The candidate of the Labour Party in last year’s presidential election, Peter Obi, is a man on the march again, and whether he wins or loses the 2027 presidential election, which he will likely contest, he will leave behind a mixed bag of legacies.

    Obi is a former Governor of Anambra State. The 62-year-old handed over in 2014 to his successor, Willie Obiano, and maintains that his performance in office as a governor brought sanity to Anambra State.

    However, as Obi eyes the presidency in 2027, there is an argument that the only legacy he will leave behind could be what he did as a governor, and this is in contrast to the argument that his legacy would not only be what he did as a governor but also what he is currently doing as an opposition figure.

   Now, Obi’s performance as a governor, which is his go-to legacy in Anambra State, has however been taking a lot of bashing.

     Before Obi left office as a governor, he told those that were present during his end-of-tenure presentation that he made substantial long-term investments on behalf of the state and that Anambra State would profit from the decisions his administration took while he was in office.

    Though many Nigerians assume that Obi stashed cash away for the state in the banks, the former presidential candidate said that his administration saved money in investments and it did not say there was cash kept somewhere.

     Obi said he saved $156 million in foreign currency that were domiciled in Fidelity, Diamond and Access Banks, but that the funds were used to purchase foreign and local bonds, which enabled his administration to build a portfolio of N50 billion.

     Obi’s administration also enjoyed adulation in the area of education. Anambra State, for instance, ranked above other states in Nigeria in National Examination Council examinations.

    Obi, while defending his legacy in the education sector in Anambra State, said that his government took education to new heights because it (education) would be the only currency for competition tomorrow, and so there was a need to educate people properly.

       In the area of infrastructure, there had also been much talk about the quality of roads that were constructed in the state and how Obi supervised the transformation of popular cities in the state, such as Onitsha, Nnewi and Akwa, to compare favourably with Lagos or Abuja.

     In defence of his administration, Obi, when he left office said Anambra State was where it should be in terms of infrastructural development. He enunciated then that infrastructure was “not about 100 percent result but 100 percent effort” in the right direction.

     Thus, as well as in health, agriculture, security, profound questions have equally been asked about how Obi fared.

      Because politics is often described as a dirty game, and could expose or strip a man’s shortcomings bare in the public, Obi has realised that his antagonists will stop at nothing to “demarket” him.

      First to champion his downfall was the incumbent Anambra State Governor, Charles Soludo. The former Central Bank of Nigeria Governor told Nigerians that Obi invested next to nothing in the state.

     Reno Omokri, a former aide to ex-President Goodluck Jonathan, also mocked Obi for not constructing any school in Anambra State throughout the eight years he presided over the affairs of the state as a governor.

    Omokri also said that the reported high-flying performance of Anambra State students in NECO was as a result of the glorification of examination malpractices centres, and that the performance of students declined when Obiano took office.

     On infrastructural development, especially road construction, Obi was accused of leaving a legacy of poor road construction, with many indigenes of the state saying that he was famous for using contractors who did low-quality work.

    As a presidential election frontrunner, Obi has taken up duty as an opposition figure. He does not miss the opportunity to question the decisions of the Federal Government he says are “anti-people”, and his supporters are all for it and applaud his boldness.

     Nonetheless, an albatross that is around Obi’s neck as he soldiers on to 2027 is the accusation made by his opponents that he is not “loyal” to any political party he joins. In fact, the prediction now is that he will soon “abandon” his current party, the Labour Party.

     For the record, Obi started his political journey in the All Progressives Grand Alliance before he moved to the People’s Democratic Party, and later to the Labour Party when he knew that his ambition was unattainable in the PDP.

     Because of the current leadership imbroglio in the LP, observers say that Obi has been given the leeway in leaving the LP, as well as a ready-made excuse to present to those who will query him for it, an action that could smear his legacy.

    Moyo Jaji, a political scientist and staunch supporter of Nigeria’s  President, Bola Tinubu, told The Point that assuming Obi were to leave politics today, his legacy would only be what he did when he was the governor of Anambra State.

     Jaji who said Obi’s performance in office was of no importance or relevance also stated that the former Anambra State Governor is a “lucky person” to have found himself in the political limelight.

“If a political party doesn’t favour you, feel free to leave. There is no reward for staying in any political party that has lost touch with current realities and in which their ideologies or practices no longer suit you and your mission as a politician”

     Jaji also averred that if not for the Nigerian factor, Obi “should not be somebody that will be disturbing the political landscape.”

    Jaji said, “Obi’s legacy will be what he did when he was a governor, which is neither here nor there – if you understand what I mean. All you need to do is to look up his achievements when he was a governor of Anambra State.

     “As far as I am concerned, he is just a lucky person to have found himself in the political limelight presently, but other than that, your guess is as good as mine.

     “And so if not for the Nigerian factor, Obi, as far as I am concerned, should not be somebody that will be disturbing the political landscape, and that is my personal opinion.

    “The Nigerian factor here has to do with the fact that we don’t want to look at competence. What we consider are ethnic factors and religious factors.

     “So, in Nigeria, nobody wants to know what you must have achieved, so long as you belong to my tribe and so long as we are on the same page religiously, any other thing is inconsequential.”

      Jaji also insisted that Obi’s victory in Lagos State during the presidential poll, which some have described as a monumental legacy, was made possible by ethnic and religious factors.

       “I once discussed with a journalist and I told him that Obi performed wonderfully well electorally during the presidential election in Lagos State, not because of anything but because of ethnic and religious considerations.

    “The disgruntlement within the APC in Lagos State was also responsible for his victory, otherwise he cannot beat Tinubu if you conduct election in the state ten times,” Jaji said.

    A political analyst, Kizito Opara, said that Obi’s achievements would outlive him and that the former Anambra State Governor has been a vibrant opposition figure who has been keeping the government on its toes.

     Opara also says that Obi beating Tinubu in Lagos State is a “monumental legacy” and that politicians have the liberty to move to other political parties if conditions in their current parties do not favour them.

    “Obi’s political legacy is sure and certain. His achievements will also outlive him.

    “Whether Obi leaves politics today or any other time, he will be remembered for being a vibrant opposition figure. He has been keeping the government on its toes and you cannot buy the kind of commitment he has in the market.

     “His beating Tinubu in Lagos State is a monumental legacy.

    “That victory demonstrates that anyone’s aspiration can be politically viable if only he or she can believe in himself or herself. Nobody gave Obi any chance in Lagos State but he sank the unsinkable APC ship in Lagos State.

    “I do disagree with those who are saying that he (Obi) is leaving a legacy of often jumping from one political party to the other.

    “For crying out loud, is it an offence to do so? Do the political parties belong to Obi’s father or he signed a blood covenant with them?

   “If a political party doesn’t favour you, feel free to leave. There is no reward for staying in any political party that has lost touch with current realities and in which their ideologies or practices no longer suit you and your mission as a politician,” Opara said.