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Obi to Sanwo-Olu: Don’t weaponise deceit *Where are Ojota protesters?
Only people who try to deceive through lies demarket Nigeria and not those who tell the truth, was the message Peter Obi, delivered to Babajide Sanwo-Olu on Wednesday told, a fortnight after the Lagos State Governor, accused him of painting the country bad in the eyes of the international community for exposing the level of poverty in the country.
Obi presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 general election, had called global attention to the rate of poverty in Nigeria, while speaking at Johns Hopkins University in the United States of America bemoaning how Nigeria fell off economically within 25 years, leading to a massive increase in the escalation of the situation.
The former Anambra State governor who blamed the situation on poor leadership lamented how China, Indonesia and Vietnam, three countries trailing behind Nigeria in the 1990s had now overtaken it, with the people of his country now lagging far behind, saying that the situation must change to give the people a new lease of life.
Palpably incensed by the delivery, Sanwo-Olu, not only described the comments as disparaging and unflattering, but stressed Obi’s general conduct had become troubling, especially as such comments about Nigeria on the global stage failed to present the country in a positive light.
“He made unflattering remarks not just about the incumbent Nigerian government but also about Nigeria. I also find Mr Obi’s pattern of behaviour disturbing. When prominent Nigerians go overseas, they ought to project Nigeria positively.
“They do not have to do that for the government. But we all owe a duty to market Nigeria on the global stage rather than demarket her. That is what true patriotism is about,” Sanwo-Olu had said in a statement.
But in a pushback on Wednesday at the memorial lecture of the late Pa Edwin Clark in Abuja, Obi wondered how telling the truth about the situation in his country amounted to demarketing it as opposed to those telling lies.
Hear him: “I spoke a few days ago and people said I am demarketing Nigeria, when is truth being demarketing? The World Bank has just shown that 75% of Nigerians in rural areas are poor, is the World Bank marketing Nigeria?
“UNICEF two days ago said that Nigeria has over two million malnourished children, the second highest in the world, are they demarketing Nigeria? Let’s face the reality.”
The governor also on the same day, questioned the silence of many Nigerian leaders, especially those who led the massive demonstrations in Lagos to protest against the increase of the pump prices of petroleum products by former President Goodluck Jonathan, wondering why they were not speaking up now the situation had become far worse.
His words: “I listened to my brother Mike when you talked about, ‘may the Labour of our heroes past not be in vain. I’m happy that Jonathan is here. But I can tell you their sacrifice is in vain. They have sacrificed for nothing. We were in this country, when people were protesting, when there was no need to protest under Goodluck Jonathan. where are those protesters? Have they died? Where are they?
“So why are we saying it (labours of heroes past) should not be in vain? Jonathan increased fuel from N87 to N120 and people were protesting in this country. And when it was N900 they weren’t protesting.
“Again, so why are we saying it (labours of heroes past) should not be in vain? People protested when $1 was N180, and when it was N1500 they weren’t protesting. Are they dead?”
Peter Obi, candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), has given assignment to Nigerians to put all those aspiring to take up political positions in the country through the grill to ascertain their level of integrity, saying it was required as a sine qua non for the job they seek.
Obi, who has been a subject of discussion in the polity since the allegation of corruption was levied against him by Kenneth Okonkwo, spokesman of his campaign in 2023, over the conduct of the party’s primaries to choose candidates for the 2027 general elections, said the grilling must start with his own person.
A guest in an interview on a podcast with Rufai Oseni, a popular television anchor, the former Governor of Anambra State, stated that it was actually for this reason that he had now sworn to see the litigation he instituted against Okonkwo through.
His take is that the Nollywood actor should use the courtrooms to give all the details of bad behaviour, following his threat to expose him fully, after alleging that he was collecting money from aspirants in the said election for electoral favours.
Hear him: “The issue of taking Kenneth Okonkwo to court wouldn’t have arisen if he had stopped at those allegations. But he claimed he still has more he would expose about me in the future. So, I am very happy to take him to court so that he can expose me publicly, alongside other Nigerians. If any of them has any criminal allegations against me, they should bring them to court.
“Not just Kenneth, everybody should now say those things they know that is bad about me or I did that is wrong because it’s good for the system, it’s good for the society,” Obi said.
“So, if you know that when we were in primary school, this man was cheating or didn’t go to the primary school, didn’t go to secondary school, didn’t do, if you know this man has done something criminal somewhere, this is time to bring it up.”
