13th July, 2023
By Michael Adeshina
Peter Obi, the 2023 presidential candidate of LP and leader of the Obi-dients movement, issued a statement on Thursday, 13th of July, 2023, to address killings in Nigeria.
Obi issued the statement after he was accused of keeping mum on the activities of a criminal group, known as IPOB, in the South East region of Nigeria.
After so much pressure on Obi to condemn the activities of IPOB, the statement issued by the former Anambra governor was a big mistake.
The statement was flawed and further cemented the opinions of many that Obi may just be “another fraud” and an ‘ethnic bigot’ playing on the emotions of people who have lost sense of reasoning.
Firstly, let us read the full statement by Peter Obi below.
The rising insecurity in the country leading to mindless bloodletting, particularly in the North Central zone of the country, and the continued disruption of business and social activities in the South East are all becoming very worrisome.
The violent attacks in the North Central states of Benue and Plateau lately took a new twist with high records of kidnapping, arson, and loss of human lives. According to the 1st Quarter Mass Atrocities Casualty Tracking Report, over 1230 Nigerians were killed.
79 of them security operatives, with over 600 abductions in the first quarter of this year alone. With what has been happening in the North Central and Zamfara state lately the figure as of today will be mind-boggling even far more than the deaths recorded in Russia/Ukraine ongoing carnage.
It’s unacceptable that hundreds of innocent lives will continue to be wasted in Nigeria needlessly through communal clashes, bandits, and kidnapping activities. The situation in the Mangu Local Government Area of Plateau states has raised a lot of anxiety because of the number of lives and properties lost with very little resistance from security operatives. Also disturbing is the continued disruption of business and social activities in the South East region over the Sit-at-Home directive purported to be coming from the Indigenous Peoples of Biafra, IPOB, when the body has publicly denied issuing such directive. What is going on in the South East therefore is essentially a criminal activity that must be nipped in the bud, with all hands being on deck, security agencies, and the people alike.
The South East Governors are to be commended for their renewed efforts at curbing this menace but there is a need to be more strategic and intelligence-driven in our approach to reducing the suffering of innocent people.
Security agencies should take necessary and quick steps to arrest the ugly incidents because the country cannot just be spilling the blood of innocent citizens. We as a people through our various governments should up our value for human lives in the way and manner we respond to issues that touch lives. The implications of an insecure environment for development are far-reaching because no investor will consider going to an area where their resources will not be safe and secured.
Therefore, I will like to urge critical stakeholders in these areas, traditional, Christian, and Muslim leaders to continue pushing for peace among their people in the way and manner they conduct themselves.
The various governments at all levels should also take deliberate steps to address the issue of poverty and youth unemployment because the provision of stomach infrastructure is the surer way to tackle insecurity.
Also, urgent steps should be taken consciously and intentionally to ameliorate the hardship of the people.
Errors of Peter Obi
1. From the statement above, it was clear that Peter Obi laid emphasis on killings in North Central while playing down the criminal activities of IPOB in South East as “disruption of business and social activities.”
2. Obi was quick to raise ‘data’ for number of deaths reported in the North but failed to make any mention of death reported in the South East due to the activities of a terrorist group known as IPOB.
3. Peter Obi clearly exonerated IPOB by playing down reports of sit-at-home orders linked to this terrorist group as ‘purported’ reports.
4. For Peter Obi, a ‘purported denial’ by IPOB is enough to absolve the ”body’ of any wrongdoing.
5. Obi, in his statement, never called for investigation of IPOB or arrest. He chose his words carefully to avoid stepping on the toes of IPOB.
The flawed statement issued by Obi has left many asking this question: “Is Obi a member of a terrorist group known as IPOB?”