This is the untold story of the hidden plots of this administration against Mr Peter, the Labour Party presidential candidate In the 2023 election, and why the president’s media aides have made him their prime target. But here is a refresher lesson for them. In a democratic dispensation, the advice for spokespersons to the President goes like this : First, understand the inner workings of power. It will offer you a nuanced picture of leadership at the highest level of government. Secondly, master your duties, fact-check what you want to say before you go public to attack those who disagree with your boss’s style of governing.
George Stephanopolous, a former media adviser during Bill Clinton’s presidency, in his book, “All Too Human”, compares the duty of a presidential aide to “an air traffic controller at a busy airport on a foggy night”. It means that the work requires hands-on approach. It’s not a job for eye-pleasers who are desperate to get the president’s attention. In Nigeria, the opposite is the case. The easiest way to get the ears of the president is to attack and blackmail perceived political enemies.
Have you wondered why President Tinubu’s ‘attack dogs’, namely, Mr. Bayo Onanuga, Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, and Daniel Bwala, Adviser on Media and Policy are always after Mr.Peter Obi, and why the former governor of Anambra states has become a soft target for them. Onanuga, for example, has never concealed his irrational fear, paranoic delusions and hatred for the Igbo, of which he has repeatedly bragged, “I owe no one any apology”
Recall what he said last year, when he alleged, without evidence, that Obi and his supporters, were sponsors of the nationwide protest over bad governance in the country. Last week, at a colloquium to mark the 60th birthday of Emeka Ihedioha in Abuja, Onanuga criticized Obi for saying that “democracy is not working in Nigeria”. Obi wasn’t wrong when he said that “everything in Nigeria has been knocked down, and democracy is collapsing”. Are you and your family better off today than you were when Tinubu came to power?
At the colloquium, former President, Olusegun Obasanjo, Atiku Abubakar, and others said the same thing that Nigeria is collapsing under Tinubu’s watch. But Onanuga left everyone else and took a swipe at Obi. He said, “only a discontented Peter Obi who benefits from the very free speech democracy provides, could perceive such a democratic downfall through his lenses. If democracy has indeed collapsed, as Obi claimed, and we are living under a regime antithetical to democratic principles, Obi would not have been able to make his comment at Emeka Ihedioha colloquium”. Onanuga has been a huge disappointment at his job.
Don’t be surprised that in the months ahead, Nigerians may be asked to get the express approval of the president before they associate with fellow citizens. That’s where we might be heading to. On his part, Mr Bwala, described by some as a “traitor” who had betrayed all his benefactors for personal gains, called Obi a “failed politician who was engaged in buying and selling when pro-democracy activists were fighting military regimes”.
The vitriol from Onanuga and Bwala, is simply daft way to explain away the president’s lack of performance in the face of challenging times. Again, you ask: why has Obi become Tinubu’s nightmares? Is Obi responsible for making the naira the third worst currency in the world? These are questions that the answers are already unravelling, but will become clearer as the countdown to the 2027 elections draws closer. Since Obi trounced Tinubu in Lagos during the 2023 presidential, plot after plot have been put in place to avoid a repeat of that disgrace in 2027. I perceive that soon, Obi might be ‘held responsible’ for every crisis that erupts in the country.
Keep this in view: No stone will be left unturned to make things very hard for Obi should he decide to contest the 2027 presidential election. There’s something sinister that this administration is plotting against leading opposition politicians. Obi is one of them. Atiku, one source told me, has been “taken care of” by FCT minister, Nyesom Wike. Some say that hat could be one of the reasons why FCT has been removed from the Single Treasury Account. That makes Obi ‘public enemy number one’ of Tinubu. Well, we have heard all that empty claims by the President’s son, Seyi that his father is the “best president in Nigeria’s political history”.
All of that is hubris, a presumption that has since melted under the weight intense public scrutiny. Tinubu’s underwhelming performance is crystal clear today, regardless of the publicity stunt. If truth be told, almost everything has gone wrong for President Tinubu since he was sworn in almost two years ago. What Buhari made worse, Tinubu has made much worse. The duo saw the presidency as a prize to be won, not a duty to perform. That’s why the saying, “Be careful what you wish for, because it might come true”, remains relevant.
Despite the onslaught, Obi has not buckled under the pressure of blackmail. He remains focused, telling anyone who cares to listen where Nigeria’s problem lies. It’s about bad leadership, and what should be done to make Nigeria work again. It’s laughable but not surprising to hear the president’s son, Seyi describe his father as the “greatest president in Nigeria’s history”. In a video that went viral last week, Seyi was reported to have told a gathering of youths in Adamawa state, “it was never politics, but they keep coming for me, they keep coming for my family, they keep coming for Asiwaju Bola Tinubu, the greatest president in the history of Nigeria”.
Truth be told, if a genuine survey is conducted today, Tinubu will have the lowest approval rating of all presidents that Nigeria has had since 1999. Forget about the so-called “exceptional performance” being bandied about in paid advertorials. Seyi also claimed that his father has created an economy that has benefited everybody, “the only president that’s not trying to enrich his own pocket”. Nigerians know better who has created an economy that favours his associates. You can fact check where Nigeria’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) was before, and where it’s now since Tinubu was sworn in May 29, 2023. From 1999-2014, the country recorded a phenomenal average GDP growth of 6.72 percent.
Nigeria’s economy has plunged to a low level of 2.98 percent since 2024. The country has gone from being the largest economy in Africa with a GDP growth of $568.5bn and per capita of $3200, to a downward GDP growth of $375bn and per capita of less than $1600, last year. Each time they president’s men attack Peter Obi, they are borrowing from the playbook of Joseph Goebbels(1897-1945), the man behind Adolph Hitler’s propaganda. Their assignment is to do the ‘dirty’ job. And they are doing a damn, dumb, stupid job.