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By Luke Okoro
An interesting drama played out in the Holy Scriptures in Second Samuel, chapter 15, during the reign of King David, Israel’s second king. Absalom, David’s son, had wanted to be king in the stead of his father. So, he gathered some 200 young men after himself to herald his ascension to the throne, though David was still alive, in Jerusalem.
“And with Absalom went two hundred men out of Jerusalem, that were called, and they went in their simplicity, and knew not any thing” 2 Samuel 15:11.
Mr. Sunday Adelaja could have fitted into this gang assembled by Absalom, if he were to be in Israel. These young men were simple, ignorant, unenlightened and bereft of wisdom, discretion and common sense. They lacked capacity to learn and understand. They were deficient in judgment and good sense. They were subsequently consumed by the blind ambition of a prince whose knowledge was hollow as theirs. Otherwise, what would have led Adelaja to have chosen to denigrate His Excellency, Mr. Peter Obi, former governor of Anambra State, in his recent article, denouncing his ambition to be the President of the Federal Republic of Nigeria? And making a comparison between Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu, the presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), and Obi. To him, Asiwaju is better fitted for the office of the President.
Hmmm! Reading Adelaja, it was clear that he didn’t follow the tutorials his fellow conscripted men gave him. Yes. Because, if he did , he would not have chosen to make a comparison between Obi and Tinubu. Or did he think he was writing to a readership located on Mars? Nigerians and possibly the international community know where both personalities are coming from. They are not from the moon or Mars. They both live with us. And have been with us, at least, since 1999, when this republic was birthed.
By the way, HE, Peter Obi , is the presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP). Nobody would have thought that Obi would be a subject of intense political discourse before now, when he was still in the fold of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP). But suddenly things have changed and hateful men like Adelaja have been sensitized to pull down an honest man wishing to deliver his countrymen and women, particularly the young people, from the ruination of Asiwaju and his APC gang. But Nigerians are wiser. And nobody will fool them again as in 2015 when liars in APC traded truth away for selfish ends, as we see them go again. Haba, even you, Adelaja!
So, when you compare Peter Obi with your paymasters, could it be that you were asleep? What were the bases of the comparison? That both were former governors does not put them together in one basket to compare. Certainly not.
Every reasonable Nigerian and the international community know where Obi is coming from. He is from Anambra State, which he governed for eight years. He left marks of honour, transparency and unparalleled excellence in diligent governance, project execution and detailed accountability. At the end, he left the state without making a single approval for his pension. No member of the Obi dynasty is in any known appointment till date. Can this be true for your own clan? Let the world know when next you write.
He went to both primary and secondary schools in Onitsha, with clear records and known classmates, including the man, Willie Obiano, whom he met at Christ the King College (CKC), Onitsha. He proceeded to the University of Nigeria, Nsukka, Enugu State, before migrating abroad for a string of training and courses in known Ivy League schools. He doesn’t flaunt it, but we, the OBIdients need to put these issues straight as they are, in the public space, so that ignorant people and dangerous men like Adelaja will not walk away with their tomfoolery.
Wisdom demands that those who live in glass houses don’t throw stones. But, sadly, wisdom failed Adelaja in this regard. Obi is known to have made his money before coming into government. Even as a student, he was making money. Out of government, he has continued to make money legitimately. Today, you can point to all his businesses, most of them he started before his involvement in partisan politics. He is not a ‘deals man’. He is not a politician of exchange of office for lucre, or a man of mammonism, or a man whose avarice has neither beginning nor ending. Do you still remember that a recent television interview with one of the marketers of your sponsors came to an end suddenly when he was asked to explain the sources of their humongous wealth? That was about the time the dollarized national convention of the APC took place in Abuja. Your marketer, a young northerner, couldn’t answer that question put to him by the anchors of the programme. For your information, Nigerian electorate will vote Obi because they know him and the sources of his wealth. Another conscripted man like you was talking recently, and said the economy was beyond the capacity of those involved in buying and selling. And I ask: what is the capacity, competence, certification and character of those Dele Alake had in mind to reposition the economy laid comatose by the men they choreographed into power in 2015? This injustice against Nigerians will forever remain an albatross on those responsible for it and will follow them to their graves. They cannot rewrite this history. And can’t have a second chance in 2023. Not in this country. The young people your misrule has pauperized, dehumanized and families afflicted with your regime of pain and death will never allow it to happen. The electoral heist you have always resorted to will not happen because Nigerians, as it happened in Osun and Edo states, will protect their votes. They are wiser now.
You tried hard to accuse Obi of lying and deceit, usage and exploitation of people. It was clear that you were scratching your skin to fashion out 10 points to retire your budget. That was why you regurgitated Internet materials on your subject, which had been sorted out cleanly before the public and also with the police, where applicable. For instance, your reference to the issue of N250 million meant for the payment for vehicles was a nullity. Even the police and the Economic and Financial Crimes Commission acquitted him of any wrongdoing. The Inspector-General of Police then, Sir Mike Okiro, is still alive. His committee on the matter exonerated Obi.
In the same way, your reference to the Pandora Files was also dubious. What crime did he commit against Nigeria? One is sure that if Obi had contravened any state law, your paymasters would have used the EFCC or the Police or any of the anti- corruption agencies which are under their failed government, to deal with him, moreso as an opposition candidate.
