More support for ‘OBIdients’ as writer, Chimamanda, backs Peter Obi

Ahead of the general elections in 2023, award-winning Nigerian author Chimamanda Adichie has endorsed Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP).

Chimamanda expressed her support, via a message on her verified Facebook page, sent to Obi on his 61st birthday on Tuesday

The author pledged to support Obi in the 2023 presidential race, referring to him as her “largest” brother.

She stated, “I cannot wait for February 25, 2023, when I, with personal pride in you and with hope for what Nigeria can become, will cast my vote for you and your running mate, Senator Yusuf Datti Baba-Ahmed.”

The award-winning author, 44, who was born in Enugu, also thanked Obi for his support of her parents.

She said, “Happy birthday to Peter Obi, my dearest Big Bro: I will never forget your kindness to my beloved parents.

“Thank you for the respect you showed them, for your many visits to Abba, where you gave to Daddy and Mummy the most precious gifts: your time and your attention.

“I remember how you regaled Daddy and Mummy with your stories until we started joking about your obsession with the ‘GDP of Malaysia.’

“But your obsession spoke of hope: your hope for Nigeria, your belief in what Nigeria could be. A belief that has always been practical, grounded in numbers and in reality.”

Read also: Author Chimamanda Adichie, Melinda Gates appear on BBC 100 most inspiring women for 2021

Chimamanda further said, “And then only days later, you once again exhibited your incredible generosity to the causes you believe in, and it reminded me of all the hospitals and schools and churches you have supported over the years, and often without fanfare.

“You have always been clear about what your priorities are, what matters to you, what you believe should matter, and that is deeply admirable.

“I have always admired your humane pragmatism, how you are willing to talk to almost anyone if it will bring about a good outcome.

“And how you believe in certain ideals without being an ideologue. And how you see people as people, knowing that human value is not measured in material terms.

“For your fuss-free kindness and your humility that is never performative.

“Sometimes it is the simplest of language that captures the most complex of things, and so I will end with simplicity: You are a good man. You are loved. You are appreciated.”

Adichie’s support will serve as a boost to the supporters of Obi, whomhaventaggednthemselves as OBIdients, in a bid to stage an electoral upset in the contest against the more popular All Progressives Congress’s Bola Tinubu and the Peoples Democratic Party’s Atiku Abubakar.

Join the conversation

Opinions

Support Ripples Nigeria, hold up solutions journalism

Balanced, fearless journalism driven by data comes at huge financial costs.

As a media platform, we hold leadership accountable and will not trade the right to press freedom and free speech for a piece of cake.

If you like what we do, and are ready to uphold solutions journalism, kindly donate to the Ripples Nigeria cause.

Your support would help to ensure that citizens and institutions continue to have free access to credible and reliable information for societal development.

Donate Now