While speaking at an event organised to compensate affected owners of demolished structures along the right of way of the Lagos-Calabar coastal highway project in Lagos last Wednesday, the Minister of Works, Dave Umahi, had eerily said that those who condemn others bring judgment upon themselves.
Umahi was actually referring to Peter Obi, a former Governor of Anambra state and candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 presidential election, after he (Obi) lambasted the Federal Government for creating more unemployment and destroying investments with the demolition of Landmark Beach Resort, a recreation area in Lagos state.
The Minister, who is a former Governor of Ebonyi state, also claimed that Obi was inciting the Igbo to discredit the Federal Government on the project.
He thereafter made reference to a video footage where Obi, as Governor of Anambra state, was demolishing structures during a road construction in the state and did not compensate those affected.
Umahi would then portray Obi as a hypocrite, wondering why his kinsman called the action of the Federal Government to demolish Landmark “heart-wrenching,” when in fact he had carried out demolitions of his own in Anambra state.
This is why despite Obi’s brave attempt to explain his actions as Governor; his opponents say it appears there is now a chink in his armour.
Obi’s antagonists also say that it sticks out a mile that Nigerians have not painstakingly perused his report card as governor to find out for themselves how he performed as Governor.
In their opinion, the surmise that sixty-two-year-old Obi is a knight in shining armour, ready to rescue Nigerians from economic waste and bad governance, has proven to be incorrect.
Furthermore, they argue that Obi enjoyed a bionic aura before the 2023 presidential election – which he used to his advantage – and with it succeeded in raising the anxiety level of his more established political rivals such as Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party.
As matters stand now, Nigerians are still smarting from Obi’s failure to build a single school in Anambra state after a former presidential aide to Goodluck Jonathan, Reno Omokri, brashly revealed that Obi did not start and finish any school, private or public, in Anambra state throughout his two terms as Governor.
For days Omokri kept prodding Obidients to name one nursery, primary or secondary school or University, in Anambra that is a fruit of Obi’s loins, promising to reward anyone who could do so with $10,000.
In time the challenge became something of an embarrassment and Obi himself had to come forward to give credence to Omokri’s disclosure.
Many Nigerians were stunned and frustrated by the news that Obi did not build any school in his state. And in their reverie, they asked aloud how he wants to build Nigeria if he did not build any school in his state.
And even though Obi said, during a press conference, that schools were moribund in Anambra state and his immediate task, as stated in his manifesto, was to resuscitate those schools, many Nigerians who were already dissatisfied with him took his clarification with a pinch of salt.
Those who doubt Obi, like Omokri, have also alleged that Obi felt more comfortable investing in a brewery than in the education sector in Anambra state.
They also countered Obi’s argument about the contents of his manifesto, drawing attention to the fact that he did not include anything resembling a brewery in it yet he has a hand in one in the state.
At another juncture, the former Governor had also gotten a lot of flak from his critics for not building any Independent Power Project in Anambra state.
“Before Obi reacts, he should be sure about the source of the news. What kind of president will he be if he doesn’t know how to discern between real and fake news? Due diligence is needed there”
Indeed, after Obi nodded his assent to not building any school in Anambra, Omokri threw yet another challenge to Obidients.
Okokri, once again, promised to give out $10,000 to anyone who could mention one Independent Power Project Obi started and finished in Anambra state.
“My challenge to Peter Obi and his Obidients is this: Name one Independent Power Project initiated, started, completed, and commissioned by Peter Obi in his eight-year tenure as Anambra Governor, which saw him receive over $1 billion federal allocation from the Federal Government.
“Because I know the capacity of Peter Obi and his Obidients for propaganda and gaslighting, an Independent Power Project is not a substation or transformer donated by the State Government to PHCN.
“An Independent Power Plant is a power station owned by the State Government and is not part of the National Integrated Power Project of the Federal Government,” Omokri had said on X.
Power is one of many necessary ingredients for any economy to pick up. It also promotes development. It should, therefore, be the priority of any serious-minded state hoping to use it as a pedestal for growth.
This is why for many stakeholders; it will be unpardonable if Obi did not build any IPP in Anambra.
Reacting to the issue of the demarketing of Obi, a political analyst, Kizito Opara, said, “Die-hard Obidients will never agree that anyone or anything can demystify or demarket Obi.
“But how about those supporters who are neither here nor there and who can easily be swept away by every wind of political doctrine?
“I mean, look at some of the things we are learning now about Obi. If anyone had told me before now that he did not build one single school in Anambra state, I would have insulted that person.
“Obi was facing the heat from Reno Omokri’s challenge to Obidients to name one school Obi built and commissioned.
“That was why he held a press conference where he concurred with Omokri that he didn’t build any school but that his manifesto stated that he would resuscitate schools in Anambra state if he was elected as governor.
“This is shocking to say the least, and trust me, those who have been championing Obi’s cause and who feel that he can do no wrong will be disappointed in him.
“Going forward, his 2027 presidential project will likely struggle and the way I see it, things are only going to get worse.”
Opara also said it was high time Obi began to react to stories on social media only when he was sure about the source.
He also admonished the former presidential candidate to exercise “due diligence” on news items on the internet.
“Sometimes, Obi reacts to stories on social media but comes away looking stupid when his opponents bring superior arguments to counter his views of those stories.
“Before Obi reacts, he should be sure about the source of the news. What kind of president will he be if he doesn’t know how to discern between real and fake news? Due diligence is needed there,” Opara said.
Another analyst, Benedict Njoku, however disagreed with Opara, stating that the presidency is scared of Obi’s popularity, hence their plan to jeopardise his presidential ambition using “paid tigers.”
He also disagreed with those who say that hounding Obi with Omokri, and others like him, would short-circuit the former Anambra Governor’s ambition of becoming president and insisted that no one could stop a moving train.
“I look at everything happening to Obi now and I laugh.
“The truth is that the presidency is scared of this vibrant man’s popularity. They know he will give them sleepless nights in 2027 so they want to stop him by hook or by crook.
“But can anyone stop a moving train? Certainly not. And trust me, only God can stop Obi. He did well as Governor of Anambra State and it is unfortunate that his achievements there are lost on these folks trying to malign him.
“Assuming Obi was an ordinary politician, Nigerians would have written him off by now and also looked for a replacement, and sorry, no one can demarket him…not even paid tigers like Omokri, (Daniel) Bwala and (Bayo) Onanuga.
“Come to think of it, who are these people trying to demystify Obi? They are nonentities. They have nothing to offer Nigerians. History will judge them for their mischief,” Njoku declared.
