…And Members Of The OBIDIENT Movement
Before and after the just concluded general elections, the most vocal political group in the country has been Peter Obi’s supporters popularly called the Obidients. They are possibly the loudest group of supporters ever seen in the nation’s political history. But they are not just loud, they are also extremely aggressive. Many consider them too unruly, disrespectful, toxic and vile. They take no prisoners in their agitation for Peter Obi to emerge as the next president of the federal republic of Nigeria. They take on anybody, no matter how highly placed, who opposes Obi and openly expresses his or her preference for a different candidate other than Obi. It does not make any difference to them that you are by far older than them, possibly old enough to be their father, they will insult you, verbally tear you to shreds and tell anyone that cares to listen that if Peter Obi does not become president, they will bring Nigeria to it’s knees like they did during the Endsars saga.
The Obidient was formed largely by the group of young, vibrant and vocal youths that started the Endsars movement a couple of years ago. The movement had been triggered by the alarming rise in extra judicial killings going on in the country at the time. Lots of young people, male and female, were being shot and killed by the special anti-robbery Police squad called SARS all over the country, and the youths felt it was time to rise up against it. They did so in their thousands, lifting up their collective voices to speak out against the senseless killing of their peers in different parts of the country. From the demand of justice for the killing of their peers, they moved to demanding for a better government, better leadership and a complete exclusion of the old guard from the running of the country. But somehow, things got out of hand when the military appeared and reportedly shot at some of the young protesters. In the anger and rage that followed, Lagos state was nearly brought to its knees. Several establishments were torched, over 30 BRT buses were burnt and many business malls were looted. It was this group of Endsars protesters who embraced Peter Obi’s candidacy because he was regarded as younger and not part of the old order. They lined up behind Peter Obi, declared their support for him and called themselves the Obidients.
But the group has since metamorphosed into something much more serious than just a bunch of supporters. It became a movement and like most movements, they become a monster that the leader or leaders can no longer control. Right now, Peter Obi, is having a running battle controlling his supporters popularly referred to as the Obidients. They are becoming more than a curse than a blessing to him now. Their propensity to rile up the public, provoke the opposition and get more and more people disenchanted with them and Peter Obi is starting to worry the Labour Party presidential candidate. A lot of people who were sympathetic to the Peter Obi cause have switched camps becauise of this. Some of their excesses, their confrontation against the establishment and prominent Nigerians is starting to unsettle Obi because he, more than anybody else, is aware of the fact that, at some point, these excesses, the hurling of insults at everyone who raises an opinion different from theirs and the open confrontation against government and it’s establishments, will soon begin to work against him and put his case at the Tribunal in jeopardy. Not to talk of losing public sympathy.
When asked to do something about the unruly conduct of his followers, Petere Obi said there was nothing he could do about it. The presidential candidate of the Labour Party said that his followers and proponents of the ‘Obidient’ movement are mostly Nigerians who are enraged over the sorry state of the nation and therefore demand change.
According to him, while some of the uncultured social media behaviour by the purported followers have come from opposing camps who often disguise as his followers to perpetrate indecency, some of the firm views expressed by his followers have come from a place of distress and deep hurt due to the deplorable state of affairs in the country.
He said, “I have answered this several times. One, there is infiltration by opponents, and there are those who believe in me who are angry. I’ve served people faithfully. I have never raised my voice at anybody. You cannot go and say because your son shouts at people, that is you. I’m telling them please, but some of them are angry. Some of them have been out of school for the past ten years without jobs. You cannot control their anger. All I can do is an appeal.”
But why has it been difficult for Peter Obi to rein in his supporters? Why does he not have the capability to control his own supporters, particularly the Obidients? City People spoke to a cross section of people and it was discovered that there are a number of reasons why Peter Obi may not be able to have any form of control over his rampaging Obidient supporters. The first and perhaps the biggest factor here is the fact that even Peter Obi is said to be afraid of his own supporters. They have turned into a monster he cannot control. He knows that if he condemns their actions publicly or takes a decision contrary to their expectations, they will turn against him. The same aggression, hateful and toxic disposition with which they have hounded other presidential candidates and any other person that has expressed a position different from theirs, they will attack and devour Obi with. They will claim he has sold out. They will brand him a traitor. They will hound him politically and even threaten to annihilate him physically. That is how reckless and vengeful this group can be. And Obi knows this too. He knows he has to tread carefully with them. He knows they are capable of ending his political career if they turn against him.
Many political observers also believe that the case of Peter Obi and that of his followers is the case of he who pays the piper dictating the tune. Obidients contributed money in no small measure to fund Peter Obi’s campaign. Within and outside Nigeria, different groups in the Diaspora, various forms of campaign funds were raised for Obi by his large army of followers. Without their financial support, he probably may not have achieved the much he achieved. So, he feels indebted to them. They, too, feel they have earned the right to determine to a large extent, how they go about supporting him. They are like a moving train that crushes anything in its path and offers no apology for their actions. They don’t take kindly to it when they are scolded or reprimanded for speaking disrespectfully to anybody. Even if its their hero and mentor, Peter Obi, scolding them, they still will not take it lightly. They will react badly to it.
What perhaps has made the case of Obi controlling the Obidients much more complicated is the fact that, the movement, which was largely consisting of millions of Nigerian youths fron differents tribes and ethnic background, has now been gradually transformed into an Igbo ‘thing’. During and after the elections, when other youths from other tribes outside of Igbo began to see the tribal direction of the movement and the fact that the Igbos had taken ownership of it like its their movement, many began to pull out of it. It was not meant to be an Igbo thing. But the emergence of Peter Obi as the youths’ preferred presidential candidate gave the movement an Igbo colouration that it was not supposed to have. So, with majority of the supporters and Obidients being Igbo, same tribe with Peter Obi, they feel they own him. They have the right to make demands of him and he should listen to them. They speak same language. He cannot dismiss them when they speak to him. Same way they will not take things lightly with him if he attempts to pressure or coerce them into a position they do not agree with. For a gentleman like Obi, it will be a hell of a task calling these young men to order. He is in for a long and bumpy ride with them and it is only a matter of time before both the leader and followers will hit a brickwall.
-WALE LAWAL
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