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The market square is loud, but it is often the stage for the most pathetic tragedies. In the deep reserves of African folklore, when a bird dances with frantic energy in the middle of the road, its drummer is never far off, probably hidden in the safety of the nearby bush.

Yet, far more contemptible than the puppet bird is the hound that turns its fangs upon its own litter just to draw a nod of approval from a passing spectator.

There is an enduring, razor-sharp wisdom in the ancient Igbo proverb: “Ukwu ojoo na ga wara wara cheta kwa na anya na ahu wara wara na ahu ya” — a crooked leg thinks that its twists could hide its direction, and as such, completely forgetting that the sharp eye sees through the deception with absolute clarity.

Today, Nigeria’s political landscape is forced to watch a bizarre, deeply desperate theater of the absurd.

A fiercely coordinated, multi-partisan symphony of vitriol is being directed at Peter Obi.

In a sane society, political opposition is built on superior arguments and policy alternatives. Here, the assault is purely visceral. Obi’s primary political offense, it seems, is his absolute refusal to weaponize insults, leaving his detractors screaming into a void, looking increasingly unhinged as they realize they cannot drag him down into the gutter they call home.

Consider the recent, relentless public tantrums thrown by Kenneth Okonkwo. To watch a political actor migrate from a passionate ally to an aggressive antagonist is a routine comedy in Nigerian politics. What is deeply jarring, however, is the sheer velocity of his descent into bile. Watching a grown man desperately scream the word “criminal” at a leader he spent months validating across national television is a masterclass in intellectual self-destruction.

There is a sacred code of brotherhood woven into the very fabric of Ndigbo, captured beautifully in the communal philosophy of “Onuru ube nwanne ya, agbaala oso”— he who hears the distress cry of his brother does not sit idly by; he runs to his aid. To see Okonkwo completely sever this cultural anchor to satisfy a sudden, transactional appetite is a tragedy of identity.

“A man who uses the mud of the market square to stain his own brother just to win a temporal and cheap applause of a transient master forgets that the market will always ends at dusk. When the night falls, the strangers go home, and he must walk back to the same village, on the same dark path, to face the very people he disgraced or traded off.”

Even Alhaji Atiku Abubakar, the principal that Okonkwo now purports to shield, has maintained a baseline of mutual, statesmanlike respect with Peter Obi. In 2023, Obi famously chose not to launch aggressive campaign hostilities in Adamawa State out of pure respect for Atiku as an elder brother, even choosing to honor him by having dinner with him despite being rival candidates.

If the principals themselves can navigate the fierce waters of opposition with decorum and mutual respect, why must the political foot soldiers strip naked in the market square just to prove their loyalty?

Okonkwo has completely forgotten his burrow. When the frenzy of this electoral cycle cools and the elders gather to ask for his identity, no amount of loud rhetoric will wash away the stigma of an insider who tried to burn down the family house just to please a stranger.

As you reflect on this piece, I want you to strip away blind idolizing, worship and tribal reflex of Peter Obi, rather, this is a brutal reckoning with a coordinated, unprovoked siege against a man who refuses to trade in venom despite all unwarranted abuses.

Kenneth must remember the ancient warning: when the tiny, arrogant Nwa Nza —- (Sparrow) challenges the soaring Egbe — (Hawk) to a wrestling match without his Umunna at the arena to restrain him, he isn’t being brave, he is merely serving himself up as a gruesome feast for a ruthless flock of hawks.

Supporting a political party doesn’t make you to be a pathetic liar, but from all angles, it seems that the echoes of “Living In Bondage” is still very much alive in the present Kenneth’s confused public utterances.

Maybe I should remind Kenneth Okonkwo that, “he who has the vice to betray his own blood brother will never be trusted by a stranger.” Put in another way, any matured person, who uses any sort of blackmail to help a stranger to destroy his or her own blood brother is not only a murderer, he’s worst than a serpent.

Kenneth’s threat to divulge confidential information solely between him and Peter Obi if sued has sold out a lot about the integrity of Kenneth, and even Alhaji Atiku will now deal with him on arms length.

