 Justus Daniel Osage of the Federal High Court, sitting in Lagos on Wednesday, ordered the Labour Party and its supporters not to convert on Lekitaw for its Obidati Forward Ever Rally builds to hold on October 1, 2022, but they could pass through the venue to access the Falomal Bridge and other venues. Justus Osiega also directed the Inspector General of Police and the Lagos State Police Commissioner to ensure compliance with the order, a coalition of support groups Lagos for Obidati, backing the PTLB in 2023 earlier announced plans to hold its Lagos for Lagos man march for Obidati. Well, the group, however, denounced any attempt to link the Lagos Obidant Rally to the 2020 NSARS movement. What's joining us to discuss this is Akinyolawie, he is an active citizen and a co-convener of the October 1 mega rally. It's good to have you join us in the studio. Thanks Alun, Marianne. It's interesting that the train has moved from Abuja now in Lagos. For most of us who are watching, we're wondering what exactly is the essence of this rally. So basically what we're trying to do is showcase the volume of support that the Obidati campaign enjoys among young people, among citizens here in Lagos. Obviously, since the emergence of the vote individuals on the Labour Party, the party has become excessively, I mean exceedingly popular. Lagos is one state we're hoping to capture as part of, again, saying we want an era of good leadership. Obviously, if you hear a lot of the messaging that's coming out of the Obidiant camp, many who have not really paid attention to politics for the first time are really excited as young people and obviously everyday Nigerians. So looking forward to 2023, this rally is just to, again, energize the base, making sure we make inroads across various communities. The rally in Ikeja, the one in Festak, the one in Leckie, as well as the one in Sulaire being managed by the party. It's just to give people an environment where they can come in, bond, network, equally part of the grassroots mobilization where we capture data, again, identify stakeholders that would support the election activities in the coming months ahead. So you just want to energize people. How does this become votes? Because I'm guessing that you're also trying to canvas for votes for people. Of course. So part of the rally is there's going to be messaging. There will be mobile trucks where we, as we go through communities here in Ikeja, in Sulaire, we have the ability to interact, again, using the optics of the campaign train. And equally, you'll find that from the PVC drive we've done for many months beginning late 2021, you could see the surge in number of registered voters. Many will say you can't attribute it to the obedient camp or to Labour Party, but if you take a poll, looking at some of the polls that just emerged, the last 48 to 72 hours, you can see that the candidate of our party, Labour Party, basically tops every other individual by 70%. And that shows you that there's a rude awakening among young Nigerians, many of them first-time voters, and even people that just really found the process apathetic. The voting apathy in Nigeria was at its highest, but going into 2023, for the first time in recent history, you see a lot of people saying, you know what, I want to participate, you're seeing people throw up their resources to fund a candidate, fund a movement. And I will say this to you, 99% of the organisation and funding behind the rally is being done by ordinary Nigerians that are not even affiliated to the party. So you took me to my next question. Being part of this rally or being part of the movement on social media and on the ground, does that mean that you have to be a member of the Labour Party? Not really, but I think you're seeing a lot of people taking interest and saying, you know, to govern, you have to first go through the political route, you need that vehicle. And I think it's exciting to see what's happening with the Labour Party coming off the shelf as a party that never truly was considered a player in the political landscape to becoming top three. Probably you can call them top two by virtue of the energy from the obedient camp. Back to the question you asked, I think a lot of people are saying I would join the party because I understand the process of joining the party is how you can again have the platform to run for office. And I think with the obedient movement, a lot of people who've never really found politics appealing for the first time are saying, you know what, I think I ought to give it a try. A candidate is someone that is charismatic, he is, again, it's just everything that has to do with confidence and he's inspiring. That's the word I'm looking for because many young people have found politics in Nigeria to be the same old. It's like pouring old wine into a new bottle, new labels, parties merge, the same people from pre-civil war, post-civil war, still being active. How do we get a new group of politicians that would come in people who've built businesses, people who've run business empires, people who've worked in corporate sectors coming in and saying we want to serve. Politics is not a retirement home but in Nigeria you find people going from LG Chairman to Governor to Senate to House of Reps trying to then occupy the highest office in land and was saying Nigeria needs a new brain