-By Austen Akhagbeme:

There is no denying the fact that the popularity and peculiarity of the Peter Obi phenomenon are fast becoming a metaphor, reminiscent of the Marxist-Leninist real class struggle between the haves and the have not, the rulers and the oppressed, the establishment and its victims, the old order and the new culminating in the classical struggle between the bourgeoisie as represented by the present ruling elites and the proletariat as represented by the teeming masses of suffering and discontented Nigerians.

A cursory look at the fabric and factum of the Peter Obi movement vis-a-vis her driving philosophy, her stated objectives and the vigorous way the adherents are up and about it shows a rare commitment of a people yearning and yawning for not just a change but a paradigm shift, a deletion of an old suffocating order for a new reassuring one.

It may be indiscernible to many minds that this movement is far becoming a platform for the rightful expression of discontentment with the past and the present and a chance to alter the rhythm of the future amidst so many distrustful assurances coming from a failed status quo.

The people are angry, no doubt about that. But they are tired of being angry and therefore are determined to take the bull by the horns to establish a lasting change for the future. This is the mindset of every follower of the Peter Obi movement and it is remarkable.

It is against this backdrop that one can have a deciphering conclusion that this “struggle” as it were, is far beyond the Peter Obi persona and his Labour Party. It is a struggle for class dominance; a struggle between reactionary forces of retrogression and the progressive vibe of change.

This is the reason the movement is gaining adhesion with the poor and lonely, as well as the rich but disillusioned, who felt they deserve a better deal from this faulty amalgam. To ignore this fact by any serious-minded Nigerian or lover of Nigeria is to play the Ostrich.

In the Peter Obi movement, Nigerians seem to have woken up to see beyond the politics of personalities and identity to that of issues and the rebirth of egalitarianism and purposeful governance amid crass maladministration that has plagued us over time.

The die is cast. The face of the struggle may be that of the esteemed candidate of the Labour Party, Mr Peter Gregory Obi. But the kernel of the people’s desire is rooted in the need for Nigeria and Nigerians to have a home called peace where everyone can aspire to any limitless horizon without inhibition by the rich against the poor or by the state, through her faulty structures. May the overwhelming wishes of the majority of Nigerians come to pass.

• Austen Akhagbeme is a Columnist with Blank NEWS Online