Tinubu's backyard

Nigeria 2023: Obi gets high-profile Yoruba backing, but can he win rural south-west?

By Ben Ezeamalu

Premium badge Reserved for subscribers

Posted on January 6, 2023 09:22

© Labour Party’s Presidential candidate Peter Obi arrives at a campaign rally at Adamasingba Stadium in Ibadan, southwestern Nigeria, on November 23, 2022 (Photo by PIUS UTOMI EKPEI / AFP)
Labour Party’s Presidential candidate Peter Obi arrives at a campaign rally at Adamasingba Stadium in Ibadan, southwestern Nigeria, on November 23, 2022 (Photo by PIUS UTOMI EKPEI / AFP)

Insurgent candidate Peter Obi has won endorsements by former president Olusegun Obasanjo and other influential groups in the Yoruba dominated south-west. Frontrunner Bola Tinubu holds the political machinery of the area in an iron grip. However, Obi is hoping to make inroads in the rural hinterlands, and cause an upset in this bloc of 18.3 million voters – the second largest in the country.

For Idowu Monday, a teacher in a rural community in Ogun, South-West Nigeria, the thought of a Peter Obi presidency evokes unbridled excitement.

There's more to this story

Get unlimited access to our exclusive journalism and features today. Our award-winning team of correspondents and editors report from over 54 African countries, from Cape Town to Cairo, from Abidjan to Abuja to Addis Ababa. Africa. Unlocked.

Subscribe Now

cancel anytime

More Nigeria Elections

FuESL4MXsAEf3St

gold trail

Premium badgeZimbabwe: Uebert Angel, the man of God accused of money laundering Uebert Angel, President Emmerson Mnangagwa’s envoy and ambassador at large to Europe and the Americas, is portrayed as a central figure among powerful...
© Photo supplied by label

amapiano envoys

South Africa: Major League DJz link up with Major Lazer for ‘Piano Republik’ album No one has frontlined the global expansion of amapiano quite like Major League DJz. The DJ duo, which consists of 32 year old twins Banele and Bandile...
© Author Ama Ata Aidoo

BOUNDARY BREAKER

We are here: In memory of Ghanaian writer Ama Ata Aidoo “Time by itself means nothing, no matter how fast it moves, unless we give it something to carry for us; something we value. Because it is such a pre...
Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Maputo on 31 May 2023. ©Russian Foreign Ministry/TASS/SIPA

BETWEEN BRICS & A HARD PLACE

Premium badgeSouth Africa: Sergei Lavrov guest stars at BRICS reunion The foreign affairs ministers of Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa are meeting in Cape Town to prepare for the next heads of state summit...