‘Some think it’s their birthright’ — Tony Umez endorses Peter Obi for presidency

Tony Umez says he would opt for Peter Obi as president if he were to vote as soon as tomorrow.

The Nigerian actor spoke of his choice of candidate ahead of the presidential election to hold in February 2023.

Peter Obi is contesting for president under the Labour Party (LP), with Yusuf Datti as his running mate.

Tony Umez, in a chat with BBC, expressed concern about poverty and what he described as “misrule” in Nigeria.

The actor disapproved of candidates whom he said unduly assume that “ruling” Nigeria is their birthright.

He endorsed Obi for the presidency, arguing that the LP candidate is saying and has done the right things.

“Some think it’s their birthright to rule. I don’t know where that [came from]. If I would vote tomorrow, I’d vote for Peter Obi. I’m not saying he’s a good man. But he’s saying the right things and has done the right things,”  he said.

“There is much rage right now. Nigeria is blessed with great human and natural resources but we’ve not been blessed with good leadership. The young ones are angry about how things turned out.

“There are some people that have been thrown up that I feel are not credible enough to rule us. Poverty has been so weaponised, people sell their votes. I think if you’re part of a problem, you can’t be part of the solution.”

Umez condemned what he termed sit-tight rulership in Africa and criticised the Muhammadu Buhari government.

“The thing is that the people you saw when you were much younger, you still see [in leadership] now. There’s this sit-tight-ism in Africa. How do you grade a government? Education, transportation, and security. ” the actor said.

“Looking at this government now by all these indices, how would you grade this government? For me, sub-zero.

“Maybe they’ve done some things. But whatever you do that doesn’t impact positively on the citizenry, it’s nonsense.  People in government have nothing to fall back on, that’s why they sit tight in power.

“You ask someone what they do and they say they’re a politician. Is that a job? It’s a call to service. But for these guys, that’s where they earn a living. People steal with impunity and there’s no integrity among our leaders.”

Obi is contesting against Bola Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC), Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), and Rabiu Kwankwaso of the New Nigeria Peoples Party (NNPP) among others.