By Rev. Fr. John Odey
Part 1
On Wednesday, April 22, 2026, after reading the second part of my article, The Die Is Cast: 2027 Election As Nigeria’s Watershed, a classmate in St. Augustine’s Major Seminary, Jos, and a bosom friend, Prof. Aloysius Ihua, sent the following quotation to me: “When you meet a swordsman, draw your sword: Do not recite poetry to one who is not a poet.” It is a quotation lifted from Robert Greene’s book, The 48 Laws Of Power.
After reading it, I called him and we talked at length about the madness that goes on in our country in the name of leadership. We wondered how Nigerians have allowed one man who has an overall stinking record to destroy the country. The questions on our lips were: Has Bola Ahmed Tinubu bewitched Nigerians? We were bewildered at how many prominent Nigerians have silently been watching him destroying Nigeria. We wondered if those who are still singing his praises have lost their humanity.
In the course of our discussion, Prof. Ihua told me that he sent the quotation from Robert Greene because he discovered that from our seminary days, I have been carrying out the advice given in that quotation through writing. In the end, he said something that struck me. He said that in addition to The Die Is Cast series that I am currently writing, he would like me to address the issue of the attack on Mr. Peter Obi by some Igbo politicians.
He said that he could not understand why, now that every part of the country is clamouring for Peter Obi to become the president and save Nigeria from the criminals and thieves strangulating the country and all of us, some Igbo politicians have decided be attack him on the basis of their senseless claim that it is not yet the turn of the Igbo to rule Nigeria. He wondered when it will be the turn of the Igbo to rule.
When he said that it hit me like a thunderbolt. I felt guilty that I have not written any article about that sheer madness, a madness provoked by envy and greed, among some Igbo political leaders. I assured the Prof. that I will write something about it. I have kept that promise. That is what you are now reading.
In the history of Nigerian politics, no person has proved to be as virtuous as Mr. Peter Obi. On the contrary, no person has proved to be as fraudulent as Bola Ahmed Tinubu. All the Igbo politicians that attack Peter Obi are in the gang of Tinubu. And as the saying goes, birds of the same feather flock together. As a politician, you must be fraudulent to cherish Tinubu’s crimes against Nigeria and to qualify to dine and wine with him.
The Igbo politicians that attack Peter Obi are envious for his being so clean. You remember the story of Cain and Abel. Cain killed his brother, Abel, because, being a righteous man, God accepted his sacrifice but rejected that of Cain because he was not a righteous man. When Cain became angry, God told him: “Why are you angry? Why that frown on your face? If you had done the right thing, you would have smiled; but because you have done evil, sin is crouching at your door. It wants to rule you, but you must overcome it.” Instead of overcoming the envy and the anger, Cain lured his brother out to the field and killed him. (Genesis 4:3-8).
You remember the story of Saul and David. After David had killed the Philistine hero, Goliath, as he and his men were returning from the battle, the women from every town in Israel came out and met Saul. In a state of ecstasy they sang in praise of Saul and David saying: “Saul has killed thousands, but David tens of thousands.” On hearing that, Saul was enraged. He said: “For David they claim tens of thousands but only thousands for me. They will be making him king next!” For that reason, Saul did everything he could to kill David. (1 Samuel 18:6-11).
In the New Testament, the popularity of Jesus became a threat to the Jewish authorities and they wanted to kill him in order to put an end to that popularity. Among many other instances, their fear surfaced clearly when Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead. The chief priests and the Pharisees called a meeting of the Sanhedrin to decide how to deal with Jesus. At the meeting, without any prevarication, they stated their perceived threat as follows:
“What shall we do? Look at all the miracles this man is performing! If we let him go on this way, everyone will believe in him, and the Roman authorities will take action and destroy our temple and our nation. From that day on the Jewish authorities made plans to kill Jesus.” (John 11:38-53).
Human envy in the game of power can be brutal. If your opponents in the struggle for power fail to succeed in killing you, they will resort to doing everything within their power to destroy your good reputation. Let us recall at length how this is systematically exposed in the same bible. There wicked people like the wicked Igbo politicians attacking Peter Obi gave vent to their envy saying:
“As for the virtuous man, let our strength be the yardstick of virtue. Let us lie in wait for the virtuous man, since he annoys us and opposes our way of life, reproaches us for our breaches of the law and accuses us of playing false to our upbringing. Before us he stands a reproof to our way of thinking, the very sight of him weighs our spirits down; his way of life is not like other men’s; the paths he treads are unfamiliar. In his opinion we are counterfeit; he holds aloof from our doings as from filth. Let us test him with cruelty and with torture, and thus explore this gentleness of his and put his endurance to the proof.” (Wisdom 2:10-19).