box. We don't need more politicians and Peter Obidati brain box makes us excited. But when you talk about the same old, he's also the crop of politicians that you're talking about so really can you separate him from that class of politicians. He's been a running mate for the presidential candidate of the PDP. He's been in government for a long time so really can you separate the man from those people that you're calling the old crop politicians? Yes we can and I think for a lot of obedience when we hear these questions we equally just stand up and laugh because then again you would equally make the argument that he has no administrative or executive experience. The man took himself out of the private sector, was not a political party member, was not part of the establishment, basically went in, developed himself, ran for governor, virgin, first time candidate, won on a small party. Two terms, even survived two impeachments being opposition in his own state to his own state House of Assembly coming out of that and then again saying I'm going to go into national politics but then again at the party which he belonged to was a regional party so obviously to have the spread 774 local governments, 9086 wards, you have to join a big party, join the PDP and I think you can say from his track record the impeccable character is exuded, the clean record he has not even having any kind of corruption cases, ICPC, ESCC, name it. So for many of us were saying this is the crop of politicians we want in Nigeria, you cannot get into elected office without being in politics or being part of a political party. You can say yes, he comes from the political establishment but he is a departure from the typical politician in Nigeria. He helped me answer my question, he is of course part of the establishment but it's just the narrative that you use, trying to make him saintly, he's part of the establishment and that's it but that's not what we're here for so let's talk about the rally. So of course the court had at some point ordered that you can't use the toll gate, why was the toll gate part of the conversation in the first instance? Well I think there was a poor attempt to mischaracterise the obedient camp as agitators or elements that were up to no good and I think whoever put that suit together was just frivolous. Our legal system should not be bogged down with such petty cases, I would say that to the parties that chose to go that route. You can see that again the legal system sided with the obedient camp with the Labour Party saying we do have the right to freedom of movement, freedom of association and freedom of choice to assemble wherever we choose to assemble. Now the impression that the toll gate was going to be the must point to converge people was never communicated, I don't know where that got picked up from and I'm proud to judge again really just sided with us in saying you can move but then again understanding some of the concerns do not converge at the toll gate and we never plan to in the first place. So we're looking for a peaceful rally, well organised, well coordinated, people are excited, printing t-shirts, making banners, all kinds of flyers. As I said earlier it's a purely volunteer effort where citizens are saying we want to be part of the process and it's only remarkable that you see a country like Nigeria behaving like the US and UK where citizens wake up, take their hard-earned money in a very tough economy, unemployment at over 50%, net worth of the average household down by less than 50%, people still saying I will spend that little money I have on food with supporting a candidate. We've never seen that in this country, the Obidati, the Labour Party is enjoying something phenomenal, I am here for this. I'm going to ask a question that's very political, I'm hoping that you'll be able to. Do you see a lot of people taking advantage of the favour, currying the favour of the Obidati movement to want to grab hold of some political seats? I mean there was a report that one of the people who got a presidential part and one of the governors who was put in jail got a presidential part and was eyeing a senatorial ticket on the platform of the Labour Party. Do you see people taking advantage? Yes, and I say this for the Obedian camp, we're very, very conscious. It's not that we're righteous or where the holiest thing is the Quran or the Bible, but we're saying what we want a departure from what we call politics as usual. This whole process of carpet bagging where you jump on the next hot thing is something we would push back on. And I think overwhelmingly, one thing you would hear from a lot of Obedians and again by extension the Labour Party would enjoy that huge support base is the fact that we are very, very particular. Because we vote a Pita OB and then someone carpet bags from the APC or the PDP and jumps on board, that does not mean we're just going to throw that vote in your direction. We're very, very analytical. The average Obedian voter is highly intelligent. So yes, we're hoping that the Pita OB wave the tsunami coming in 2023 would help push people into federal office because again, as you understand, if he has to win the highest office of the land, he needs legislators, he needs senators, he needs governance. So it will be a situation where a lot of people that would not even work as hard as they