Soludo’s Bile Against Obi Unwarranted

 By Charles Okoh

Whoever advised Governor Chukwuma Soludo on the path he has taken in his unwarranted attack on the former governor of the state and presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Mr. Peter Obi, has obviously and totally misled him. If anything, his reaction was so infantile and lacking tact.

*Obi and Soludo 

What would Soludo say was the reason he went overboard and spewed all those bile when he is not contesting the position of the president? Between Obi and APGA’s Prof. Peter Umeadi, who realistically has a better chance?

After all said and done, Soludo ended up projecting the candidacy of both Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) and Bola Ahmed Tinubu of the All Progressives Congress (APC), than he has done for his party’s candidate (Umeadi).

Gov Soludo’s vituperation would have been better explained if he had campaigned for his candidate and concentrated only on his party’s chances rather than speak like a man who is preparing a way for future opportunities in both the APC and PDP.

In concluding his diatribe Soludo had said, “Let me once again wish my brother Peter Obi good luck. He should have fun and enjoy the fleeting frenzy of the moment. But he must moderate the desperation as exhibited by his social media mob. There is a limit to propaganda. A mob action often reflects the character of its leader. No one has a monopoly of social media violence, and no one should play God. Life won’t end by February/March 2023.”

Now, can Soludo justifiably say that he chose to reel out that bitterness because of the attack by Obi’s supporters? Is he also unmindful of the fact that some of those people he dismissed as mobs could be those who voted him to become governor? Is that a way of saying that Obi sanctioned or tacitly supports the action of his supporters? 

If anything Soludo has simply established that time-tested Holy Books saying in Matthew 12:34 that “Out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh.” Here is Soludo’s logic: Because he was attacked by Obi’s supporters for describing Obi’s investment in the state as worthless, he then in turn decided to attack Obi, whom he claimed to be his brother, in revenge.

Let us be clear on this issue. Abuses and insults must not have any place in our politics going forward. The very essence of the peace accord signed by politicians before going into political contest is just so that they realise that individual ambitions must and should never be equated with the life of any Nigerian. So, to the extent that Prof. Soludo was attacked by some people must be condemned because people are entitled to their personal views and such views must be respected.

That said, Soludo’s reaction too was absolutely unwarranted and appears pre-meditated and it may not be out of place to say that it was driven by selfish desire and jealousy. What did Soludo mean by saying no one should play God? When Gov Soludo spoke with finality that Obi cannot win the 2023 elections, was he not playing God, as only God can tell the future? This is the kind of bitterness that led Cain into taking the life of his brother, Abel, again in the Holy Scriptures.

Soludo’s bloated ego was again exhibited when he said, “For starters, Ohanaeze should study the report of my committee (planning and strategy) in 2019. It may still be relevant today. Second, Ndigbo should seriously study the MoU signed at the Yar’Adua Centre in 2010. The leader of Igbo Political Association, Chief Simon Okeke and our members are still there. Thirdly and for me, Ndigbo should strategize and bargain especially with the TWO candidates likely to be president…”

“What would Zik of Africa or M.I. Okpara do in this circumstance? Our founding fathers understood that in politics, you don’t get what you deserve but what you bargain/negotiate, and you negotiate with your organization and VOTES. Not social media militancy or bullying (where over 90% of actual voters are not on social media)! Our fathers built alliances with other major political parties in other regions (not with socio-cultural groups that don’t command any votes), and Ndigbo were in the reckoning in the first and second republics. After the elections, we will see how many votes any of the leaders of the socio-cultural groups will get for Peter Obi from their wards. Sometimes I even sense a conspiracy to nudge us on a path to nowhere thereby further pushing us into irrelevance, and I pray that I am wrong. Just my two cents!”

Again, Soludo’s failed attempt to pretend to be more concerned about the plight of the Ndigbo in the politics of the nation is mere subterfuge which also flies in the face of logic and sound reasoning. Is it wrong for Obi to aspire to be president? Must the presidential candidates come from the north and south west and the east left with the second fiddle role for Ndigbo to play politics at the centre? If Soludo so cherish the pittance Ndigbo got in the first and second republics, over 40 years ago, is he not embarrassed to think that that is what Ndigbo deserve in 2023 and beyond? What is Obi’s guilt for seeking that office? Must the south east be perpetually subjugated to the north or other regions? By the way, has Obi not said it at every forum he has appeared that he should not be voted for on the basis of where he is from or what language he speaks?