All of the above are what some of the corrupt, envious, malicious, kleptomaniacal, unconscionable and greedy Igbo politicians are doing to Peter Obi. His goodness makes them virtually run mad. His admirable qualities expose their vices. The mention of Peter Obi’s name in any gathering frightens them. His presence at any occasion diminishes them. Peter Obi’s simple attire makes them look stupid in their flamboyance.
The thunderous applause Obi gets wherever he goes swoops on them like a deadly hurricane. Peter Obi’s simplicity mocks their pride. His unparalleled generosity exposes their greed. His transparent leadership puts them to shame. His spotless accountability exposes their larceny. Obi’s popularity stupefies them and makes a mockery of their vainglorious ambition.
Dele Farotimi is a core Yoruba man from Oyo State. But he is based in Lagos. He is an author, a human rights activist and an unapologetic critic of the trouble with Nigeria. His recent factual exposition of the man called Peter Obi and his unique ways of doing things will offer us a better perspective and enable us to understand why some Igbo political leaders attack Peter Obi with venom. Obi is too decent and too spotless for corrupt politicians to be comfortable with. Farotimi said:
“As a Yoruba man, I really envy Peter Obi. And would be waiting patiently for the day when we will have a Governor of South-West extraction that would replicate what he did in Anambra State. I cannot wait to have a Governor of South Western State who like Peter Obi will rule a state for 8 years:
1. He did not borrow a Kobo.
2. He did not use bulletproof car.
3. He never lived outside the state till the end.
4. He met a debt of N36 billion.
5. He met Onitsha as a terror zone.
6. He met his state at 27 in WAEC and NECO.
7. He met a kitchen called Government House.
8. He met no Primary Healthcare.
9. He met no General Hospital in 14 local governments.
10. He met poor Primary and Secondary School structures.
Before leaving:
1. Anambra State was not owing any contractor or worker.
2. He cleared the inherited N36 billion debt.
3. He brought in SMEs to the traders of the state.
4. He built the today’s Government House.
5. He built 18 General Hospitals and a State Specialist.
6. He built 178 Primary Health Centres.
7. He fought and won the state against hoodlums.
8. He pushed the state 1st in 3 years consecutively in WAEC and NECO.
9. He built brewery that employed over 3000 direct and indirect job seekers.
10. He even had to save N36 billion and $150 million for his successors to use and run administrations.
11. He drove 406 and Innoson throughout.
12. He did not acquire any property anywhere while in office.
13. He never awarded any contract to family members.
14. His wife had no office and was not allowed to mess with the office. She had her enterprises in UK.
15. Obasanjo had to come to Onitsha and spent 1 week because of peaceful environment.
16. He invited anti-graft to come and audit his administration before handing over.
17. He refused to accept a piece of land and gratuity and pension.
18. He never went close to State Government House after handing over.
19. He never struggled to frustrate his successors’ policies.
20. Till today, he kept gifting multi-millions to Schools, Healthcare Development and Entrepreneurship developments.
21. He even works as a Chairman of SEC at the national stage without pay.
“If your definition of leadership is right you will not be against Peter Obi. Only a selfish mind would see all these and still question it. Peter Obi – a man that defies Nigeria’s version of leadership.”
Peter Obi! This is the man that some misguided political bandits in Igboland who have fleeced their people flesh, bone and marrow to become what they are today, tell Nigerians that he is not fit to become the president of Nigeria. Anambra State is the heart of Igboland. Obi is rated as the best governor that has ruled Anambra State.
But his detractors say that he is not qualified to become the president of Nigeria of Igbo extraction. They live in the delusion that if an Igbo must become the president of Nigeria, they are the only Igbo that are qualified for that job. This is because their definition of leadership aligns with that of Tinubu – appropriate everything you see and destroy what you cannot appropriate.
They debase their own humanity to make Obi look evil. They constitute themselves into a big disgrace to the Igbo in their attempt to discredit Obi. They lose whatever atom of respect they have among credible Igbo people in their effort to turn the good people of Nigeria against Obi. In the process, the thought of Obi, the man of the people, gives them frightful days and sleepless nights.
The very Igbo traitors who, like Judas Iscariot, have sold their conscience to Bola Ahmed Tinubu and sacrificed the Igboland in exchange of building their personal empires, also believe that even if an Igbo will ever become the president of Nigeria it is not yet time.
They believe that when that time comes that president will emerge from among them and not Obi. It does not matter even if that opportunity comes one hundred years later. If it comes when they are already in their graves, they will come out of their graves to rule Nigeria because that time will be the Igbo Emilokan. Bunkum!
To Be Continued
