There is no doubt both Kwankwaso and Galadima knew what they were doing when they invoked the ghost of ethnic politics with the assertion that the north will not vote for an Igbo man.
By Nnanna Ijomah
When a bunch of known corrupt people unite against one man and spare no attempt to assassinate his character, blindly follow that one person – Marcus Aurellus, Roman Emperor and Philosopher (121-180 AD)
One of the easiest ways of knowing how worried, threatened and scared a candidate is about his opponent is when every discussion or interview revolves around the opponent instead of being about himself and why people should vote for him. Of course, it will be considered political malpractice for a candidate not to attack or attempt to diminish the qualities and electoral prospects of his opponent. However, what is revealing is when one or more candidates team up to direct their attacks on one of their rivals especially when the candidate or political party which is the object of their combined attacks is lacking in the power and financial resources of the attackers.
This is exactly the case as Nigerians prepare for the 2023 Presidential election. As one writer succinctly pointed out recently, the APC has been the party in power for the last 7 plus years while the PDP has been the party in opposition during this period. In most political contests the opposition party usually has the party in power in its crosshairs and would direct most of its campaign missiles at it and its candidate. Essentially one would expect that the PDP would direct its attacks on the APC and its presidential flag bearer and vice versa, instead what we’ve seen is that both parties and more recently the NNPP all joining together in a tag team assault on Peter Obi and the Labour Party.
While both Atiku and Tinubu are yet to assail Peter Obi directly at least for now, they have had some of their henchmen do and still doing the deed for them. For the Atiku campaign, two of his most prominent attack dogs have been former Senator Dino Malaya and Reno Omokri. While social media reports have it that the Tinubu campaign is busy assembling an army of hackers, journalists and media outlets in preparation for a volley of attacks aimed at Peter Obi, his thugs in Lagos are already attacking Peter Obi supporters and even trying to prevent them from registering to vote. Not long ago an Obi supporter in Lagos whose recorded video supporting Obi went viral was beaten to a pulp by these thugs in the attempt to intimidate anyone else who thinks of doing anything similar.
While Dino Malaya wants Peter Obi to wait for his turn whenever he thinks that should be as if the North has not had more than their share of the presidency of this country, both military and civilian, Reno Omokri never fails to seize every opportunity afforded him from his safe and comfortable cocoon in Canada on Arise Television to attack Obi and mendaciously extol the virtues of Atiku. For a man whose stock in trade is to attack his perceived political opponents, it is ironic that he is crying for sympathy because he was recently threatened by other political sycophants like him. Most Nigerians are aware of how the APC used innuendo, lies and propaganda to annihilate Jonathan and his campaign in 2015 through Tinubu’s considerable media ownership. This time I expect both campaigns to use third parties including some Igbo detractors.
Not too long ago Rabiu Kwankwaso and his sidekick Buba Galadima took turns once again on Arise Television to both challenge the electoral prospects of Obi as well as spew some lies about him. As is common with Nigerian politicians of the older generation, when things are not going well in their campaign efforts as they had expected they resort to their practiced habit and call card of ethnicity and religion. To them ethnic divisions and religion is their safe deposit bank where they can always draw from when needed. For a politician of Kwankwaso’s stature to say publicly that the North will not vote for a Southeastern candidate unless Peter Obi competes as his vice-presidential running mate is as reprehensible as he is delusional.
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As if that singular comment was not enough, he went further to describe the Igbos as not very relevant in Nigeria’s politics. This he said was due to their poor electoral numbers as well as their failure to love Nigeria as the northerners do. In alluding to the IPOB and their agitation for Biafra, one cannot but notice the hypocrisy since Boko Haram and other Moslem terrorists presently ravaging the North claim they are fighting for an Islamic Caliphate. These same views or something close to it were also echoed by Buba Galadima in another Arise Television interview in addition to extolling the virtues of Kwankwaso thereby reprising the role he played in 2019 when he advocated for and sold Buhari as the best Nigerian leader waiting to occupy Aso Rock.