No man or woman can ever trust a betrayer, and Kenneth in a bid to destroy Peter Obi, may at the end, finally destroy his own character, moral values, self-worth, principles and reputation.

“Blackmail is a self-inflicted poison of a desperate individual without any strong will to personal conviction and respect for others.” — DSM.

My candid advice to all Nigerians, and that is, “No politician is worth burning your fraternal and friendship bridges for.

Politicians are not worth the energies of creating enemity amongst relatives and friends. Your relationship with them should be managed with extra-careful wisdom that won’t impact negatively on your loved ones characters and reputations.

This hostility is not restricted to those shifting political flags for a paycheck; it has stained even the sacred robes of the clergy. Father Ejike Mbaka’s ongoing, thinly veiled jabs from his adoration ground are not spiritual revelations; they are the petty echoes of a transactional grievance that dates back to June 2022.

Obi’s unpardonable “sin” against the cleric was beautifully simple: he refused to bow to the old order of performative cash donations. Instead of dropping unverified bundles of currency into a collection basket for a momentary burst of clerical praise, Obi asked for a tangible project to fund—a school, a clinic, an enduring piece of infrastructure that would serve the poor long after the sermon ended.

For this act of fiscal sanity and respect for the house of God, he was branded “stingy” from the pulpit.

When the altar is transformed into a ledger, and when righteousness is measured solely by the volume of cash bags rather than the integrity of character, the temple has ceased to be a place of worship, it has become a marketplace.

Obi chose the high road of structured, accountable development over the low road of transactional flattery. He chose the quiet dignity of the people over the noisy demands of a spiritual cartel.

If you step back and look closely at the current alignment of attackers. It is an extraordinary, desperate coalition of convenience, especially amongst those who have been very close to Peter Obi in the past.

It is a striking ideological cartel right from APC, PDP, ADC, the disgruntled factions of the LP, and the peripheral actors from the PRP – all have suddenly found a singular, unifying enemy for a man who has never abused anyone.

And why this sudden panic?

Could it be that Peter Obi represents an existential threat to their collective corrupt livelihood? Or, are they becoming more terrified of a man who does not reply to insult with insult, because it robs them of the dirty political brawl they are trained to exhibit? Or better still, are they thoroughly baffled by a politician who counters structured malice with statistical facts on national productivity, education, and poverty alleviation?

In a toxic political ecosystem that has survived for decades on noise, division, and empty theatricality, Obi’s dignified silence acts as a giant mirror, cruelly reflecting his detractors’ intellectual emptiness back at them.

To the architects of this coordinated gang-up, hear this clearly: your strategy is failing spectacularly.

Every insult thrown at Peter Obi does not diminish his stature; it merely highlights the absolute panic of a dying political class that realizes the old tricks are no longer working.

For everyday Nigerians who are currently suffocating under the brutal weight of hyper-inflation, collapsing security, and economic ruin, these coordinated attacks should serve as a badge of honor for Obi. They are the ultimate proof that he remains the definitive outsider, threatening to break the wheels of their comfortable, elitist chariot.

If the goal of this relentless bullying was to demoralize the millions of Nigerians yearning for an alternative to this systemic rot, the result has been exactly the opposite. It has solidified most Nigerians resolve. It has shown them precisely who is afraid of a functional, accountable Nigeria.

The banquet for a new Nigeria has not been canceled by this noise; it is merely being prepared with greater urgency.

The year 2027 will not just be another routine election cycle; it will be a fierce, uncompromising referendum on whether we choose to remain in the suffocating grip of transactional vultures or step boldly into a future that is both positive and possible.

Let the vultures croak in the mud; the eagle’s flight remains completely unbothered by the noise of the swamp even as I come in PEACE.

Dr. Sunny Oby Maduka (DSM), is an Author, Resource Personality, Management Consultant/ Trainer, Chartered/Certified – Auditor / Accountant , Financial Compliance Expert, Economic/Political Analyst Strategist, Marine Expert and Motivationist)
Tel: 08033307702