The tragedy behind Soludo’s two cents admonition is that he is even the one imputing tribalism to Obi’s aspiration, when he suggested that he had advised Obi to seek the ticket of APGA, a party that is predominantly Igbo. Is Soludo suggesting that Obi would have had a better chance with the APGA ticket than that of the Labour Party? Those two other candidates (Tinubu and Atiku), he suggested that Ndigbo should negotiate with are predominantly being propelled by their ethnic groups and people.

Every politics is local, we are told, so there is nothing wrong with Ndigbo projecting Obi as a worthy son. The question to be asked is: “Is Obi acceptable to all other geo-political zones of the country?” If the answer is yes, then let him try his luck. And let nobody begrudge him. It is this ethnic politics being suggested by Soludo and his sympathisers that have brought this conundrum on this nation.

In 1993 the whole nation voted for Moshood Abiola for president, we were all not oblivious of the fact that he is a Yoruba man. Abiola’s Muslim-Muslim ticket also amounted to nothing for Nigerians who voted overwhelmingly for them. That same spirit which saw Nigerians vote for their choice irrespective of where they are from or the religions they profess is what we should encourage going forward, not the kind of politics Soludo seeks to espouse.

From Soludo’s vituperation, it is obvious that the only sin Obi has committed is for daring to be president of Nigeria. Every Nigerian, irrespective of where he or she is from has the right to seek that office so long as he or she meets the requirement. It is no longer fashionable for a group, tribe or religion to monopolise that office. Nigeria belongs to all. 

Today, Nigerians are holding political offices all around the world; Nigeria must create that room for all to aspire to fulfill their ambition. What we seek is a Nigeria that does not discriminate against tribe, religion or tongue, but one where merit and only merit counts.

To further drive home that point that Soludo is blinded by envy or jealousy, hate or arrogance, he said; “Indeed, there is no credible pathway for him near the first two positions, and if care is not taken, he won’t even be near the third position. 

Analysts tell him you don’t need ‘structure’ to win. Fantasy! Of course, LP won governorship elections in Ekiti and Osun on social media and via phantom polls, while getting barely 2,000 votes on ground. Creating a credible third force for presidential election in Nigeria requires a totally different strategy and extreme hard work.”

Was there any poll that suggested that LP’s governorship candidates had any chance in Ekiti and Osun states? Was Obi on those ballots? Soludo described those polls as phantom and not to be believed, yet he expects people to believe his own polls, when he said, “Of course, Peter Obi will get some votes, and may probably win in Anambra State — as ‘home boy.’” But Anambra is not Nigeria. If he likes, I can even campaign for him but that won’t change much. From internal state by state polling available to me, he was on course to get 25% in 5 states as of August this year. The latest polling shows that it is down to four states, and declining.”

I do not believe in opinion polls because clearly the hypothesis which these polls are based are unreliable and cannot be trusted especially when it has to do with elections where random sampling at city centres may not reflect realities all across the nation, but it is laughable that the same Soludo that dismissed others as phantom polls wants Nigerians to believe his as authentic.

Soludo is an achiever and a success in all ramifications, but he has continued to exhibit a bad trend that would not augur well for a man like him with a bright political future. In his arrogance, he has had several spats in the past with prominent Ndigbo ignoring the very same Ndigbo spirit he pretends to now project, by recommending that Ndigbo align with those who have also evolved simply by promoting clannish interests as well.

What Soludo has failed to realise is that Nigerians are yearning for a president of their choice and that in making that choice tribe, religion may not be major factors in determining that outcome.

While we await the second in the series of his epistles, he must recognise that Obi’s reaction, so far, to his unprovoked attack has shown among them the more matured.

Obi is eminently as qualified as Tinubu and Atiku and only the people and not Soludo who only has one vote by the way, can determine who the next president would be. Let them all go to the field and contest.

*Okoh is a commentator on public issues (charlesokoh126@yahoo.com)