The reality of both public displays of ignominy is that the NNPP and Kwankwaso found themselves in a complex dance in search of a dance partner after Peter Obi refused to be his running mate. The fact as revealed a few days later by the Director General of the Peter Obi campaign, Dr. Doyin Okupe that the merger talks between Labour and the NNPP had died four weeks earlier and most definitely before Kwankwaso’s interview revealed Kwankwaso’s desperation because during the interview on Arise Television he never hinted that the merger talks was already dead. He kept giving the impression that it was still on and that all that was needed to consummate the deal was for Peter Obi to run as a Vice President. If you listened to the interviews given by both men, what you saw was desperation, panic, fear and the realization that their plan on running on Peter Obi’s coattails was not to be. You saw a man who knew that he didn’t have much any base of support outside Kano State despite his continuous public claims that the NNPP and the Kwankwasiya movement existed in every state of the federation including outside Nigeria.
Unfortunately, while these two were exposing their ignorance on nation television, another northern irredentist by name Mahdi Shehu, a self-styled anti-corruption crusader appeared on another television interview to spew his venom on Peter Obi by trying to link him with supporting the IPOB, the same IPOB whose spokesperson, one Mr. Simon Ekpa, a few days ago released a video recording attacking Peter Obi and leveling some heinous accusations against him. Malam Shehu also during the television interview alleged that Peter Obi’s son was the young man wearing an IPOB uniform and stamping his feet on the Nigerian flag.
Both accusations have been vehemently denied by Peter Obi. Maybe suspecting that members of the Northern Elders Forum, General Gusau, Ango Abdulahi and General Babaginda might support Peter Obi’s candidacy through the efforts of Obasanjo, Malam Shehu unloaded on Obasanjo and attacked him for doing so. The fact that people can go on public television to insinuate, falsely allege things and tell blatant lies all in the name of politics is frightening. For some to allow themselves to be used for this purpose is also despicable. There is no doubt television interviews have become a venue for and avenue for performative assertions for virtue or righteousness and also for putting down someone else. The cynicism, the microaggression, nuance, complex intolerance and incivility has become all too common and will soon get worse as the campaigns gain steam. The toxicity that will threaten our politics in the next few months will undoubtedly get worse with the potential to asphyxiate our democracy. Across our country, a foul spirit of nihilism has displaced a forgiving spirit of grace.
Like many who watch politicians give television or radio interviews, I expected some grandstanding, and posturing but what I did not expect from the aforementioned gentlemen was the deliberate lies and innuendos-the deprecating comments especially by Kwankwaso against the Igbos when he described them as talented businessmen but bad politicians simply because Peter Obi refused to be his running mate. His attempt at classifying them as second- class citizens who are destined to playing second fiddle to the North. The cruelty of Galadima when he said the Igbos do not believe in a new Nigeria, basically saying they cannot be trusted while referencing kwankwaso’s many years in politics and the positions he occupied as evidence he will make a better president and therefore deserving the top position.
There is no doubt both Kwankwaso and Galadima knew what they were doing when they invoked the ghost of ethnic politics with the assertion that the north will not vote for an Igbo man. They must know because those are not the kind of comments you make lightly if you do not know the emotions you will gin up in the north especially amongst its millions of low information, ignorant, uneducated followers. Subtly hidden beneath it was religion and a reminder of the 1966 coup allegedly spearheaded by Igbos that left their erstwhile leaders dead. The truth is that you cannot let a rope down a well without knowing how long it is and assured that it will get to the water. In the case of Mahdi Shehu, it is either he knew that his assertions against Obi were false or that he acted with malice and obvious disregard for the truth. What do you expect from a pig than a grunt one might ask? The only reason you conjure the spirit of ethnicity and religion is because you know it works, because it has always worked in the past. Each extreme comment begets more extremes, causing our discourse.
The fact remains that each time we feel we have made some progress on the issue of ethnic and religious hatred people like Kwankwaso, Galadima and Mahdi Shehu set us back and they are not the only ones who will be doing so as no one individual has done more in this regard than our out-going President Mohamadu Buhari through his northernization policy of discriminating against the South East in the area of political appointments, fair distribution of federal projects and the tolerance of Fulani herdsmen and their murderous escapades. Ethnic hatred and suspicion have always been Nigeria’s original sin just as slavery is that of the Americans. Our day to day lives fertilizes the soil that breeds this ugliness. Ethnicism organizes our lives advantages and disadvantages and that also is the reality of our politics.