For the umpteenth time, Atiku Abubakar, former Vice President Atiku Abubakar has warned about the dangerous implication of using state institutions, particularly the judiciary to destroy Nigeria’s democracy, saying it is an ill-wind that blows nobody any good.
Atiku, presidential candidate of the African Democratic Congress (ADC), speaking on the heels of Tuesday’s verdict of the Court of Appeal, halting the de-registration order by the Federal High Court, insisted that judicial officers must not lend themselves to any act capable of undermining the nation’s democratic process.
The appellate court had ordered a stay of execution on the order made on Monday by Justice Peter Lifu of the Federal High Court Abuja, for the Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) to deregister the ADC alongside four other political parties).
A totally scandalised Court of Appeal, sitting in Abuja, had taken umbrage, sparing no hard words in upbraiding the lower court judge, stating that his likes were unfit to sit on the bench.
In a unanimous ruling by a three-man panel, the court held that Lifu’s action was “the highest form of judicial impertinence”, stressing that the Supreme Court previously held that a judge who acted in such a manner.
Describing his conduct as the height of judicial rascality, the upper court, stated: “Courts are enjoined to protect their integrity. This Court has supervisory authority over the trial court.
“The decision of the lower court to proceed with the judgment despite the express order of this court is a brazen violation of the hierarchy of the court and the 1999 Constitution.
This court has the duty to invoke its powers in ensuring that its orders are obeyed. The application for a stay of execution is here yet granted. The enforcement of the judgment is stayed.”
Atiku, who hailed the position of the higher court, which restored his hope to be on the ballot as presidential candidate in the 2027 election, also noted the role of INEC as “significant.”
He said: “I welcome the Court of Appeal’s decision to stay the execution of the Federal High Court judgement seeking the deregistration of our great party, the ADC, and four other political parties. It is particularly significant that INEC itself initiated the application for the stay.
“The development reflects growing public concern over judicial contradictions and politically charged rulings within the judiciary. “Any attempt to undermine Nigeria’s hard-won democracy through judicial manipulation is a grave danger to the Republic. If our democracy suffers further injury, history will demand accountability from those entrusted with dispensing justice.
Outside ADC, Lifu’s order, also included: Action Democratic Congress (ADC), Action Peoples Party (APP), Action Alliance (AA), Accord Party (AP) and Zenith Labour Party (ZLP), similarly slammed for allegedly failing to meet the constitutional requirements for continued registration and participation in elections.
“He is running in contempt of the court. Justice Lifu should be arrested because he is acting in contempt of the court which is a criminal act,” were the exact words with which the African Democratic Congress (ADC), demonstrated its angst over the court ruling on Monday, ordering its de-registration as a political party in Nigeria.
A furious Bolaji Abdullahi, spokesman of the party, told his host while appearing as a guest on Monday’s edition of Politics Today, a public affairs programme on Channels Television that the judge of the Abuja Federal High Court who gave the order was actually playing with fire because of the consequences.
Directly accusing him of playing the script of the All Progressives Congress (APC), to ensure that President Bola Tinubu emerged the sole candidate for the 2027 presidential election, the party spokesman, was emphatic that the plan would not work, as head or tail, ADC must be on the ballot in all the elections.
Hear him: “There is a Court of Appeal order saying don’t hear this case until October 27. So, on what basis? You can’t place something on nothing. The Court of Appeal said don’t act on this until I hear it on October 27. So, on what basis did he deliver the judgement
“So, for us in the African Democratic Congress, what we’re convinced and they know is what they have done has no leg to stand on legally. What they want to do is to create doubts in the minds of the people that this ADC has too many legal cases, can we actually run on this? And to distract us. But we’re not distracted.
“We’re very clear. It was in spite of all they have done since ADC came on board that we ran one of the best and one of the most comprehensive direct primaries in the history of democracy in Nigeria. So, we are strong enough to withstand this. And that’s why I’m saying that we are going to contest in 2027. We’re ADC. We don’t buckle before dictatorship.”
Stressing on the implication of the judgement, which also affected Accord Party (AP), Action Peoples Party (APP), Action Alliance (AA), and Zenith Labour Party (ZLP) for allegedly failing to meet constitutional and electoral performance requirements, following a suit by the National Forum of Former Legislators, he said it portended grave danger.
He added: “We are not surprised. We know that the Nigerian people believe that there is a problem with the judiciary, but what we did not expect is the level of judicial rascality that was demonstrated today.
“What we are saying is that we reject it in its totality, and we are saying that the people behind this are playing with fire. Hundreds, if not thousands, have obtained nomination forms and contested elections and emerged as candidates on the platform of the ADC.”
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