The picture of a young boy standing in front of the moving convoy of the Presidential Aspirant of the Labour Party (LP) Peter Obi, has gone viral on social media as the photo of the week.
Wearing a pair of black shorts and a grey top soaked with sweat, the boy identified as Yusuf Alabi, spread out his hands as if to receive the presidential candidate, a gesture that triggered a smile from Obi and admiration from bystanders and netizens.
The event occurred as Obi and his running mate Datti Baba-Ahmed, made their way to the Tafawa Balewa Square for the party’s presidential campaign rally on Saturday in Lagos state.
Speaking in a short video after the incident, Alabi who hails from Oyo state but is resident in Lagos said he made the move to express his love and support for Obi since we would not be able to vote for him.
“I will like him to win. I love him very well. I will pray for him if he wins,” Alabi said.
He added: “I stood in front of Peter Obi’s convoy because I wish I am up to 18 years old so that I can vote for him. But since I cannot vote for him, I came to the front of his car to pray for him so that he will win the election. My parents and my uncles said he is a good man”.
Reacting to the photo, Efo Kudzo wrote: “I’m not Nigerian but what I’m seeing here looks like freedom for Africa. This movement needs to begin from our sister nation and trickle down to all African nations. We all are in for Peter Obi”.
Many Nigerians have been moved by the photo which they say is iconic and have expressed the desire to make donations in support of Alabi’s education and wellbeing.
Facebook user Ifeanyi Onukwubiri, has promised to gift the Alabi N100,00 cash and a smartphone, while popular businessman Pascal Okechukwu, also known as Cubana Chief Priest also promised him support.
Meanwhile, the photo has been fraudulently put up for sale on Opensea, a Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) platform that allows people to create and sell art digitally, for a whopping $767.11, until March 11.
Reacting, photographer Esther Umoh, who shot the viral photo said: “Putting up my work on @opensea without my permission is really not a great thing to do. I don’t know who this person is. Out of 7 siblings, 4 are lawyers. Please act responsibly. I don’t like wahala”.
Umoh added that she had reached out to open sea to formally lodge a complaint.