Bianca Iboma
Apostle Peter Oboh, a former British Light heavyweight boxing champion has said that to overcome current challenges in Nigeria, there is need to invest in the youth empowerment and leadership skill.
You made an inroad in the boxing world, but decided to box for Great Britain, Why?
I did not decide to box for Britain. I have dual nationality. Something happened and I relocated to England in pursuance of my boxing career. I was the first Commonwealth contender before I left for England.
Since your return to Nigeria, what has changed in the political landscape?
I would say Nigeria has changed politically. We are democratic now. We are no longer under dictatorship rule. It is a big improvement. President Muhammadu Buhari got to Aso Rock through election which he won.
What is your assessment of the two major political parties, APC and PDP?
What I have discovered is that the man in APC is the same in PDP. I remember, former Vice President Abubakar Atiku was in APC, but now he is in PDP, before we had former President Olusegun Obasanjo in PDP, he left for the APC and now he is supporting PDP. If you ask me, I would say they are one and the same thing. They are all experienced and same goes for Buhari. I reckon that the election will be keenly contested. It is not going to be an easy one.
Because of the various crises in Nigeria, most of the crowd is for Atiku, but the officials are for Buhari. If it is the crowd that will vote, I think Atiku will win.
Talking about Buhari and Atiku, do you see another party springing a surprise?
No. That will be impossible. It’s going to be either APC or PDP that will win the election. It is either Atiku or Buhari. Atiku has taken an Igbo man to be his running mate; Atiku now seems to have wooed the Igbo because of Obi. Buhari has the South- West because of Osinbajo. The key of this election is in the hands of the Hausa. It is going to be interesting and at the same time tough. Most of the Christian Hausa are for Atiku and most of the Hausa Muslims are for Buhari. But my fear is we might have an inconclusive election. We could have a coalition party where Atiku and Buhari could form a government. Such has happened in England before, when there was a coalition government. It happened in Kenya as well. But this is a presidential system where one may not step down for the other to be his vice president. This is Nigeria and I know in this country, everything is possible. I have seen where someone won an election and he was not able to become a president of Nigeria. I have seen where an Abacha, who never won an election, came in and called himself a president. So you can see this country is full with all sorts of surprises but my only fear is I hope the people will be able to go out peacefully to exercise their right to vote.