Obi, Datti-Ahmed: The Limits Of Desperation, By Tunde Abatan
The Advanced Oxford Learners dictionary defines desperacy as an action done without regard to danger, or safety; recklessly; extremely.
In the past five weeks after the declaration by the Independent National Electoral Commission, INEC of Senator Bola Ahmed Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress, APC as the winner of the four corner Presidential election, emotions and reactions have flown high not only by politicians but mostly by the two other losers and their supporters.
Indeed, for the supporters of Peter Obi of the Labour Party, LP ,their reaction and actions have gone beyond the ordinary..
As for Abubakar Atiku, the former vice president of the country under former President Olusegun Obasanjo, his reactions have been limited to two fronts.
Besides, describing himself as the winner, he has spent days protesting at both the INEC office and National assembly to press home his disaffection with the result.
As a last resort, he has finally opted for the Presidential election Tribunal, to declare him winner.
If for any reason, Atiku has the right to be desperate and emotional.
Emotional because last February 18 will be his fourth attempt since he first threw his hat into the ring in 2007.
Atiku also has the distinction of having transverse three political parties, the Action Congress of Nigeria, ACN, the APC and finally the PDP which platform he has used twice to attain Presidency but failed.
In the last two weeks, Atiku has withdrawn to the side to allow his battery of lawyers do his job for him.
He has demonstrated that he can’t be on the streets and also be in the court at the same time.
But the contrary is the case with the ticket of Obi and his running mate, Yusuff Datti-Ahmed who has both employed using incendiary attacks both in the Television stations and social media to fight their cause.
Not that speaking in Television interview is a crime but using words that tends to incite the citizenry against constituted authority is both provocative and nauseating.
Datti -Ahmed who along with Obi are contesting for the first time, compared to Atiku’s fourth, behaved as if the world has come to an end.
They are apparently impatient with upholding democratic principles.
By declaring on national television that President Muhammadu Buhari must not hand over to Tinubu, Datti Ahmed has not only dare Muhammadu Buhari the General turns civilian President to a fight and test of will, he has also assumed a curious position of an advocate and judge in his own case which he has curiously taken to the tribunal.
Obi and Datti-Ahmed desperacy is more pronounced and curious for the fact that they came third in the election which also produced for them and their party, Senators and members of the House of representatives.
Besides, they also have a governor in Alex Otti from Abia state.
Since election is a four years circle, Obis and Datti’s desperacy is evidence that they made a decision against taken another opportunity in 2027 contrary to Atiku who has made three attempts.
As for them, they must win.
They also pushed aside the scriptural induction that in a race, only one would win.
Why and how then do they expect to push aside Atiku, who polled 6.1million votes ahead of them to go ahead and displaced Tinubu who scored 8. 1million votes.
Perhaps the duo desperacy is dependent on their calling for cancellation of the entire exercise as the woman in the Bible who told King Solomon he preferred to have the disputed son killed by the king if the baby cannot belong to him. However, Solomonic wisdom revealed the true mother.
Perhaps, it is this wisdom Buhari stands on to hand over to Tinubu come what may on May 29 leaving the rest to the court.
By hiring desperate, uncouth and reckless youths and educated citizens to reduce the election and country to nothing except they emerged victorious, they have shown the tyrant in them if they ever get to power.
Furthermore, by reducing the bitter power struggle to a fight between the South East Ndigbo and South West Yoruba, both Obi and Datti-Ahmed are obviously bent on pulling the country back to the era of First republic when the nations fault lines violently threatened it’s existence .
They have also by this action, evoked passion of using religion through which they use to campaign for power but failed, to ignite a crisis forgetting that those who ignite crisis in most cases never lived to see the end result.
Obi’s desperacy is also likened to attempt to create a repeat of history similar to what some legislators did in the National Assembly in 1962 when they ignored Anthony Enahoro’s warning of the consequences of declaring a state of emergency in the Western region.
True to Enahoro’s warning, none of the principle actors who sponsored the motion survived the unrest and political upheaval which ultimately led to the collapse of the First Republic and the ensuing civil war.
Today, Obi and Datti-Ahmed are either directly or covertly trying to destroy the house they cannot built.
They and their cohorts who have also choose to attack prominent citizens who toe a part of moderation like Nobel Laureate Wole Soyinka.
That some social media writers whose mothers are yet to breathe sign of life when Soyinka and his likes risked their lives to prevent civil war in 1967, and other struggles thereafter; shows the unwarranted desperacy of this two men who definitely want to pull the roof down on everybody’s head .
That the elite both in the field of politics and academic like writer, Ngozi Chimamanda, Charly Boy who descended from his nationalistic posture has chosen to expose their tribal weaknesses, portrays the desperation to sink Nigeria and reduce it’s standing in comity of nations.
Of what relevance and essence is the attempt to compare two icons…Chinua Achebe and Soyinka, whose fame transcends the country, as representing two ethnic divides in the country?
For Chimamanda, her letter to the United Nations, has the tendency of reversing whatever respect or admiration people has for talents like her by other Nigerians from other ethnic stocks who are likely to perceive her as ethnic champion.
This will definitely rub off on her, her writings and ratings.
By calling for social disobedience because they are aggrieved, Obi and his co-travellers have shown that Self and not love for the country is their principal motivation at all times.
Though, Soyinka has chosen not to reply Chimamanda’s vitriolic attacks, he has displayed maturity choosing not to urinate inside the well he wants to drink from unlike the Obidients.
It is instructive that supporters of Obi has increasingly divided their own ranks by the ethnic coloration.
It is far apparent that the level of desperacy has more than anything proved right those who belief his real motive is to promote Biafra agenda.
Since 99% percent of his legal team are of south east extraction, it is apparent that social trust of other ethnic groups is shaky.
Recklessness breeds extremism and the reckless statements from social media commentators who ironically consisted more of citizens of Igbo extraction is a sad indication that Obis candidature is more about protecting and defending Igbos interest in Nigeria more than promoting the country’s general well-being.
It is an understatement to say that pandering to religious and ethnic sentiments killed any propensity of his victory either now or in the near future.
One would have expected Obi and Datti-Ahmed, to come out boldly to denounce activities of hate filled youths and elites.
By doing this, they would’ve justified the saying that, “it is the misconduct of one slave that makes us lump all of them together” which translated into Yoruba means ….. Eru kan lo Ng mu ni bu igba eru.
With the pronouncement by Datti Ahmed Sunday that his decision not to accept Soyinka’s challenge to a debate is taken, “to avoid Soyinka’s showing his foolery”, it all means that the Obi ticket is one which is programmed to either win or perish !
It will be a miracle if the duo is still relevant or maintain public image, they had today in the next four years.
Thus, their emergence this year could be likened to a flash in the pan!
Now, it should be assumed that since five weeks after, the duos incendiary comments is not able to push Nigerians all over the country into the streets, to cause social unrest for ulterior motives, other covert illegal activities are not beyond its capacity.
This obviously explains why the Directorate of state services, DSS warnings should not be dismissed.
What is more, since the mob of social media critics most of who has never experienced war has increased by the day, spewing hate speeches against ethnic groups with the sole motive to undermine the country’s cohesiveness, it is doubtful whether if given power, the duo has the emotional intelligence to rule talk less of govern Nigeria well.
