Millions of Nigerians who are enamoured of Obi’s lifestyle and what he stands for do so because they see him as an altruistic and incorruptible character who represents something different from what they are accustomed to, so an allegation of fraud against him diminishes and cheapens his enviable personality among his admirers.
Politicians are like fecund trees with plentiful fruit. They are the cynosure of public eyes and can’t evade the constant criticism and insults from the people, no matter what they do and where they stand, just as how the fruit-bearing, fecund trees can’t escape the attention of humans who hurl objects at them to loot the property nature has bequeathed them with. It is even worse if a politician is perceived as a threat to the establishment and capable of changing the status quo. Those who benefit from the corrupt and rotten system he is promising to change will do everything within their power, including character assassination and making spurious claims, to thwart his or her ambition and protect their own interests.
To many, Peter Obi is cut from a different cloth, many Nigerians will say. He represents fresh air in a polity contaminated by avarice and lack of compunction. Something totally different from what many have come to attribute governance and politics in Nigeria to. A deviation from the Machiavellian tendencies, the impunity, the dog-eat-dog disposition, the winner-takes-all mentality and the primitive thinking of our power-hungry and money-seeking elites and political class. He is one of the few politicians who have not been smitten by the bug of jarring greed and callousness prevalent in Nigeria’s political space. He also demonstrated a relative altruism, selflessness and sensitivity to the plight of Nigerians.
He is not a stranger to the cutthroat Nigerian politics but the outcome of the 2023 presidential election has added a few more notches to his political belt and catapulted him straight to the top of the mainstream of Nigerian politics. With this popularity and the hapless populace who hinged their hope of a better country, comes pressure, diatribe and vituperations from his traducers. He has become a punching bag for supporters of the current government and virulent opposition members. Even activists and supposed neutrals relish taking a swipe at him and denigrating him. One of the characters for whom attacking Obi has become his favourite pastime is Deji Adeyanju, a lawyer and self-acclaimed activist.
Adeyanju has earned a reputation for his vicious and unrelenting attacks on Obi, calling him names and casting aspersions on his person. While some believe Adeyanju’s utterances are nothing more than criticism of a public figure, others see it as a calculated move to malign, vilify and defame Obi and tarnish his image in the face of millions of Nigerians who support him. But it wasn’t always like this. Before the vitriol, diatribe and slanderous remarks, Adeyanju used to be one of the marketers of Obi. He extolled his governance acumen, praised his lifestyle and cited him as a model politician that his contemporaries must emulate if Nigeria is to stand any chance of becoming a great nation.
The demand for retraction and apology
After years of ignoring him, Peter Obi, through his counsel, asked Adeyanju to retract his defamatory publications and apologise or face legal action. Obi’s threat of litigation has ruffled feathers and divided opinions sharply. Those who are against Obi’s decision said it was poor judgment and ill-advised on the part of the former governor to have threatened Adeyanju with lawsuits, and that his decision only plays into the hands of Adeyanju, who needs Obi’s attention, and the publicity the imbroglio will garner, to shore up his image and boost his social capital. They noted that Obi is not just a Nigerian type politician but a colossal political entity who should not be seen tangling with attention-seeking rancorous small fry. To them, since Adeyanju began his attack on Obi in 2022, Obi’s popularity has grown astronomically, and the attacks have not had any negative impact on the support he enjoys among Nigerians. He has gone from strength to strength, chattering the expectations of his foes and detractors at the polls in 2023. They wonder why a politician who has everything going for him socially and politically will stoop so low to the level of a political jobber.
Conversely, there is a preponderance of people who think Obi has done the right thing by demanding the retraction of the false claim Adeyanju made. This group of people opined that Obi’s continued silence on the perennial attacks and false claims made by Adeyanju may sow doubts, fuel believability and impugn Obi’s character among many of his supporters and erode the goodwill he enjoys among Nigerians. They believe the mudslinging and diatribe have gone on for too long and it is in the best interest of Obi to act, especially as Adeyanju has repeatedly dared him to sue him. It is worth mentioning that Adeyanju’s past is replete with distasteful and unwholesome dealings and practices, and people who have intimate knowledge of his unpleasant and uninspiring antecedents have now made it a point of duty to speak up.
We can speculate and debate about the wisdom or lack of it in Obi’s decision, and if the case has merit or not, should the matter go to court? But one thing we must remember is that Obi is a human first before he is a politician and a leader. If a man feels he has been serially defamed, not just by a regular citizen but by a lawyer and a wannabe politician, then we can question his decision to seek redress in court. Adeyanju has called Obi a fraud, the leader of a mob (referring to Obi’s teeming supporters, Obidient). All this will have to be proven in court, particularly the allegation of fraud. Millions of Nigerians who are enamoured of Obi’s lifestyle and what he stands for do so because they see him as an altruistic and incorruptible character who represents something different from what they are accustomed to, so an allegation of fraud against him diminishes and cheapens his enviable personality in the view of his admirers, not less so when it comes from a lawyer. Hence, there is a need to corroborate such grave allegations.
Obi has given Adeyanju the opportunity to retract his statements and a timeline to do so and he has pledged to proceed with a defamation suit if the accuser fails to accede to his demands within the given time. So far, Adeyanju has not taken back everything he said, nor has he apologised. If anything he has doubled down on his allegations. If the matter eventually goes to court, it will either solidify and strengthen Obi or demystify and destroy the notion of man of the people that has been woven around his personality.
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