Why I Support PETER OBI & Not TINUBU

• What CHARLY Boy Told City People

He remains ageless. He remains enigmatic. At over 70 years of age, Charles Oputa, better known as Charly Boy, has continued to evolve both as an entertainer and a social critic over the years. He is a musician, an actor, and an activist, one who has remained consistent in his demand for a better Nigeria. His strong and unwavering desire to see a better governed country with leaders who are accountable to the people at the helm of affairs has endeared him to a vast majority of Nigerians, particularly the youth. They see him as a beacon of hope and a formidable ally in whose courage and unquenchable thirst for a new Nigeria they have continued to draw inspiration and strength from over the last couple of decades. To them, he is their Area Fada, the man who can do no wrong in their eyes.

But Charly Boy has come under heavy criticisms lately. It has to do with his fierce support for the Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi. Many have criticised Charly Boy for hating on President Tinubu and supporting Peter Obi, insisting that his desire to see Obi become president in 2027 is based purely on tribal sentiments and not because he genuinely thinks Obi would’ve been a better president. Last weekend, City People Senior Editor, WALE LAWAL (08037209290) spent quality time grilling Charly Boy on the matter. We also sought to know if he has personal issues with President Tinubu other than political differences. Below are excerpts of the interview.

Let me dive straight into the crux of this interview. A lot of people have accused you of blindly supporting Peter Obi and criticising President Tinubu at every opportunity you get simply because Obi is Igbo like you, how do you respond to this?

Firstly, let me say that most of the people who say that are people who don’t even know me at all. It’s crazy to think of me in that light. That’s complete bullshit. People wey know me know say I don’t do tribe. I don’t do religion. You know say me I no dey follow wetin dey trend. They are mumu people. I am supporting the man because I see in him the right qualities that a leader should have. It’s crazy for people to think I am one of those bigots messing things up in this country. Let me tell you, I have had quite a large number of young people that I’ve sponsored their education from secondary through University and none of them was Igbo. Now, I don’t know how that happened. But I guess why that is so is because my professional life as an entertainer all started in Lagos. Eighty percent of the people that received patronage from the Charly Boy Foundation were all from the west. And then, there were also a few from Benin. That is not to say I haven’t done a few things for people in the east, surely I have, but I’m talking about when you train people from secondary school to the University, it’s Yoruba people who enjoyed that the most from me.

So, you’re saying there’s absolutely no truth in the wide spread speculation that you dislike Tinubu and support Peter Obi with all your heart because he’s Igbo?

I am not into all that tribal nonsense. It is very annoying when I hear people say that shit about me. My pedigree frowns at that. I’m a free spirit. Whoever can get the job done, gets it done. I’m not interested in where you’re coming from. My best friends have been from the west and from the north even before my Igbo brothers. My support for Obi is because I see in him those qualities my father tried to instil in me. He possesses those qualities. That is not to say that he’s a saint. He’s not. My father wasn’t. I’m not. I don’t think anybody is. But enough of the bullshit going around. The best person for the job should be there, that’s all I know. If it’s a Yoruba that’s best for the job, then let him have it, but to come in with this sense of it’s my turn is what I don’t agree with. So, I found it funny when people werecalling me a bigot, I said to myself, see this useless, mumu people!

If President Tinubu wasn’t as old as he is, if he was same age with Peter Obi, would you have taken a different stand?

No, not really, because I’m sure the Yoruba race can do better than a Tinubu. They are highly educated. I know so many men of integrity who are Yorubas. It’s just like telling me about some useless people in the east and asking me that if na dem, would I support them because they are Igbos? That is jargons. That doesn’t even make sense. Do you know one of the reasons I stopped doing Zoom Time? Because I could no longer trust the people I was interviewing. I could no longer sit in the same place with them while they lie to me and the people watching the program. Yes, I know that the show started as a PR to get people who are working, public office holders who are really doing things for the people, but I soon realized it was all shenanigans to cover the real stuff they were doing, which was milking the people. So, it has nothing to do with age. Tinubu’s case is more than age. It has to do with his antecedent also that’s now in the public domain.

Do you actually believe most of the things we hear he did? Do you believe those things are true?

Well, it’s not for me to believe or disbelieve, but you know, when a certain character is attached to someone’s image, it’s hard to shift o. And the fact that these things have been trailing him for ever since I can remember makes it even harder. It didn’t start today now, and there’s no smoke without fire. I don’t know the man personally, but his utterances, they jolted me. His utterances leave me dumbfounded most of the time and I don’t understand any of that. I mean, this issue is a tough thing, coming to serve, to lead people, to carry people and place them first before whatever your ambition in life is, that’s the way leadership should be and I don’t think he’s that kind of a person, otherwise he should not have said stuff like‘Emilokan.’ It’s not about who’s turn it is, it’s about who is the right person for the job. I have met some very exceptional Yoruba people. Very intelligent, decent people, so why must we always bring out a division 3 people from us? Because you can’t tell me say, for Yoruba land, the person wey know pass na Tinubu. I would even have prefered an Osinbajo instead of a Tinubu.

There are those who argue that looking at the complexity of Nigeria’s problems, the sheer enormity of it, it requires a hugely experienced person……?

(Cuts in) Which experience? Experience in what?

Experience in governance

But the track record doesn’t show any of that. Governance is about the people not about yourself. When person track record no dey show that they have love for the people but it’s showing that one is selfish, self centered, arrogant, those are not the qualities I expect a leader to have. A leader should be more sympathetic. He should listen more. He should feel more because people are looking up to you. We were saddled with Buhari. He still dey find certificate, he never give us till now. And now we still want to continue with that? These are all the things stunting our growth and we want to pass it under, ‘yes, it’s your tribe’s person, that is why, he’s a Christiuan, I’m a Muslim, that’s why…’ Those are just shabby excuses that don’t work. We want progress. We don’t want stagnation. Are things getting any better? They are not. At the very least, we must have someone who is carrying the burden of leadership and when you’re carrying the burden of leadership, it’s the people that you’re most concerned with, nothing else. And I have not seen that.