Obi has a responsibility to tame and caution his online ‘mobs’

In Anambra State, because it is almost impossible to criticize Governor Chukwuma Soludo of not transforming the state with landmark infrastructural projects and human capacity building initiatives, some online and faceless ‘mobs’ have resorted to propagating all kinds of lies, falsehoods, hate comments and outright propaganda in the social media in order to deceive folks who have not been to Anambra nor have seen the ongoing transformation in Anambra. Many of these folks are well-known supporters of Mr. Peter Obi, the former governor of Anambra and Labour Party’s presidential candidate in the last presidential election.

Mr. Obi must rein in on these online ‘mobs’, who are bent on introducing toxicity into our polity. This column understands that as a politician it is extremely difficult to caution your irresponsible social media supporters who might be giving you some mileage, but Mr. Obi must show leadership here and be hard on these supporters, else it would be taken that he relishes the way his online supporters demonize and attack people. His subtle rebukes – especially the kind he made when his supporters attacked Pastor Poju Oyemade, senior pastor of the Covenant Christian Centre and the convener of the show the ‘Platform’ which played a major role in bringing Mr. Obi to limelight – are not enough!

Though Governor Soludo has largely ignored these online mobs and is fixated on transforming Anambra, some individuals have not and have decided to fight back.

Deji Adeyanju, human rights activist and lawyer, says that he has been under attack by supporters of Mr. Peter Obi. “…..we cannot have a situation where, a man whose supporters cannot tolerate criticism, call people all sorts of names… Anybody who does not support their candidate is an enemy of Nigeria. Anybody that does not support the candidate has been paid, has been compromised in supporting the government’’, the human right activist said during an interview on Channels Television last Friday.

Deji Adeyanju also reeled out a list of prominent Nigerians – such as Joke Silva and Wole Soyinka – who have been attacked by these online ‘mobs’ because they did not support Mr. Peter Obi at one time or the other. These online ‘mobs’ have demonized, attacked and sent some prominent Nigerians to what they referred to as the Obidient “Gulag” because they believed these Nigerians did not support Obi. (A Gulag is the system of labour camps maintained in the Soviet Union from 1930 to 1955 in which many people died). Actually, the list includes: Mercy Johnson, an actress, who was attacked online by ‘Obidients’ for attending an APC rally and endorsing President Tinubu; former Super Eagles players –  Jay-Jay Okocha, Kanu Nwankwo, Victor Ikpeba and Taribo West – who were attacked online because they visited President Tinubu and prayed with him; Timi Dakolo, a singer, who performed in Atiku Abubakar’s presidential declaration event; Femi Kuti, a musician, who was threatened that his Afrika Shrine would be burned down after he said that he was angry to be called an ‘Obidient’. The list is endless with people like Omoyele Sowore and Reno Omokri.

But one attack by the ‘Obidient mobs’ stands out: the attack on Pastor Poju Oyemade, senior pastor of Covenant Christian Centre. These online ‘mobs’ criticized and harassed Pastor Oyemade for ‘’cautioning Nigerian youths not to waste enthusiasm on a poorly planned project’’. Despite the fact that Pastor Poju Oyemade did not mention Mr. Peter Obi in his remarks, ‘Obidients’ responded harshly to his comments. Interestingly, Mr. Peter Obi, who was not that popular in Nigeria when he was governor of Anambra, gained mass following after attending Pastor Poju Oyemade’s program, the Platform, in 2016 where he gave a speech on how he managed Anambra’s resources prudently as a governor. In the case of Pastor Ugochukwu Chika, he was not as lucky as Pastor Poju, who was only attacked online by ‘Obidients’, as he was assaulted in Abuja’s Dei Dei building materials market after attending an APC event with other clerics.

Deji Adeyanju’s recent criticism on Mr. Peter Obi is coming after the former governor threatened to drag him to court over allegations of defamation, escalating a dispute that began after Mr. Adeyanju sued one of Mr. Obi’s aide, Serah Ibrahim, for defaming his wife. (The activist had sued Miss Ibrahim, who he alleged called his wife an “OnlyFans hoe” and published “unprintable things” about his wife after he criticized Mr. Obi online). In a recent demand notice, Mr. Obi’s lawyers, Ejesimen & Co Madiba Chambers, accused the activist of making repeated derogatory remarks against the former governor on social media platforms, particularly X. In what looks like an epic battle, the human right activist has fired back accusing Mr. Obi of trying to by his loyalty with money.

Peter Obi is a politician and he wants to be president of Nigeria. He has taken it upon himself to be a critic of President Tinubu’s administration. He has the right to do this as a citizen. But he must also applaud Tinubu’s administration in cases where they have done well. Mr. Obi has not commented on Tinubu’s giant strides to stabilize the economy, increase oil production, stabilize the naira and transform the oil and gas industry.

Mr. Obi’s online ‘mob’ must learn how to respond to criticism constructively. Mr. Obi has been criticized constructively in the last few weeks. For example, many critics accuse him of having one leg in the PDP, another in the ADC and another in Labour Party. In the last Anambra bye-elections, he campaigned for both ADC and Labour Party candidates. Critics also questioned his leadership style in the Labour Party. They have also queried Obi’s credibility after a video surfaced online where he said he would never leave the party that made him governor in Anambra State, APGA.  Critics accuse Obi of hobnobbing with politicians he had claimed ruined Nigeria. These are all legitimate criticisms and Mr. Obi’s supporters must learn to deal with them. Mr. Obi, himself, must respond to them.

Mr. Obi must be firm and denounce some of his vicious online ‘mobs’ if he is really the gentleman, he claims he is.

Nwankwo is the special adviser to Soludo on special projects.