As Peter Obi pointed out recently in his response to kwankwaso’s comment when asked about it, it is very unfortunate that with all the pressing problems facing the country these politicians would rather talk about who will not vote for who. The reality of our situation in Nigeria today is that while politicians delineate states, communities and people, elevating purity over persuasion, thus dividing our national community, our trust in democracy and institutions is being suffocated. Inequalities of all kinds both in the North and in the South aggravate our challenges and prevent us from joining together in common cause to solve them. For too many Nigerians of all tribes and creed, in the North or in the South the mobility escalator has ground to a halt, setting in its place an inescapable insidious hopelessness. When so many millions live on an economic precipice, they respond with anxiety, resentment and grievance; the forces exploiting them with ongoing mendacity and impunity. This explains the anger of the Nigerian youths and their support for Obi.
Right at this moment of our history our democracy has not functioned well, and neither is it perfect hence it is our duty to make it more perfect with help from our politicians. In doing so they must have the strength to acknowledge their failings – moral, structural, personal – and the courage to make wrong into right.
In the words of Darren Walker in an essay about Americans and patriotism which invariably applies to Nigerians, he said as follows, “As citizens, let us step away from the edge, away from sanctimony, certitude and political loyalty only to our tribes and religion. We must learn to build longer bridges connecting every ethnic and religious groups instead of higher walls hence the cost of the alternative is greater than any of us can bear or imagine. It is very imperative that we resolve to extend the presumption of grace and the benefit of doubt when we confront each other, while acknowledging that the road to enduring peace and justice runs through reconciliation and the road to reconciliation runs through truth. This may sound too academic but it is possible if we renew our fidelity to the values that bind us as Nigerians, both despite and because of our differences. If we resolve to interact and listen with humility, curiosity and empathy -with open hearts and minds. If we resolve to set aside our primordial biases, suspicions, mistrusts, hatred and decide to vote for who is most capable of fixing the ills of Nigeria rather than further divide the country or seek financial gratification then we will be on our way to regaining our lost glory.
Considering how irreparably divided the country is today since the seven years of the Buhari administration, it is no surprise that our sense of citizenship, of who we are and our very identity as Nigerians feels assaulted and violated. Our Youths are angry, frustrated and disillusioned and every right-thinking politician must share their outrage, anger and despair. They feel that no one understands their pain emanating from University closures that prolong their graduation date, their joblessness etc, hence they see Peter Obi as the only relatable candidate they can trust, who speaks to their needs and who offers solutions to those needs.
Unfortunately, while Peter Obi is eagerly making himself available to every television interviewer or program that will have him, his presidential opponents, namely Atiku and Tinubu are busy sending out attack dogs rather than make themselves available for public questioning Atiku for one, fled back to Dubai where he has secured residency to cool his heels for a while after buying his party’s nomination. Not to be outdone, Tinubu left for Turkey and God knows where else. Back in Nigeria for their Osun State mega rallies Tinubu decided that was an occasion to assault the sensibilities of millions of Nigerians who labour for their unpaid wages as is presently the case in most states of the federation by telling them “they can labour till they all die”. I guess he can abhor laboor or despise those who work for a living because he made his fortune from stealing.
In every campaign there are rules of engagement governing political discourse for those who want to endear themselves to or attract more supporters to their campaign. You win elections by addition and not subtraction. So, it amounts to political malpractice when Tinubu decided to offend millions of Nigerians with his comment after upsetting millions of Christians even in his own party who are opposed to his picking a fellow Muslim as his running mate. By doing so he is basically writing off millions of voters who ordinarily might be inclined to view his campaign favourably.
It was Machiavelli who is quoted as saying that “one who deceives will always find those who are willing to be deceived”. There is no doubt there will be millions of Nigerians who will be deceived to cast their votes for the wrong candidates who feel a sense of entitlement to the presidency instead of a desire or resolve to improve their lives. There are many more who will believe the lies they will be told about Peter Obi, the Igbos or any other candidate and group, however it is our duty to verify both the accusations and claims.
There is reason most Nigerian politicians running at the national level continuously invoke the ghost of ethnic and religious politics. They do so because it works. If it didn’t, why would the Lagos State Governor publicly call on the Yoruba nation to use this opportunity to vote for their son in the 2023 Presidential election a few days ago? Why would Governor Ganduje of Kano State go to a mosque in Osun State ahead of the Governorship election and call on Muslims to vote for Oyetola the APC candidate by reminding them he is the only Muslim candidate in the race?
These acts are a true encapsulation of the problem with our politics and until we as a people simply vote our conscience and for the most capable candidate eschewing ethnic origin and religion the country will never progress as a nation. The 2023 elections will be a true test of where we are or hope to be as a nation. We will see.
- Nnanna Ijomah is a Political and Public Policy Analyst