‘Nigerian politics doesn’t give me hope’, Pete Edochie speaks on the elections on #WithChude.

Nollywood legend, Pete Edochie, sits with the host of the viral TV show #WithChude, Chude Jideonwo, on the first episode of the fifth season. On this episode, he spoke about May & Yul, condemning polygamy, the day he almost died, Peter Obi and why he has given up on Nigerian politics.

“A lot of people say that history repeats itself because we learn nothing from history itself. History offers us a lot of lessons, but we prefer to ignore those lessons and keep repeating our mistakes. Each time we have an election, there's always chaos - consequent upon it, because somehow there is this element of criminal ingenuity in our constitution. We want to find a quick fix for something which is not necessarily right. You find old politicians (septuagenarian, octogenarian politicians), who have little, or nothing left to offer the country, but they want to remain there till infinity. That's not in the interest of the country. Make way for youngsters so they can introduce some changes. I have adult children, when it comes to manipulating the smartphone, they do all these things for me. I mean I can't bring myself to keep staring at phones, so they make it easy for me. That is what life should be generally. You play your part, you move out, and let the youngsters take over. The youths of this country have been insulted, their sensitivity is brutalized, and their aspirations asphyxiated. So, they said, “come 2023, we shall show them that we're not too young to run, we're not lazy”. 2023 comes and what do you see? You have to pay a hundred million to purchase a declaration of intent form. How many youngsters are going to come out and do that just so they can take part in politics? Again, it is the hand of the octogenarian political journeyman that we see in play and that's not very good.”, he said.

“It was the situation that gave birth to Peter Obi. Peter seized that opportunity to detach himself from the old politicians who've been recycling themselves and Peter was publicized by people who thought they were denigrating his person, saying, “he is very frugal in terms of spending, he's very stingy, he's very parsimonious”, and all that sort of nonsense. Then, Peter comes out and the youth of the country see him as a kind of messiah. They thought 'since we know that this man knows how to handle money, he must make our lives relevant and useful’. So, they flocked towards him. All the people who follow Peter around, that obstreperous number you see following him, nobody gives them a kobo. I know Peter. Peter was my governor. Peter was the classmate of one of my younger brothers in CKC. He leads the life of a Trappist monk. Peter is not a loud person, he never does anything so that you can applaud him in society. You can walk into Peter's house, and he looks at you, gets a bottle of beer, and you split it. I mean, he's a very rich man, he makes donations to bodies that require assistance - bodies like motherless babies' homes and all that - and he does it quietly. You will not know.

So, he comes out and all the youths of the country says, “this is the man who we will give our votes to” and they followed him. Then election comes. Again, that ingredient of criminal ingenuity in our constitution comes into play and the entire thing is ruffled and we are going to court. I gave up on our electoral system after Abiola's election was canceled. That election was the freest and the best election we have had in this country. I am 76, so, if I'm not saying it with fear of contradiction, I am saying it with plenty of authority and with plenty of conviction. During that election, you didn't see people snatching ballot boxes, creating problems, shooting around and scaring people. No, it was called ‘option A4’. It was Professor Humphrey Nwosu, who by the way got a first class in political science, who came up with something as smart as that. That election was canceled, and I lost hope. Ever since, we have never had a free and fair election.”

“Now, I don’t discuss politics because it hasn’t given me hope and it doesn’t give me hope.” he added.

Watch the excerpt here: https://www.instagram.com/p/Cvgv_ZZNQ27/

#WithChude is a network of media products across TV, Film and podcasts telling stories that enable and strengthen the mind, the heart, and the spirit. The weekly interviews are widely syndicated across terrestrial television and social media platforms reaching an average of 8 million people weekly - positioning it as the most watched and most syndicated weekly talk show (digital + traditional) in the region. It has become a safe space for guests to talk about things publicly for the first time. Actor Joke Silva revealed that her husband Olu Jacobs was dealing with dementia with Lewy body for the first time on the show, and producer Kemi Afolabi opened up about her experience dealing with Lupus on #WithChude. That month, Lupus and Kemi Afolabi were among the top Google Nigeria searches. The interviews have been featured everywhere, from the BBC to the New York Times. The documentary and travelogue series #ChudeExplains has tackled issues from criminal justice reform to Gen Z coming of age. The show launches the #WithChude Global series in 2023.

All past and new episodes of #WithChude can be watched at watch.withchude.com. You can also watch the premiere of new episodes every Saturday on Channels TV at 1 pm, with reruns every Sunday on Wazobia TV Channel 98 at 5 pm, and every Tuesday on Rave Tv at 5 pm.

An extended play podcast is up on listen.withchude.com, as well as on Apple Premium.

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