2 reasons why Northern voters may support Peter Obi to become president in 2023

As the 2023 Presidential election approaches former Anambra State Governor has become one of the most talked-about aspirants among those gunning to become President in 2023. He enjoys a huge following among the liberals and educated adults in Nigeria and as the weeks for by more and more people are joining his campaign.

Indeed, everywhere Obi goes he attracts a lot of attention from people who see him as the best person to rescue Nigeria from the present rot and economic decline. But despite his game, many people still doubt that Obi can win the presidential race.

They attribute their scepticism to the fact that he is not likely to get a good number of votes in the North, which has traditionally supported a Northern Muslim.

For instance, in the last four election cycles since 1999, the North has always voted for a core Northern Muslim. Twelve million Northern voters stuck with Buhari in 2003, 2007 and 2011 even when they knew he had a low chance of winning the contest, because of his low impact in the Southern region.

That is how loyal to region’s voters are to Northern Muslim candidates. Some analysts believe that this factor could play against Obi. Well, that may not be accurate. This report will highlight two reasons why Obi may win Northern votes.

Firstly, millions of Northern voters are now coming to realise that they made a mistake putting ethnic and religious sentiment over common sense during precious voting seasons.

Quite a number of Northern voters have come out to express regret about their voting decisions during the election and how those decisions have hurt their region in terms of economic crisis.

This sentiment is so deep that even All Progressives Congress politicians have vowed to decamp to PDP in a bid to support Peter Obi because in his words the region cannot afford to be blinded by sentiments once against. So such a mindset favours Obi and could help him win the Nothern voters.

Another factor that could help Obi win Northern voters is because the region has suffered the most from cases of insecurity and insurgency. In fact, since 2015 when Buhari, a Northern Muslim became president, the situation has become worse.

Indeed, insecurity in the region is so bad that people no longer feel free to walk about freely. Many of the Northern voters have since realised that they can no longer afford to play politics with the security of their region and that is why some of them are canvassing for Obi.