Opinion
By POEM
THE Nation Newspapers published what could be assumed as an editorial on the above referenced with more treasonable vomits than the likes of Lai Mohammed tried to conjure in far away Washington DC. The news outfit that is anything but credible or national in practice tried to second-guess the reasons behind HE Peter Obi’s visit to Professor Wole Soyinka.
The Nation’s Editorial Board can guess as wildly as they wish but won’t ever be able to accurately discern why PO does certain things like his recent visit to Prof Soyinka. They are vicious newsmen while the Labour Party presidential candidate is a visionary leader. In conception, they are miles apart. A fact that was expressed quite clearly in the referenced editorial release in where the newsmen contrived to publish what should have been unprintable on any tabloid with any iota of nation-building in its vision or mission.
POEM can categorically affirm that the great man we know as Peter Gregory Obi visited the Nobel Laureate based on an impulse to always accord sincere and genuine respect to elders and national heroes. The former governor of Anambra State was obeying the instincts of a nationalist, who wholeheartedly desires a united nation. It is inborn in P
O to understand that any leader without the ability to tolerate everybody’s view points before disagreeing, if need be, in a civil and respectful manner, can never unite present Nigeria. When he promised to unite the country, he knew and still knows exactly how.
A personality like the literary icon deserved and deserves all the respect PO accorded him. And in his tweet to that effect, the man who is in the courts to retrieve his mandate was never ambiguous in expression. It is not in his character to be. Obi speaks and writes for all classes of Nigerians to easily understand.
However, The Nation Newspaper outfit decided to manufacture ambiguity out of simple acts of humility and consistency to suit their itching fingers of ethnic and religious acrimony. Evidently frustrated that the new media world of the internet has robbed their gradually-becoming-irrelevant outfit that godly power of suppressing opinions from their ever lopsided and partisan editorial desks, the original men of feather and scroll decided to vent their spleen on innocent OBIdient youths whose only crime is desiring a new Nigeria that will work in all aspects of human endeavour.
Read The Nation; _*”He(Obi) has a captive audience that is derided in some quarters as the Obidient family. But it is a label Mr Obi’s vociferous and impertinent supporters proudly but ironically wear as a badge of honour, given its pejorative meaning. The LP candidate enjoys the attention; and he secretly revels in the captive and fanatical army of defenders eager to give their social media eyes and limbs in his defence. Some analysts insist Mr Obi himself has become a hostage to this army of supporters, but others suggest that if he is willing or convinced he still retains the power to smother their temper and fanatical displays. What is, however, incontestable is that he is at the head of that army, titular or real. He will not mind making amends for their ferocious attacks, partly because they are not an organised (sic) or structured army, but he will do nothing to dampen their sanguinary fury.”*_ If this is not mischief in sinister form then it has to be something quite more worrisome.
The tabloid, in its known hatchet practice, has been the driving force of the grand army charged with stripping PO of his unprecedented support, which metarmophosed into an incredible and indefatigable organic movement. The tactic is to demonise the support base and then kill him with a bought-over so-called regular media. But for once, the OBIdients, far more creative, far more objective, far more progressive and ever far more patriotic, refused to back down.
Even when they created their own _’OBIdient media’_ which spews thoughtless stings with uncoordinated propaganda to implicate OBIdients as fascists, the real OBIdient Army are smart enough to quickly uncover and expose such elementary tricks. When somebody volunteers to be part of any movement by conviction, he’s far more dedicated and creative. That is the cul-de-sac The Nation and their gang of the old order media have met in the new order social media spaces well-marshalled by the new Nigeria-seeking OBIdient faithful.
Read further why they want OBIdients out of the way so that they will slaughter PO as they wish; _*”Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has contrived to keep himself in the political limelight by travelling around the country for visitations, by tweeting on a lot of issues including his suit against the All Progressives Congress (APC) presidential election victory, by rapprochement with organisations and individuals, whether they are religious groups or social critics, and by joining some state governments in celebrating anniversaries. Since he was primed for the last elections, and having enjoyed unparalleled exposure, raised status, and some national significance, he has been unable to step down his incandescent political ‘transformer’. From all indications, he will continue to politick into the foreseeable future until confronted by a political force majeure.”*_
The idea is to force PO out of events. The question is why? The obvious answer is that the more PO speaks the more the Judiciary sees reason to reject all overtures and deliver free and equitable justice. That is why they would rather that he, PO is caged in Onitsha so Lai Mohammed would look for him in New York and London for treason. For their effort, they used the misplaced title to write about the state of the nation and that of Africa. But how far off beat the newspaper went may not matter except to insinuate that _*”the suit against APC presidential victory and the insidious manner he triggered ethnic and religious cleavages are merely incidental and secondary feeds for his gross objectives.”*_ Ever struggling to make a uniquely national movement appear ethnic-faceted, The Nation will never quit trying. Pity!
Busy bodies and slippery characters are hardly associated with newspapers worth their ink. What is The Nation Newspapers business with who PO visits within and outside the country? What are they afraid of? Have they forgotten that he is a trader? Have they forgotten that he is a philanthropist who cases the nation and makes donations every month the year round? Have they forgotten that here is a man who, even though is legitimately going about recovering his mandate, is obeying the calls of his nature by expressing in very clear terms that it is not war?
And talking of war, The Nation Newspapers should stop patronizing some of us and frightening others with the war in Sudan or citing the unfortunate events of 2023 presidential election. The circumstances of those references are totally different. The war in Sudan doesn’t show the precipitations which the 2023 elections trapped in Nigeria. But even if it does, wouldn’t that be the more reason that Nigeria should avoid things that would converge our contradictions, like the signals on a band dish, to a possible war which is far from the wishes of the ObIdients?
For the ObIdients, the theatre of war for us is the courts of law, our bullets are the intimidating evidences that the presidential election was flawed. The Nation Newspapers should keep their style of feeding the goats that eat the meals meant for their rabies-infested dogs. It is they that are priming their hunting guns and readying the pebbles to sound out. They are the dogs of war terrorising our streets! OBIdients are only patriots legally battling for a just nation.
A.
Tags: HE Peter Obi Labour Party Lai Mohammed Obidient Peter Gregory Obi POEM Professor Wole Soyinka.
