to improvisation, guesswork or perpetual learning on the job. Leadership at that level requires demonstrated competence, sound judgment and a firm grasp of national complexities.<\/p>\n
Indeed, if there remains any doubt about the wisdom of the choices Nigerians made in 2023, this interview has helped to dispel it. The encounter served as yet another reminder that Nigeria clearly dodged a bullet in the last presidential election.<\/p>\n
If there were an Oscar category for Political Performance in a Television Interview, I would submit this production without hesitation as my nominee for the 2026 Award.<\/p>\n
Nigeria deserves less theatre and more substance. The presidency is not an acting role. It demands preparation, vision, competence and the courage to present concrete solutions to difficult national questions. At this critical juncture in our national journey, what the country needs is not political theatre or perpetual experimentation, but prepared, competent and decisive leadership capable of navigating difficult realities and charting a clear path to national renewal.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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