should have in the Labour Party would enjoy that top to bottom ticket. And therefore I think for us, the top to bottom approach that you hear many parties scream is not what we truly pride ourselves in. However, the Labour Party has been very impressive with selecting candidates that align with the vision of the party. If you look at Lagos, for example, with bodyboard roads viva and he's... You think he stands a chance? He does stand a chance. I'm excited for Lagos. Lagos is in play. This is the incumbent who is the governor of the state. We also have a John Doe who will from the APC to the PDP. And then of course many would say to Three Horse Race, many would also say that this particular election has thrown up a very interesting crop of politicians running for the governor's ticket in Lagos. I agree. And I say this because you look at Lagos. Lagos has been under one party rule for 24 years. There's no oxygen within Lagos state for the opposition to drive, which was the former opposition, which was PDP. But then Labour Party without very few registered party offices in Lagos has become a force in the state overnight. Now people would argue that you need decades and years of grassroots politics to build a party structure. We are coming in and we're saying no, we're going to defy that. You know, that rule of physics out the window. If we truly want people that would serve because again the politics of patronage, the politics of making a state one man's asset, we're doing away with it. Now, are we going to be successful? We hope so. Are we going to work as hard as we need to? Definitely. Are we going to stand tall, show up on election day and vote like we've never done before? Expect that. Let's talk about your movement. It all started on social media. We saw it. And we've had even your candidate speak out about the bullying, the negativity and all of the angry tweets that have come from your movement because of people who do not necessarily support your candidate. Now I'm wondering for a group of people who are saying we want to departure from the norm. Do you seem to be doing the same thing that you have been pointing fingers at these are the people for doing, whether it be propaganda, whether it be insolence or whatever, or bullying, social media bullying, which is a crime? What do you have to say about that? Okay, so I say this because I talk when I hear that. I think... Well, it's a fact. It's not that it's a lie. So, and I'll address that. I think the average obedient, the average supporter of the Labour Party and Peter Obi is a frustrated Nigerian. If you live in a plush mansion and you've got dollars stacked underneath your bed because you have access to government patronage, then perhaps you have no reason to be upset. Unemployment at 53.4%, GDP in the gutter, runaway inflation, the average household cannot even guarantee their kids that they will resume in school the next semester. And you want to say people should be polite? Yes, of course we will. Well, you should be. We will be polite where we have to be, but then don't ask me to be calm and speak in a friendly tone to my opponent who wants me to... Well, we can have issue-based conversations as opposed to cyberbullying. That's the only conversations obedience have. However, the energy, let me call it emotions, pent-up frustration often comes across and people label it toxic. Oh, Nigeria is hard enough as it is. And as a Nigerian you cannot stand tall and say, Nigeria for me is a country that I will leave behind to my generations unborn in the hands of these establishment politicians, especially the APC, whose run this country to the ground the last seven years. So if I see someone sitting there supporting this party and this government, I'm saying to myself, are we in the same universe? Are we in the same country called Nigeria? Can't I be... I mean, I can be emotional, but then I can be factual and also draw the line between trying to be a mob on social media. For example, the case of Femmi Cruti, it was appalling. What would be... I mean, every Nigerian, yes, is frustrated, but should we be... And I say this because to every obedient, to every Nigerian listening, we should discuss the issues. Yes, express yourself by doing it in a friendly manner, watch your tone, use of words. A lot of obedience you will find out at first time voters, many who have not participated in political process, many who have just come of voting age. So yes, when they are in this arena, you can understand that if you would have immaturity as part of how they engage, but overwhelmingly they're very smart voters. I don't think that toxic label is one that's correctly applied. When we talk of toxicity, you look at the APC, the ruling party, and how they run PDP off the streets in 2014. You cannot compare what they did in 2014, the propaganda, the caskets, pine, goats, and label in it the name of the sitting president. Nobody's doing any of that today. But again, you might have people who may go slightly overboard, but I think even with the candidate issue and the apology, I think at some point he probably understands that we're frustrated enough to wear when we engage on the issues and you want to spin, we would, again, as we call it, press your neck. Meaning we would give you a rebuttal, speak with data, speak with facts, and make you understand that we're not going to