Like Nnamani, like Soludo: To the Obidients, sauce for the goose is sauce for the gander and sauce for everyone else

Two bonafide Governors from the south east geopolitical zone (one past, the other current) received more than anyone’s fair share of cyberbullying at the hands of Peter Obi’s (himself a former Governor from same zone) adherents. 

Honestly, Peter Obi (PO) should be worried about his ‘obidients’ because there is an apparent perfume of unruliness around him that makes him so attractive to people who are just a horde of bullies. I give it to him that he has been able to galvanise all the rightfully and wrongfully disenchanted Nigerians. This he has done! What has worried me and still does is that these supporters could have mobilised and helped to shape PO into a likely future contender if only they themselves had a sense of collective good judgement, passably sound intellect and a true love of Nigeria and the patriotic zeal for sustainable good governance. Why is it impossible to have a discussion with PO’s hordes on issues? Why must everything be a war of words, volley of insults and sustained threats? Is it that PO’s adherents recognise him as ‘fluff’ and because of this innate belief they refuse to engage in meaningful discussion on issues? Why must any and everyone that try to have a debate on issues with PO be harangued by his horde? 

Last week Thursday, the Anambra State Governor, Charles Soludo (I must confess that I have this almost fanatical support for this man, not as strong as my support for PMB, not a close 2nd, but perhaps a close 4th or 5th) appeared on Channels TV to talk concerning the Budget for 2023 that he had presented to the Anambra State House of Assembly in Awka a day or so before. He dubbed the Budget as one of “acceleration”. The Budget was N258.97 billion and contained provision for a capital expenditure of N164 billion, (63.2 percent) out of which capital expenditure about N91.8 billion, (56 percent of the total capital expenditure) would be for land transportation, power generation, and urban reintegration, while recurrent expenditure at N95.5 billion would account for 36.8 percent. In all, the Governor had budget deficit of N13 billion. The Governor had some interesting turn of phrases which despite being flowery, did not diminish from his presentation, and here I digress a bit to talk about how different Soludo’s flowery phrases were so unlike the Cross River State Governor Ayade’s exuberantly and comically named yearly budgets. In 2016, it was Budget of Deep Vision; 2017, Budget of Infinite Transposition; 2018, Budget of Kinetic Crystallization; 2019, Budget of Qabalistic Densification; 2020, Budget of Olimpotic Meristemasis; 2021 Budget of Blush and Bliss and now in 2023 we have his Budget of Quantum infinitum. I mean, you really must laugh at the Shakespearean ‘wannabe’ in the scientist Ayade, and perhaps notice that he has a leaning towards comedy of the absurd. At one of his budget presentations, he shed tears, claiming he was overwhelmed by emotions as to what the Almighty had in store for the state, and he even had a cleric hold up the name of the Budget and asked for blessings from on high to be able to make the budget pledges materialise. I have always felt flat, like a Coca-Cola drink that had fizzled its gas all out at all Governor Ayade’s ludicrous budget names. 

Governor Soludo’s turn of phrase was more sedate. His was just a “Budget of Acceleration” and he explained the import by stating that the budget embodied his administration’s “single-minded focus and determination to continue to press the accelerator pedals in spite of the risky bumps on the way”. Soludo continued “we are going to have 240 plus doctors and consultants to man our general hospitals, so if you look at the five fingers approach of our programmes, we designed our budget to keep our eyes on the ball.” 

