When he announced his interest in Anambra politics shortly before the 2003 elections, Peter Obi, Anambra State Governor, was largely seen as a neophyte in the game. This was essentially because he was hardly involved in politics before then.

More so, his political platform, the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA), was relatively new in the turf. However, the governor has over the time, proved to be a force to reckon with in the nation's politics. In fact, with his victory in the governorship election held last weekend, even his critics have come to agree that he has actually arrived.

But then, the feat did not come on a platter. As in his first outing, when Obi set out on his re-election bid, the odds seemed stacked against him. Indeed, few people gave him any chance of beating those considered his main opponents whom, apart from their various strategies, had wide support base; some from the establishments.

Nevertheless, Obi, touted to have performed in his first mandate, was confident that the "masses", whom he shared a common belief with, were behind him, and he triumphed. Like a bird on a fragile tree, he had fought relentlessly to preserve the dignity of his party. He was never cowed; instead, he strategised and invigorated his resolve to carry the day.

His announcement as the winner by the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), instantly threw the state into a festival of celebration. Incidentally, fellow contestants like the Peoples' Democratic Party (PDP) and Peoples' Progressive Alliance (PPA) candidates, Chukwuma Soludo and Uche Ekwunife accepted defeat and congratulated the governor. Yet, Chris Ngige and Andy Uba, of Action Congress (AC) and Labour Party (LP) respectively, picked holes in the conduct of the exercise.

However, a legal luminary and Senior Advocate of Nigeria (SAN), Yusuf Ali says, "what happened on Saturday in Anambra State was a democratic rebirth. It was also a vindication of the belief that not the political process but stakeholders need to be reformed to do things right. The reality played out and it goes to show that elections in Nigeria could be better managed if conducted at different times. I congratulate Obi; he deserved to win."

Obi's journey to Government House, Awka, was not the type that would elicit envy. It was rather strewn with thorns and thistles. For instance, his efforts in that regard in 2003, were almost jolted by the "rigging machine" of the ruling PDP, which, in neglect of the peoples' will, threw up Ngige as the governor.

For three years, the governor patiently waited for the wheel of justice to grind in pursuit of his mandate. Victory eventually came his way through the verdict of the petition tribunal that heard his case in the election.

The verdict was upheld by the Court of Appeal, on March, 15, 2006. Obi's consequent inauguration did not, however, see an end to his travails. His tenure was infringed upon twice and was twice restored, the last being in June 2007 when the Supreme Court nullified the purported election of Andy Uba, who emerged governor from the April 14, 2007 poll.

Obi, who hails from Anaocha Local Government Area, was born on July 19, 1961. He had his tertiary education at the University of Nigeria, Nsukka (UNN), where he obtained his B.A philosophy in 1984, and had headed many blue chips companies before testing the political waters where many are applauding his brand of politics.