be bamboozled because all of the propaganda, the campaign rhetoric you hear, even with candidates choosing not to show up to debate, we're not going to have that. And I think this is an election that we're really hoping, if you truly want to serve Nigerians, if you truly want that highest office of the land, you would check the boxes, ABCs, because we have expectations. I don't want to sound pessimistic, please don't get me wrong. But I ask this question to everybody, whether they be members of any political party, because this costs across the whole country. We see a lot of young people who are very energetic, whether they're in support of your party or not. We see that Nigerians seem to be a lot more aware. But then I always ask, can we sustain this energy, like the one you pointed to, all the way to 2023? Because this is not the first time that we've seen people, you know, scream and roar, and then on election day, nobody shows up. Nobody stays to let their votes count. So, again, I love the fact that you guys are doing what you're doing. How sustainable is it? So, people call it euphoria. People call it excitement. As a second thing we heard, oh, it's four people in the room on mobile phones on Twitter. Oh, they're going to win 100,000 votes. They're going to win four local government areas. Oh, we give them two states. We give them three states and now the polls are showing the candidate, again, trumping every single individual. If you look at the turnout in Joss just yesterday in the middle belt, you've never seen that before. And I say this because politics in Nigeria is what we call Ghana must go and Babae Saleh politics, where you distribute money, you go rent people to show up, you saw the videos of the supporters in Abuja refusing to go into the bus for the other parties rally. For the obedient camp, no, we print T-shirts, we make banners, we're knocking on doors, we're dragging our kids, we're taking our neighbors, our WhatsApp group chats, we're saying to everyone, you must be obedient. This is why you should be obedient. The energy, the excitement is not one that will just dissipate with the data plan on Twitter, on WhatsApp. Watch for Saturday, look at the energy in Lagos and then translate that into the turnout on Election Day. And equally, something I've seen that has been very inspiring and I use that what is, people are now going in, reading up the Electoral Act amendment and saying, okay, as a voter, what are my rights on Election Day? How do I even expect the results to be transmitted? You've seen INEC, again, trying to reassure Nigerians, we're going to transmit results electronically and people are saying for once, don't worry about party structure. We will be the structure for you, although you need voting agents for each of the parties, but we will make sure we exercise our rights to vote. We will converse, we'll campaign, and we will, again, see that our civic duties or civic rights are not tampered on. So, Election Day 2023, I hope we can have this conversation. Finally, before I let you go. After 2023, does it end there? Because it looks like we're just more concerned. In 2015, we wanted anybody else other than the sitting president. Could that be the situation right now? And who's going to sustain the momentum after 2023? So post 2023, something's going to happen in Nigeria. There's going to be a seismic shift with how politics is played out in this country. And I say that because you have a new voting class, a voting class that is not used to monies defining who emerges as the victor. You have a political system that, again, guarantees that your vote, using the BVAS, it's you voting, it's your fingerprint, it's your biometric data that says it's you casting that vote, the ballot box being scattered, being tossed into the ocean. Those days are gone, the results will be transmitted in real time, the coalition is airtight. So we're seeing a new politics, a new system that guarantees us a stronger process. We can't wait to vote beyond 2023. Okay. Well, I want to say thank you. Aki Olaie is an active citizen and he's one of the core conveners of the October 1 mega rally. Thank you so much for being in the studio. I wish you all the best of luck. Well, thank you for joining us on the show tonight and that's it on plus politics. But before I go, I must give you my take. There's a chance to overcome old prejudices based on tribe, religion or even told old wounds born of war and betrayal. It is easy to feel jaded by the process and expect nothing to change. Now that kind of hopelessness can lead to aggressive and violent actions. Now, many people believe that 2023 general election is set to lead a time of great violence if sudden people do not get their expected results. While others simply believe the failure to elect a revolutionary candidate will compound the issues facing our nation and make it somewhat impossible to ever build a better future. But pessimism never belts roads or bridges. It suddenly never helped to build a nation. Perhaps the wrong candidates or even valence at the polls and the mass rigging of election will set us back. But it need not be the end of our story. Even if we elect the right president, governors or senators, it will only be the beginning of a long journey to a better tomorrow. And that's what we want for Nigeria. I'm Mary Anna Cohn. Have a good evening.