No safe haven yet for Peter Obi, as Governor el-Rufai’s reported submission neutralizes his defence, exposes Atiku’s running may as tribal bigot

“It would be unfair to allow the inconsistencies in the beautiful profile of Peter Obi to sail on when he can address them now that he seeks the mandate of the people. Leadership founded on deceit is a catalyst to a dysfunctional society.  We are where we are because of where we are coming from and where we are today determines where we will be tomorrow.  Whoever must lead us must carry the ware of integrity in character and deeds; never again shall we go back to the era where lies and deceits were the ingredients of existence.”

It may not yet be uhuru for the running mate of Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Presidential Candidate in the 2019 general elections, Dr. Peter Obi, as his recent defence, exonerating himself from allegations of insulting the icon of Nigeria’s Muslim Ummah, Sultan of Sokoto Alhaji Muhammad Sa’ad Abubakar, and victimization of the Hausa people of Anambra State while he was in office as Governor of the state, has been neutralized.

This time, the neutralization of Obi’s defence is coming from a Nigeria’s figure in the stature of Governor of Kaduna State Nasir Ahmad el-Rufai, who was directly affected, practically, by Obi’s tribal bigotism.

Governor el-Rufai had lately called the running mate to the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Presidential candidate Alhaji Atiku Abubaker and past governor of Anambra State Dr. Petre Obi a tribal bigot in a tweet on Friday where he quoted an article on Leadership titled ‘Peter Obi, Ghost Of The Past And Reality Of Today’.

In the tweet, the governor said, “Peter Obi is a tribal bigot. He was widely quoted on national television that the SSS was right to detain me for 48 hours in an hotel in 2014 on the grounds that ‘El-Rufai has no business being in Anambra State as it is not Katsina State’! I sued the SSS and was awarded N4m damages.’

Part of the article on Leadership reads, “The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) running mate to Alhaji Atiku in the forthcoming presidential elections was also recently busted with the echoes of his past stance when he vehemently referred to Muhammadu Buhari as being too old to be president in 2015.

“According to him, a 72-year-old man has no business. Unfortunately, Mr Obi is today standing in supportive tissue with Atiku who is 72 years old! Talk about consistent inconsistency. Tracing the many inconsistencies of Peter Obi was the reported embarrassing situation where the convoy of the former governor was sighted and caught in front of Next International Offices in Apapa, Lagos, carrying a whopping sum of N250 million in raw cash.

“Public calculations were made and plausible questions were put forth on why a ‘financially disciplined’ former banker would have to move a quarter of a billion naira in this era of seamless electronic cash transfer?

“Mr Peter Obi is dangerously being haunted by the hubris of his self-inflicted past, like a book every chapter is open to unbury gaffes, lies and double-faced personality.

In one of his outings on the popular talk show platform, he regaled the audience on his prudent and austere lifestyle, so excited was he that he announced to the boisterous crowd of having just a wristwatch! He was cheered to high heavens as that leader that isn’t defined by the ostentatious bait of life.

In the same vein, the soft-spoken former governor of Anambra announced his penchant for traveling on economic class, not staying in expensive hotels and bragging of owning just a house. These were however punctured as a house in the United Kingdom was traced to him with pictures of him adorning different shades of wristwatches.

Is Mr Peter Obi living a two-faced life where what he preaches is in variance with who he is? Did the man overrate himself in sanctimonious garb to hoodwink the people when in measurable sense there are frightening contradictions in his personality?

Should we allow Obi’s sheer boost of falsehood in the face of glaring truth? In every element of the future, there is an iota of the past. Those who look up to the future must have their past in tandem to the reality of today.

It would be unfair to allow the inconsistencies in the beautiful profile of Peter Obi to sail on when he can address them now that he seeks the mandate of the people. Leadership founded on deceit is a catalyst to a dysfunctional society.

We are where we are because of where we are coming from and where we are today determines where we will be tomorrow.

Whoever must lead us must carry the ware of integrity in character and deeds; never again shall we go back to the era where lies and deceits were the ingredients of existence.

Great nations are made when the people are governed by people defined by the true spirit of honesty, moral compass, and by leaders whose patriotism overwhelm their personal interests devoid of primordial sentiments.

This is the time to scrutinise the characters of our leaders beyond what they throw at us. For Mr Peter Obi, he alone can bury the ghosts of the past by coming out clean in his true character.