During his interview on the TV station, Soludo said what annoyed PO’s avenging demons (no one can call them angels) “that the purported investments by his predecessor in office, PO, are worth next to nothing”. The floodgates of hell were opened and the Obidients descended on Soludo online with vile and gutter sniping trolling. But this was to be their undoing; not knowing who could be successfully bullied and who could not be. The first person the obidients tried to bully with horde action was Senator Chimaroke Nnamani. We all know how that ended with the chief attacker slithering away in shame after the Senator showed them that every bully has a greater master. Governor Soludo, in perhaps a more gentlemanly put-down came out swinging his bat and effectively swatting the Obidients, big and small, left, right and centre and, extinguishing them like the irritating flies that they are. Lo and behold, the latter-day adherents of the old class decided to report Soludo to the gods of Igboland. This singular act I found truly laughable, and it convinces me again of the character of PO and his horde that they are a motley crowd unified by one key flaw, questionable intellect? They never ever seek to deal with issues. Their strategy is that of the typical bully. They never engage with the puny brains they have, because surely one needs a bit of brains to plot and execute online evil trolling. Governor Soludo published wrote an article titled “ History beckons and I will not be silent part 1” (https://www.thecable.ng/history-beckons-and-i-will-not-be-silent-part-1/) Obidients proceeded to troll him on their favourite trolling platform-Twitter. Some elderly Obidients even said they were instrumental in getting the academic honour of “Professor” bestowed on Soludo. If that claim is investigated, would it not mean that those who ‘gave’ the ‘award’ are admitting to some illegality in the process? The Professor Soludo that I know is a compelling academic. Anyone who arrogates to himself a helping hand in the professor’s ascendancy to the chair is simply seeking recognition in a clandestine manner, by calling attention to himself through Soludo 

The gods of the Obidients have not yet punished Soludo despite the invocation of their intervention by the Obidients.

This is my issue with the obidients: In all the trolling and the menace they exhibited, the substance of PO’s character and integrity issues raised by Governor Soludo were not addressed. This is the modus operandi of Obidients, they never discuss issues, they clap when nothing is funny or even when something said by PO is ludicrous, they hail him for his lies especially those statistics lies he tells glibly. They attack people who say something true about their candidate that shows him in bad light even as they know that it is true. They do not discuss issues, they do not bother to analyse and/or distinguish points. They are just the typical horde. Soludo said that PO’s investments of Anambra State’s money is worth nothing. At the beginning of PO’s entry into the presidential contention, he had touted this same investment as a Wall Street type investment. He had made himself the Jeff Bezos of Anambra State. Soludo’s point is even more valid because he is a renowned Economist as against the Philosophy graduate that PO is. You all need to go and read Soludo’s CV. It is only the mediocre horde of PO that would seek to ridicule such a man when he speaks. PO must defend his economic foray of the past. His obidients cannot be allowed to bully us into silence. 

Soludo raised so many other issues that portray PO as one lacking in integrity-changing political parties at will even against his own oaths and curses on himself. Since Soludo’s article, what has been the reaction of Obi himself? All I have seen from him have been deflections and his many stories told in his very grating voice. Like PO, like his supporters, rather than defend his achievements or lack of them while in office, PO chose to tell Soludo to improve on his achievements? His response to all that was said was this-you are a Professor of Economics, go and do better than me. 

We joke way too much in Nigeria and it is sad. Why do our leaders get away with underperformance? It is simply because the citizens allow them to get away with it or perhaps because majority of citizens do not even know what performance is and what underperformance is. PO’s manifesto, the one I have seen, which perhaps he has also denied as his finished work, is a clowning affair, a potpourri of wishful aspirations based on no existing data. A total presentation by one so unfit for the office that he finds himself being thrust to contest for. I do sincerely pray that this man will not be the catalyst to another war in Nigeria. My fear is based on the unrealistic expectations of the people he leads irresponsibly, who are driven by flights of fancy and in their delusion actually believe they are marching into Aso Rock. We all witnessed ENDSARS and the violence that threatened our nation. Surely it is time for the excesses of PO’s supporters to be seriously monitored. 

Law is an instrument of ensuring order in the society. Our law enforcement should be proactive to investigate cyberbullying and in-person bullying and the Police should not allow themselves to be bullied in return. Society does not thrive, when voices of any one is silenced. The fact that PO’s supporters are angry youth means that they can be manipulated easily. We saw this play out in the ENDSARS riots and we are still suffering the effects of the manner in which ENDSARS was not properly handled by the Government to ascribe blame and punishment to those who deliberately lied and put the nation on the brink of destruction. This is the fate that may await Nigeria again come February 2023 when PO loses his Presidential dream mission. 

I come in peace as always. Selah!