"Real Reason I Support, Admire Peter Obi" – Chimamanda Adichie Reveals

Nigerian-born international writer, Chimamanda Adichie has explained why she supported Peter Obi of the Labour Party, LP, for the February 25 presidential election.

Adichie said her support for Obi is deeply rooted in her faith in Obi’s ability and how he showed interest in ordinary people.

She also said Obi tackled insecurity in Anambra, a development that led to his clash with the elites in the State.

Adichie disclosed this on Tuesday, April 11, 2023, while fielding questions on Arise Television’s programme.

Recall that the award-winning writer had written a letter to Joe Biden, the president of the United States of America, US, expressing deep concern about the election outcome.

She claimed in her letter that the election was marred by irregularities and the failure of the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC, to follow its stipulated guidelines for the presidential election.

Adichie warned that it would “tarnish America’s self-proclaimed commitment to democracy and give the sheen of legitimacy to an illegitimate process” if Biden recognised Tinubu’s presidency.

The acclaimed writer also expressed in the letter that she supported Obi for the nation’s top job.

Meanwhile, Adichie clarified why she supported Obi, recounting how she got to know him years ago when he came to pay homage to her parents.

According to her, Obi came to their home because he heard her father was the first professor of statistics in Nigeria and that her mother retired as the first female registrar of the University of Nigeria.

She stated: “Why I very much admire Peter Obi, respect him, there are many others out there whom I admire and respect, and I will never vote for them for president because I don’t just think they will make the president.

“And so my support for Peter Obi is deeply rooted in real things; it is rooted in my faith in his ability. Actually, I got to know him years ago when he came to pay homage to my parents because he had heard my father was the first professor of statistics in Nigeria and that my mother had retired as the first female registrar of the University of Nigeria.

"And so this man just sort of arrived and said he just wanted to pay homage, and I was very impressed by that because he showed me how much he values education.

“And then, he became governor of Anambra State, and he took Anambra State to number one in education. I remember being very impressed by the story of how he had given his personal phone numbers to all of the senior prefects in secondary schools in Anambra, which I think also showed me he is interested in what ordinary people think.

“He does not just want to hear from the administrators; he wants to hear from them; he wants to hear from the students about what is really happening.

"And his focus on security, he really tackled kidnapping in Anambra, and I also remembered that he used to clash with the Anambra elites when he was tackling insecurity and kidnapping and that showed me he is quite decisive; he is just very focused on things. And that is really why I support him.”