By Steve Osuji
Shehu Sani always has a way with words. Of course that’s to be expected. He’s a poet, an author and if we must add, an arch-activist. We can indeed wager that Shehu is probably the most significant progressive and radical voice out of the North of Nigeria today.
Since the demise of the likes of Malam Aminu Kano, Bala Usman and Balarabe Musa, Shehu may have stepped up into their shoes perfectly well. Other current voices of reason from the north today would include Abubakar Dangiwa Umar, James Bala Magaji and Father Kukah, to name a few.
When, therefore, Shehu speaks, he’s to be taken seriously.
He recently admonished Peter Obi, Labour Party presidential candidate, to stop apologising on behalf of his followers known as Obidients. He urged Obi to allow Obidients free expression lest he kills the ‘libido’ of Obidients.
He reacted to Obi visiting Professor Wole Soyinka who was roundly trolled by Obidients for describing Datti Ahmed’s comment in an interview as ‘fascist.’ Datti who is Obi’s running mate had warned that swearing in the INEC-declared president-elect would end democracy in Nigeria.
Obidients were galled by Soyinka’s comments because the Nobel laureate kept mute as what was probably Nigeria’s worst electoral heist was being perpetrated by INEC. Soyinka never uttered a word of caution through the entire charade.
Majority of Nigerians had indeed risen as one to condemn Soyinka. Peter Obi was later pictured visiting Soyinka at home apparently to mollify him for the unprecedented outpouring of vitriol on his person.
Shortly after this episode, Pastor Enoch Adeboye of Redeemed Christian Church of God (RCCG), was said to have stated that the President-elect, Bola Tinubu will fix Nigeria with God’s help. This again drew the ire of Nigerians, especially Obidients.
The influential man of God had been roundly condemned, with many wondering whether Adeboye’s God condones evil. Peter Obi had again spoken up against trolling of the elderstatesman. “It’s most unacceptable to insult eminent Nigerians,” Obi said, noting that the verbal whiplash at Adeboye was not likely to be from Obidients but the handiwork of desperate political operatives who would often orchestrate a ruse and blame it on Peter Obi’s supporters in furtherance of their subterfuge.
This quick salvos of seeming reprimand of the Obedient movement is what Shehu Sani is warning about. He argues that the movement would lose it’s bite if it’s not allowed to be spontaneous, organic and bold as it had always been. He had also tweeted earlier that without Obidients, Nigeria would have been left with tyranny. He opined that it’s this movement predominated by Nigerian youths that has been giving the APC government sleepless nights and kept them in check.
Explaining his visit to Soyinka to his supporters, Obi noted that in the African society, whether you offend your father or he offends you, your father would never apologise to you. You must go and make peace with your father.
Obi believes both Soyinka and Adeboye are senior citizens who must always be held in high regards all the time. They represent the best of Nigeria and under no circumstance must their name and reputation be impugned.
But there’s the question of the APC dunghill mob to contend with in the current milieu: the unscrupulous gang made up of Bayo Onanuga, Festus Keyamo, FFK (Freaky Fani-Kayode) and their new recruits, Yele Sowore and Reno Omokri.
Sources close to them revealed that since Obi and his Labour Party filed their election petition, the APC house has literally gone up in smoke.
The original APC media and strategy team had been beefed up with tested foragers like Reno Omokri (the great dung beatle) and Omoyele Sowore (you still wonder why a so-called presidential candidate is now attacking Obi daily even after the elections).
This media gang is reportedly energised with millions of dollars to shoot down Peter Obi by any means possible.
This gang of career criminals have been doing a yeoman’s job of their hideous task.
They criminally colluded with staff of some giant telco to steal and rummage the call logs of Peter Obi and Labour chiefs. This of course is akin to the WATERGATE SCANDAL in which the opposition Democratic headquarters was wiretapped. This is crime.
But the best they could get is the alleged phone conversation with Bishop Oyedepo which they had to tweak to serve their evil purpose. The YES DADDY soundbite was their big prize. Shame!
The subterfuge gang mobilized a childlike elder with the phoney name, Apapa-Oshodi Oke or something like that and pressed him to work to foment trouble in Labour Party through their courts. If only they would afford the poor fellow sufficient nutriment so he can at least look like the party chairman he claims to be.
A very unintelligent gang, everything they do is predictable and unsmart including the Soyinka interview and the Adeboye comment; the Lai Mohammed junket to the US to canvass treason charges against Obi and the Heathrow Airport Obi double they pulled in cahoots with Nigeria Immigration. This is crime.
Their foolish schemes keep blowing up in their faces. To earn their fat pay, they have made a pastime of insulting and maligning Peter Obi everyday.
FFK writes about the straightforward Heathrow matter: “whatever the case, there are too many unanswered questions about this strange, deceitful, mendacious, perfidious, obnoxious, vexatious, fascistic little man whose voice sounds like that of a Jezebellian eunuch and a castrated monkey.”(note that FFK sounds like this when he has collected a huge sum and he gets his fix. He would go off the handle.)
Festus Kayamo called Obi “unscrupulous politician” who use so-called men of God. Sowore writes: “@peterobi is a sneaky, slimy person unknown to many, @peterobi is head of his mob.”
Omokri writes: “Peter Obi is wasting his time at the Presidential Election Petitions Tribunal… not only has he destroyed himself, he has set back his zone.”
Bayo Onanuga writes: “The order will send chills down the spines of Peter Obi and his lawyers as Apapa wants all cases withdrawn.”
This gutter snipe gang forgot they had urged Obi to go to court after stealing his mandate so brazenly and shamelessly before the watching world. Now they want to void his petition through the backdoor. They say he’s wasting his time. When did waste of one’s time become a criminal offence for Reno and his mealy-mouthed cotravellers?
But all these exertions of an unscrupulous gang is like water on the back of the tortoise. For those who know Obi, he is not moved one bit. He has always personified civility and high culture. Never a hurtful word nor an insult ever issues forth from his mouth no matter how much he may be insulted or vilified. He is quick to forgive and embrace his detractors. But at the same time, he is firm, resolute and would never compromise on his principles and grand objective. He actually stoops to conquer – that’s his strongest weapon. He disarms his adversaries with his easy smiles.
However, while he’s very forgiving and very conciliatory, he never loses sight of the goal.
Speaking about Obidients and their ‘libido’, Shehu Sani seems to lose sight of the fact that a man possessed of an unbridled and unmanaged libido is doomed. It’s the same as having power without control; it will only yield one result: destruction.
While Obidients are no doubt the soul of the nation right now, even they must apply ample wisdom and discretion. They must remain vigilant lest the enemy lures them to perdition. For the wise, discretion remains the better part of valour.
Finally, Obidients must be careful to understand, imbibe and embody the very essence of their leader, Peter Obi: it will serve the movement well.
Osuji *is an accomplished Journalist, Columnist, former Member, Editorial Board, The Nation, and former Special Adviser, Media to former Imo Governor, Emeka Ihedioha.
