Cult of personality: What is Obiism? And who are ‘Obidients’? By Olu Fasan

Peter Obi is an enigma. A philosophy graduate, yet he is not a philosopher. A politician, yet he lacks the political skills to navigate the collegial world of politics. A presidential candidate, yet he hates the constraints of party politics, behaving as if he’s an independent candidate in a country that doesn’t permit independent candidacy. To Obi, his “movement”, “Obidients”, trumps any political party, yet “Obidient Movement” won’t be on the ballot. Obi is a celebrity politician who enjoys being hero-worshipped. His endorsement and even institutionalisation of his deification with the servile name “Obidients” – does he crave obsequiousness so much? – suggests he likes a cult of personality and believes he deserves an “ism” and a movement. But what is “Obiism”? And would “Obidients” transcend 2027 if Obi loses next year? First, what’s an ism? Well, it’s a doctrinal or philosophical term used as a shorthand for great ideas or to describe the beliefs of great leaders, and every ism has a movement. In Nigerian political history, two great leaders rightly earned an ism, and a movement. There was Zikism, the political philosophy of Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe, and the Zikist Movement. There was also Awoism, Chief Obafemi Awolowo’s political and philosophical thoughts, and, of course, Awoists, followers of Chief Awolowo’s ideas and way of life. Today, 39 years after Awo’s passing in 1987, Awoism remains alive and there are die-hard Awoists flying the flag.

But is Obi anywhere near as deserving of an ism and a movement as Dr Azikiwe and Chief Awolowo? Certainly not! Both Awolowo and Azikiwe were philosophers and intellectuals, who devoted enormous time to thinking and writing about human progress and nation building. Obi is by no stretch of the imagination a philosopher or even an intellectual, a weakness he himself exposes by identifying mainly as a businessman or a trader, but Socrates has different roles for philosophers and merchants. Awolowo and Azikiwe were also, in Plato’s characterisation, “philosopher-kings” who ran regional powerhouses as premier of the Eastern and Western regions, respectively, leaving enduring legacies. Obi’s claim of transforming Anambra State, as governor, is not so self-evident. Finally, Awo and Zik formed and nurtured viable political parties. Obi doesn’t believe in party formation; instead, he jumps from party to party, using political parties as mere special purpose vehicles!

So, what’s Obi’s claim to an ism and a movement? A recent statement by his media office reads: “Today, the Peter Obi Media Office officially introduces him to Nigerians as the Candidate of Conscience. Calling a political leader a ‘candidate of conscience’ recognises an operational standard rooted in integrity, frugality and accountability.” According to the Obidient Movement’s website, there are 25,000+ registered Obidients, but there are hundreds of thousands on social media, and they all see in Obi the values of prudence, discipline and honesty. Compared to Bola Tinubu and Atiku Abubakar, Obidients view Obi as a saint. But genuine isms and movements are not based on personal qualities alone; they also need deeper political and philosophical thoughts and a track record of behaviours consistent with them. Yet, some of Obi’s behaviours have not been consistent with his widely perceived attributes. 

Take discipline and humility? Why does Obi enjoy drawing attention to himself even at the expense of decorum. I observed one incident in 2023 that has stuck with me. It was during a ceremony marking the anniversary of Governor Charles Soludo’s one year in office. Obi strolled in while the governor was delivering his speech. The hall erupted into a rapturous applause, with shouts of “Obi, Obi, Obi”! The governor momentarily stopped his speech. As Obi went to sit in the front row, nearly everyone in that row, including elderly and prominent Nigerians, stood to greet him. I wondered. Why did Obi, a supposed disciplined and humble man, come late to the event? Did he do it to test his popularity with Anambra people, a popularity already established with him winning nearly 90 per cent of the state’s votes in the just concluded presidential election? Did he do it to upstage the governor? Did he not realise how disrespectful it was to the governor to come in late the way he did and disrupt the event? How did he feel seeing those prominent and elderly Nigerians standing to greet him? In another event, a meeting of the African Democratic Congress, ADC, Obi also strolled in late. Everyone in the front row, including Atiku, stood to greet him. He seemed to enjoy the public adulation. But that’s not discipline; that’s not humility. Obi may be humble personally, but politically he loves hero-worshipping. A President Obi won’t resist the allure of the office.

Talking about the presidency, Obi’s strongest claim to the office is his much-trumpeted record as governor of Anambra State. I cannot question Obi’s achievements in Anambra, although it’s interesting that Governor Soludo, the current governor, is determined to repudiate, for political reasons, the legacy Obi claims in the state. For me, it’s utterly conceited for Obi to stake a claim to the presidency based on how he governed Anambra. Nigeria is not Anambra State, and experience has shown us that governing a state well is not an indication that someone would govern the country well. Some of those who voted for Tinubu in 2023 did so because they believed he transformed Lagos State as governor, and they wanted him to govern Nigeria the way he governed Lagos. But what have we seen? Some might retort that Obi is different from Tinubu. But I have shown, with the examples of his attitude to discipline and humility, that he’s not a saint. So, Nigerians must assess Obi’s suitability for the presidency not on his performance as Anambra State governor, but on his presidential campaign promises and the extent of their credibility and deliverability. 

Well, Obi’s agenda for 2027 is a subject for another day. But, as I wrote last week, regarding Atiku’s 12-point policy commitment, there’s a difference between the “poetry” of campaigning and the “prose” of governing. Thus, Nigerians must beware of empty soundbites. For instance, Obi’s mantra “from consumption to production” lacks analytical rigour. President Buhari had a similar mantra: “We will grow what we eat and eat what we grow.” But such soundbites are meaningless, and if they are based on the concept of import substitution, they are economically illiterate and damaging. As I said, Obi’s manifesto is a subject for another day; this piece is about his “ism” and the movement behind it.

Which brings us to Obi and his Obidients’ approach to next year’s presidential election. From media reports, the Obidients are behaving as if Obi is running as an independent candidate. They formed a campaign group called Obi-Kwankwaso (OK) Movement for Obi and his running mate, former Kano State governor Rabiu Kwankawso. But the OK Movement is operating completely detached from the Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC, the party sponsoring Obi and Kwankwaso for the election. Recently, the OK Movement unveiled a 59-member Presidential Campaign Council, but the NDC disowned it on the basis that only the party could form such a council. The DG of the OK Movement, John Ugulu, pushed back, arguing that the movement was independent and did not need the party’s approval to constitute the campaign council. But last week, the national head of operations of the OK Movement, Engr Francies Nnoli, resigned, saying it was wrong for the movement to operate independently from the NDC. Surely, all is not well between NDC and the OK Movement. 

As I wrote in a piece titled “2027: Why Seriake Dickson’s NDC can’t be a viable ruling party” (Vanguard June 25, 2026), Obi and Senator Dickson, NDC’s founder and leader, have divergent interests. Dickson recently declared on Arise TV: “I am not a Kwankwasiyya. I am not an Obidient. I am NDC.” But Obi’s fealty is to the Obidients, not NDC, which he’s merely “renting” for 2027. Yet, with such a divided house, the Obi-Kwankwaso ticket might fail. If it does, Obiism and Obidients will face wilderness years, the price of political hubris!

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