Political campaigns are yet to kickoff, yet the presidential candidate of the Labour party, Dr Peter Obi, seem to have emerged as favorite to win the next presidential election despite having political heavyweights like Tinubu and Atiku from the top two political parties in the country, to contend with.
The huge support Obi is currently enjoying at the moment, is largely due in part to the failure of the ruling All Progressives Congress, APC, to live up to its change mantra since coming to power in 2015. Instead, the party under the leadership of president Muhammadu Buhari, earned itself the reputation of being the nation's worst administration since the return to democracy in 1999.
On its part, the failure of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), to zone the presidency to the South, also cost the party the support of Nigerians who would not want to be governed by the North for another 8 years, having already endured 8 years of torture under a Northerner.
Although the APC did well to grant the South its wish by zoning the presidency to the region, the man representing the party, however, is not in the good books of majority of the population for a variety of reasons.
Nigerians fear that APC cannot be trusted, and the role it's presidential candidate, Bola Tinubu played in bringing Buhari to power in 2015, is still fresh in the minds of the people.
The issue of Tinubu's age and state of health is also called into question, as Nigerians would at all cost, avoid a repeat of Buhari whom they saw as a liability.
And of course, there's the concern of a possible Muslim - Muslim ticket as pressure mounts on Tinubu to pick a Muslim from the North as running mate. Besides, Tinubu himself had assured the North that he has no problem with having another Muslim as a running mate.
So with all the above issues taken into consideration, Nigerians are left with the choice of voting for PDP's Atiku, which would mean another possible 8 years of Northern rule, or voting for APC's Tinubu, which would mean voting in a party they swore to kick out of power over Buhari's 8 years of failure, a possible all Muslim presidency, and an old weak corrupt politician who promised to continue from where Buhari stops.
We all know that when it comes to the big stage, the contest is all about the PDP and APC, with the rests generally seen as inconsequential. So, it is logical to conclude that unless there's a radical shift in voting patterns among Nigerians, either one of the two dominant political parties in the country would take over the reign in 2023.
However, thanks to Buhari's 8 years of torture, Nigerians are finally waking up. Nigerians who have in one way or another, suffer painful loses and had unforgettable experiences for which they hate the APC with passion, have now sworn to make amends.
To many, 2023 is a year to break the status quo, meaning it would no longer be business as usual. This obviously means bad news for the ruling party, who's 8 years of failure will not only affect its chances at the polls next year, but also Atiku who will be rejected for no other greater reason, but the fact that he is from the North.
All these would mean looking elsewhere for an alternative, and it came in handily for Labour party's Peter Obi whom many hold with high esteem, and who is well known for his good track record as a former governor of Anambra State.
Obi has been a vocal critic of the Buhari government particularly in its handling of the economy. He's a man who seems to fully understand the Nigerian problem, and appears poised to tackle the issues head-on if voted into power.
The former governor has a lot of things going in his favor. He is from the South, and most importantly, from the southeast, a region which for years, have cried of being marginalized.
Obi is surely a serious contender for the number one seat in the country. But he would of course, have to overcome the corrupt electoral system which for years, has ensured that only bad actors make it to the coveted throne.
Obi is certainly aware of the system. He was a victim when the PDP lost the election in 2019, where he served as running mate to his now political rival, Atiku Abubakar.
We don't know how he would outsmart the system. But we do know, that Obi knows, that his greatest threat at the moment, is not APC or PDP, but the corrupt system that denied him the chance to become the nation's vice president in the last election.