- On Any Negative Issues Concerning The IGBO
There have been several calls to the former Labour Party Presidential candidate Mr Peter Obi to address some key issues that affect the whole country at large. Some of these issues are ethnic, religious in nature. In the last few months especially, different people across the country have called on Obi to caution his supporters who call themselves Obidients, especially on the social media, from hurling insults at anybody who does not seem to be on the same page with them.
This group (Obidients) do not have regard for anybody who doesn’t align with their belief even when they are wrong.
Just a few months back, the Nobel laureate, Professor Wole Soyinka, gave his view on the state of the state of the nation when he condemned what he termed the fascist language of the vice presidential candidate of the LP, Datti Baba-Ahmed, by attempting to dictate to the Supreme Court during an interview on Channels TV over the poll won by the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress, Asiwaju Bola Tinubu.
Prof Soyinka also faulted voter suppression witnessed in some polling units in Lagos State during the March 18 governorship and House of Assembly polls among other issues.
Since over a year, the Obidients are still hurling insults at the Nigerian popular playwriter. Meanwhile, before the general elections, Prof Wole Soyinka was one of the few Nigerian Peter Obi visited at home to get their blessings.
There were calls to Peter Obi to call his followers to order but he failed to address the issue and it was at a point becoming an ethnic issue among the Yoruba and Igbo.
Secondly, there have been several killings in the south east and IPOB and ESN are terrorisong the region almost on a daily basis. The Monday sit at home has also killed several businesses in the region but Peter Obi has never call them to order, despite the warnings from top Nigerians to shelve their agitations.
But instead, what has Mr Obi said?
Peter Obi will also lay emphasis on killings in North Central while playing down the criminal activities of IPOB in South East as “disruption of businesses and social activities.
Obi was quick to raise ‘data’ for number of deaths reported in the North but failed to make any mention of death reported in the South East due to the activities of a terrorist group known as IPOB.
Peter Obi clearly exonerated IPOB by playing down reports of sit-at-home orders linked to this terrorist group as ‘purported’ reports.
For Peter Obi, a ‘purported denial’ by IPOB is enough to absolve the “body’ of any wrongdoing.
Obi, in his statement, never called for investigation of IPOB or arrest. He chose his words carefully to avoid stepping on the toes of IPOB.
Sometimes even his releases or statements on the issue of IPOB have made people wonder or ask a question: “Is Obi a member of the terrorist group known as IPOB?”
Why is he (Peter Obi) doing this? This has always been one of the questions asked by many Nigerians.
In a controversial post on July 27, an X handle, @LagosPedia called on Lagosians and other South West stakeholders to prepare for “massive protest of #IgboMustGo” to take place from August 20-30.
Under 48 hours, many prominent Nigerians, including Lagos Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, have already condemned the #IgboMustGo agenda.
Peter Obi had come out to condemn the act and it didn’t take up to 24 hours for him to come out and criticise it.
But the reverse was the case when the Igbo Canadian woman, Amaka, who recently made threatening comments against fellow Nigerians of Yoruba and Benin descent.
In a video clip that started trending on X.com on Tuesday, a woman’s voice was heard making anti-Yoruba comments during a virtual meeting on TikTok.
She spoke mainly in Pidgin English, threatening to poison Yoruba and Benin people.
She said: “Record me very well; it’s time to start poisoning the Yoruba and the Benin. Put poison for all una food for work. Put poison for una water, make una dey kpai one by one”.
The former presidential candidate couldn’t address and condemn the act ruthlessly like he always does in other cases that affect his ‘base”. It took him several days and a call out before he released a statement to address it.
Why has Peter Obi chosen to remain silent when
there is a need to caution or condemn a certain issue?
City People spoke with a one term politician from Imo State who is an ardent supporter of Peter Obi. He revealed that it’s a strategy and it’s also a deliberate effort to keep the bulk of his supporters together till when the need arises.
“Mr Peter Obi knows what he’s doing. He’s a smart politician who has studied the minds of his teeming supporters, which are dominated by young people. He’s been feeding them with what they want to hear and see. Any contratry step or action will lead to boycott”.
A few times Mr Peter Obi has criticised or warned his supporters, he was badly dealt with on social media”.
“Majority of his supporters are Igbo and young people especially in Lagos, and that’s why he hardly comes against them when the need arise”.
Peter Obi would rather keep quiet than getting his supporters angry”. It’s deliberate on his part.
In 2022, before the general election, the former presidential candidate, Peter Obi, cautioned his supporters, popularly called ‘Obidients’, and warned them to desist from insulting candidates contesting under the party at all levels. He warned them to desist from insulting others during the course of campaigns. Peter Obi also got a piece of his cake then, as he was seriously abused by the same supporters for not backing them. This is why Peter Obi may find it difficult to criticize them.
On the issue of IPOB and ESN and why Peter Obi hasn’t addressed the issue of sit at home and how it affects businesses in the region, an ederly Igbo man also told City People that this is also a deliberate thing. “how can he condemn IPOB? Did you know this IPOB people helped Peter Obi during the last election? They gave him their total support! That’s why he won handsomely in those states where they domicile. No other person can win in those states except they have the backing of this terror groups. And that is why he would never condemn them”.
–Isaac Abimbade
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