Mr. Peter Obi, former Governor of Anambra State and presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the last presidential election, has raised the alarm that his life is being threatened following his New Year message.
In the message, Obi called for selfless and exemplary leadership to address the worsening challenges Nigerians are currently facing.
Hardly had he risen from the press briefing when political chameleons and jobbers launched vitriolic attacks against him without even considering the merits of the issues he highlighted. One such individual is Reno Omokri, whose unrelated commentary and muckraking hardly addressed the points Obi raised. However, Valentine Obienyem swiftly responded with an appropriate reaction.
The matter has now escalated from criticizing Obi’s New Year message – which urged President Tinubu to sit up – to threats against his life.
What kind of democracy are we modeling for future generations? A democracy where everyone is forced to maintain sealed lips? Every democracy requires a vibrant opposition; otherwise, it ceases to be a democracy. It becomes a dictatorship or a totalitarian regime.
For one’s life to be threatened simply for holding a different view from the government in power is dangerously pathetic.
This situation tends to lend credence to accusations that Tinubu’s government is working towards a one-party state where opposition parties are systematically crippled.
The APC-led federal government must immediately dissociate itself from overzealous lone wolves and political jobbers who may take the law into their own hands to impress the President.
There are many such desperados prowling around the corridors of power, looking for relevance. The Presidency has a responsibility to speak out against this alarming development.
AT Editorial
