Obi’s alleged pressure to leave Nigeria baloney

Things are happening – and moving in rapidity in the polity to bemuse ordi- nary Nigerians – since the conduct of the two-stage 2023 General Election on February 25 and March 18, respectively.
It’s not unusual for those that lose to protest and call for its cancellation, and a fresh franchise organised by the electoral umpire.

That’s why it wasn’t out of place for some opposition parties and their candidates to lay siege to the offices of Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC) in Abuja and across the states, to rail against alleged manipulation of the polls, to deny them the voters’ mandate.

But it becomes problematic when losers are in court to “retrieve their stolen mandate,” storm the streets, make media rounds, and call for the election annulment, an Interim Government or a military upstage of the incoming government.

This is the pastime of the Obi-Datti ticket of the Labour Party and their supporters since the former Anambra State Governor, Peter Obi came third in the February 25 poll that pollsters and prophets had predicted he’d win by a landslide.

Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar of the Peoples Democratic Party and former Lagos State Governor Bola Ahmed Tinubu of All Progressives Congress were in second and first place, respectively.
Having satisfied the requirements of the law, Tinubu was declared winner and returned President- elect of the Federal Republic of Nigeria.

The Obi-Datti campaign and Labour, and their supporters in the ObIdients Movement and back-mers have discredited the poll, called for its cancel- lation, annulment, and establishment of a civil- ian interim or military government.
The Department of State Services (DSS) has warned about moves by anti-democratic elements to seek to truncate the system by setting up an interim government.

The DSS in a statement by its spokesman, Dr Pe- ter Afunanya, says that it “considers the plot, being pursued by these entrenched interests as not only an aberration but a mischievous way to set aside the Constitution and undermine civil rule as well as plunge the country into an avoidable crisis.”

“The illegality is totally unacceptable in a de- mocracy and to peace loving Nigerians, even more so that the machination is taking place after the peaceful conduct of the elections in most parts of the country,” the DSS adds.

The spy agency relays the plotters’ modus operandi, noting that in their many meetings, “they have weighed various options, which include, among others, to sponsor endless violent mass protests in major cities to warrant a declaration of state of emergency.

“Another is to obtain frivolous court injunctions to forestall the inauguration of new executive administrations and legislative houses at the federal and state levels.

“While its monitoring continues, the DSS will not hesitate to take decisive and necessary legal steps against these misguided elements to frustrate their obnoxious intentions,” the statement adds.
Exactly what Nigerians, including the 36 state governors, members of the National Assembly, senior lawyers, the National Association of Nige- rian Students (NANS), Civil Society Organisations, ethnic nationalities and the Inter Party Advisory Council (IPAC) have asked the DSS to do!

But while the APC and PDP have condemned the calls for an interim government and urged the DSS to expose, arrest and prosecute the al- leged masterminds, Labour has urged the DSS to identify and punish those it says disrupted and manipulated the elections.
It may be self-implicating for Labour to condemn and call for sanction against purveyors of an Interim Government or a military junta in the country.

When the ObIdients stormed the streets of Abuja, and marched to the Defence Headquaters, their sole message was the foisting of an illegal government on Nigeria.

On his media rounds lately, Labour’s Vice Presidential candidate, Sen. Yusuf Datti Baba- Ahmed canvassed against the inauguration of the President- elect, Tinubu and his administration on May 29.
Baba-Ahmed said a military takeover of power is preferable to President Buhari hand- ing over to Tinubu.

Although Obi denied that, “at no time through-out the campaign and now did I ever say, think, or even imply that the 2023 election is, or was, a religious-war,”he failed to rein in his deputy and supporters in their shopping for an unelected government from May 29.

Nigerians may recall that during the poll cycle, Obi was quoted at religious and worship places to call on the Church and Christians to “take back your country.”
And it’s probably why Obi’s haunted when the Minister of Information and Culture, Alhaji Lai Mohammed, flew into the United States, to counter negative reportage on the election allegedly on the behest and behalf of the Nigerian opposition.
In the process of his visits to major media organisations in the U.S., Mohammed levelled “treason” against Obi and his supporters.

But could Mohammed’s gambit – and the DSS threats – prompt Obi to develop cold feet, and allege being pressured to go into exile? Obi’s claims are a red herring that won’t fly be- cause soon, we’ll hear of Obi being enticed with women or offered billions or trillions to drop his poll petition in court.

Obi has lost his mojo since the government challenge of the smear campaigns against the February and March elections, and the leak of the audio recording of his reported call to owner of Winners Chapel, Bishop David Oyedepo, to assist him to fight alleged”religious war,”as Obi labels the presidential poll.
It took Obi days to appear on the scene, to denounce the APC and government for linking him to alleged treasonable activities, and to debunk his reported audio call. And when he did, he blamed the government and its officials, the APC, and President-elect Tinubu for the reported leak.

There’s something Obi’s hiding from the public, which makes him want to vote with his feet, perhaps to avoid being ensnared by the laws.

It’s the first time Nigerians would hear a presidential candidate, who claims to win an election – and is in court to “retrieve the stolen mandate” – wants to go into exile due to alleged pressure on him.

Who are those pressuring Obi to “japa”? Is it the APC, President-elect Tinubu, or the Buhari administration? What for? Is it due to the court process to regain his “stolen mandate”? Obi needs to come clean with Nigerians who’ve stood by him this while!