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Dear Obidients,
The D-37, a political assembly of the associates of late Dr. Raymond Aleogho Dokpesi are constrained to write you this open letter to seek your understanding that, Nigeria stands at one of those rare moments when history pauses—not to applaud our convictions, but to examine our judgment. The hardship confronting our people today is no longer theoretical. Hunger, insecurity, joblessness, and institutional decay have rendered the incompetence of the APC government painfully undeniable. What remains undecided is not whether Nigeria needs change, but whether those who desire change are prepared to organize themselves wisely enough to achieve it.
The African Democratic Congress (ADC) now offers a serious platform for national rescue. Within it stand two credible statesmen— *H.E Peter Obi and H.E Atiku Abubakar* —whose respective strengths, if handled with maturity and unity, can end APC’s misrule and place Nigeria back on the path of competence and hope. This is not a moment for absolutism. It is a moment for statesmanship.
Peter Obi symbolizes a moral and managerial awakening in Nigerian politics. His insistence on prudence, transparency, and data-driven governance has restored seriousness to public debate. More significantly, the Obidient movement that you represent has awakened civic consciousness, particularly among young Nigerians, proving that politics need not be surrendered to cynicism. That achievement must be protected—not endangered by inflexibility.
Atiku Abubakar brings a different but equally vital strength. His experience as former Vice President, his unparalleled understanding of Nigeria’s political economy, his advocacy for restructuring, and his detribalised nationwide political reach reflect an appreciation of Nigeria as it is—diverse, complex, and federated. In a country of many fault lines, experience is not a burden; it is an asset.
Statesmanship begins with humility—the recognition that no single individual monopolizes wisdom or exhausts the national solution. As an original aphorism written in the tradition of Max Weber’s ethic of responsibility reminds us:
*“Politics is not the art of personal righteousness; it is the science of collective progress.”*
Now that Peter Obi your leader has formally joined the ADC, rather than insist that he be gifted the ticket, insists on transparent, open and competitive primaries. And when the time comes, ADC’s primaries must be seen for what they are: a democratic process, not a moral trial. Primaries exist to choose candidates, not to sanctify factions. Whoever emerges—Obi or Atiku—must carry the full weight of a united coalition determined to dislodge incompetence and restore governance.
The rhetoric of *“Obi or nothing,”* however emotionally resonant, is politically incorrect and dangerous.
Be mindful of the fact that, Movements that refuse to grow eventually shrink into sects. In the Burkean tradition that warns against ideological rigidity, another original maxim applies:
*“When principle loses its patience with reality, it ceases to be principle and becomes vanity.”*
Unity does not mean the abandonment of values; it means their translation into victory. Nigeria cannot survive moral satisfaction without political success. Power is not a reward for purity—it is the instrument through which reform is delivered.
The Obidient movement must now evolve—from movement to institution, from protest energy to governing readiness. That evolution demands coalition, discipline, and trust in democratic outcomes, even when they are uncomfortable. In the democratic tradition associated with John Stuart Mill and Abraham Lincoln, an original aphorism bears recalling:
*“The test of democracy is not whether your side always wins, but whether you remain committed when it does not.”*
Let it be clearly stated: supporting ADC means subordinating personal preference to national necessity. Loyalty to Nigeria and the supremacy of objective party resolutions must outweigh loyalty to any individual. The APC government survives not because it excels, but because its opponents fragment. Unity, therefore, is not sentimental—it is strategic.
Peter Obi represents reform, discipline, and a new political culture.
Atiku Abubakar represents experience, inclusion, and national consolidation.
Nigeria requires all of these strengths, not a selective embrace of one.
In the end, History will not ask whether we were emotionally consistent. It will ask whether we were wise enough to unite, disciplined enough to endure process, and mature enough to win. In the spirit of Edmund Burke and Nelson Mandela’s politics of principled compromise, an original aphorism offers a final warning:
*“Great causes are not betrayed by compromise; they are betrayed by pride.”*
This is the hour for calm resolve.
Unity over division.
Process over passion.
Party supremacy over ambition.
Country over personality.
Nigeria must come first.
Yours in the service of our common objectives and future,
Alex Ter Adum, Ph.D
Secretary D-37.
SB E-news.
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