It is esoteric to comprehend and nauseating to assimilate, that those who shouted “Go to court” after the rogue 2023 presidential election, are now afraid of the plaintiff and his court suits.
Simply put: they have shown that their post-election taunts of “go to court” was borne out of sarcastic politeness, not that they expected anyone to obey it. The ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) in whose favour, the fawning Independent National Electoral Commission (INEC), mumbled the will of Nigerians on March 01 2023 and declared Bola Ahmed Tinubu ‘winner’ of the February 25 presidential election has been running from pillar to post, trying to frustrate those who have gone to court.
Mr. Peter Obi of the Labour Party, who was widely believed to the winner of that election has in his characteristic manner, quietly filed a four-count charge against INEC, with Tinubu and APC as respondents, to prove that they lacked legitimacy to the acclaimed victory. Since his petition arrive the tribunal, the spin doctors of both APC and Tinubu have been making desperate antiperistaltic efforts to blackmail Peter Obi by leveling phantom allegations against him.
What they failed to appreciate was that they are up against Nigerian masses. The anonymous African proverb that “stealing the village drum is not the problem, finding where to beat it is” proves true here.
Seeing the weight of Obi’s charges, they now knew that “go to court” will not provide them any solace. And they had to doubly activate their propaganda machine to incite the masses against Mr. Obi, and perhaps stole some transient respites.
They are currently embarking on intensive political witch-hunt akin to “Gulder Ultimate Search,” to find dirt in his underwears.
All manners of libelous tags are being put out to smear his public image and deplete the massive goodwill he enjoys among the people. Their desperation was evidently rife, they had to employ the sophistication of Artificial Intelligence (AI) Technology to allegedly release a purported audio clip of Obi’s phone conversation with Bishop David Oyedepo of Living Faith Church. The AI genre used here is so controversial, that some countries in the Western world are placing regulatory embargo on it.
APC has been using government agencies to wiretap opposition candidates. What they leaked did not incriminate Peter Obi but has actually indicted them.
The hunter is about to become the hunted. They may have used high-tech machineries to produce the incriminating clip but there is absolutely nothing sophisticated about APC’S layabouts that few months ago, hired street urchins and dressed them in Bishop’s vestments to fake christian endorsement.
That’s the extent they can go to continue their stark roguery with impunity.
Recall: since he was declared the ‘winner,’ Tinubu has been on legitimacy hunt, taking his certificate of return to people of interest, soliciting for “congratulatory message.” This is the first time in our history that someone claimed he ‘won’ a presidential election, and he is left to himself as the people mourn the broad daylight robbery of their electoral mandate.
Nigerians may not have hit the street with nationwide demonstration against the charade that produced him, but deep down in their hearts they are staging widespread protests in suppressed voices. This hushed civil unrest is gradually paving way for a pronounced vocal outburst.
Last week, a pan-Nigerian Pop singer and Rapper — Mr. Folarin Falana Esq, more popularly known by his stage name, Falz The Bahd Guy, released a satirical song titled “Mr. Yakubu” indicting INEC’s complicity in foisting Tinubu on Nigerians. The song which sits well among the youths was just a spark from a multitude of disgruntled electorates.
This explains why APC is still campaigning when election is over. It is a strategy to court the masses, and avert possible public reactionary implosion over usurpation of invalid mandate.
In fact, one Mmiri Malu Ugo Ikenna captured it this way: “Peter Obi’s towering image and recognition in many quarters across Nigeria as the winner of 2023 Presidential election is still keeping APC anarchists on legitimacy struggle.”
They are struggling to wear Peter Obi ethno-religious regalia to decimate his popularity.
They expected Obidients to protest the result to label them violent. Obidients beat them with calmness. They also expected Peter Obi to call for protest to label him threat to national security and charge him with treason. He jumped and passed to court.”
They expected Igbos to protest the result to label Peter Obi an ethnic candidate and failed project of IPOB and Biafra. Igbos disappointed them.
They came with ethnic war between Yoruba and Igbos in Lagos. It failed.
They moved to staging violence on Ibom aircraft to paint Obidients as extremists and terrorists to proscribe them. It failed and busted into their faces immediately. And now, they’ve come up with the alleged incitive phone conversation; that is also being demystified as well. Somehow they have to keep being in Peter/Datti and Obidients shadows.
Meanwhile, it will be hypocritical to emphasize the rots going on with APC and maintain a sealed lip on the electoral anarchy going on in Rivers State. Brazen brigandry and bastardization of people’s will is not exclusive to APC. Their siamese-twin partner — PDP is doing the worst in Rivers as you read this. Gov. Nyesom Wike is replicating in that state, what Tinubu and his foot soldiers are doing at the center.
The type of rascality and barefaced shenanigans that characterized the election (and now post-election proceedings) in the “treasure base of the nation” is appalling.
Lawyers of the opposition candidates were rounded up with their prosecution Briefs in Portharcourt two days ago. This, in a way, is an assault on Nigeria Bar Association (NBA). It’s up to the Maikyau-led leadership of the Association to seek redress or allow it pass by, as a norm for other State Chief Executives to copy in future.
As Christians all over the world mark the holy week of the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus Christ the Lord, we should conjoin it with civil crucifixion going on in our clime.
Democracy as a universally acclaimed best form of government is facing crucifixion by desperate politicians, and everyday Nigerians are being sentenced with it. The type of religious persecution Bishop Oyedepo, Dr. Paul Enenche of Dunamis Church and Apostle Johnson Suleiman of Omega Fire Ministry are passing through, for insisting that INEC rigged Tinubu into becoming ‘president-elect’ can only be imagined.
On April 07, Nigerians is joining the rest of the world to commemorate the solemn feast of Good Friday. It is noteworthy that our democracy is vicariously agonizing on the cross with Christ, and is inescapably being buried with Him. It behoves on the Judiciary — the Justices of Presidential Election Petition Tribunal (PEPT) to resurrect it by restoring the allegedly stolen mandate or permanently destroying it beyond ressurection by affirming the status quo against the wish of the people.
For majority of Nigerians, Easter of 2023 comes the day justice is served on this case.
May daylight spare us!
✍️ Jude Eze.
