Nigerians went to the poll on February 25 to elect a new President for
the country, but the outcome of the exercise, rather than unite the nation,
has further divided it. Our fault lines are glaring for us all to see.
Ethnicity and religious sentiments still remain the bane of our society.
Even before the first ballot was cast, the fragile unity and peace that
bound us together was threatened.
The nature and tone of the campaign by the three leading presidential
candidates, ably aided by their followers, showed that tribal
consideration was uppermost in the minds of many. It wasn’t
competence, or the ability to get the job done that appealed to the good
judgement of the generality of Nigerians, mainly youths, and the most
notorious proponents being the supporters of Peter Obi, Presidential
Candidate of the Labour Party, commonly known as the Obidients. You
are either with them, or they brand you a traitor, or part of the cabal
terrorizing the country and milking it dry.
While politics is said to be a game of numbers where you try to get more
people on your side by the strength of your arguments, threats, and
bullying became the tools that the Obedients employed – and effectively
too – on social media. Even after the elections was won and lost, many
of the Obidients are still in the political battle mode.
Although the losers in the election approached the Presidential Election
Petition Tribunal whose ruling was delivered last week Wednesday, the
outcome of the ruling has further inflamed passions and is almost
pushing the nation off the edge of the cliff. Both Atiku Abubakar,
Presidential candidate of the People’s Democratic Party (PDP), and
Peter Obi, have rejected the tribunal’s verdict and are heading for the
Apex Court in the land. While I have no issue with their decision – it is
the right and proper thing to do – I am however concerned about the tone
of supporters of losers of the election on social media platforms in
Nigeria. It sends bad signals, which warrants right-thinking Nigerians to
call for caution.
When Nigeria fought a bitter civil war between 1967 and 1970, there
was no social media then. The population of the country was less than
60 million. The economy was still relatively strong; with the Naira then
at par, if not stronger than the USD. Yet, over 1 million souls perished in
the war. Many died of starvation. Those who survived the needless war
still live with the scars and tales of horror till date. Have those strong
dissenting voices against the unity of Nigeria as a result of unfavourable
election results to them sat down to imagine what would happen if
another civil war breaks out in the country today? It will most likely
consume the country. I do not pray to witness another civil war in my
lifetime.
Apart from the war threat, there have been subtle calls on the military to
stage a coup and truncate the fragile democracy in the country. The calls
have been so loud that the military had to issue a statement warning
politicians to desist from making such calls and pleading with soldiers to
remain loyal to their oath and the Commander-in-chief. Military coups
in neighboring Burkina Faso, Mali, Niger, and Gabon are the impetus
needed for those hungry for power to begin subtle calls for a scuttle. I
pray that it won’t get to that.
Apart from that, friendships that have been built over the years have
been destroyed on the altar of partisan politics. Families have been split
along ethnic and regional lines. We have never had it so bad. Even
during the 30-month civil war, Nigeria was not this divided. The reasons
why we went to war and the consequences seem lost on us all.
Again, majority of those who are making use of social media to harass,
intimidate, and bully others who hold contrary political views are youths
in their 20s and 30s, who were not born when the civil war took place
and they do not know what their parents went through during the period.
Additionally, many of them are not students of history, who have not
really taken the time to sit down to read about what went down during
the Civil War. If they had, they would not sit in the comfort of their
homes, armed with cheap data and phones, and be writing what could
jeopardize the peace and unity of the country.
Now, one of them has ‘written’ himself into trouble as he has been
arrested by the Police for libelous publication against former Minister of
Works and Housing, Mr. Babatunde Raji Fashola, SAN.
Chike Ibezim, an entrepreneur and a blogger, was recently picked up by
the police following a petition by Fashola to the Inspector General of
Police. Ibezim alleged that Fashola’s Abuja residence was being guarded
by the military as he busied himself drafting the Presidential Election
tribunal’s verdict that was delivered by the justices last week. The story,
which was published in the Reportera, a news platform established by
Nnamdi Ibezim, the older brother of Chike, got Fashola so angry that he
petitioned the IGP, calling for the arrest and prosecution of the writer.
But after Chike was arrested and detained, his brother accused the police
of arrest by proxy. Muyiwa Adejobi, the Force spokesperson, has come
out to say that Chike has a case to answer over alleged ‘malicious
publication, cyberbullying, and other related offences, and that he would
soon have his day in court.
But the travails of Chike Ibezim seem not to have deterred many of our
internet warriors from chastising our Judiciary following the election
petition judgement, as they have gone overboard to even threaten the
Justices that sat in the presidential election petition tribunal. One Chidi,
a supporter of the candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, opened the
floodgate when he shared a picture of the lead Justice of the PEPC,
Haruna Tsammani with his two children on social media, warning him
against compromising his integrity on the election petitions before him.
The Obidient, who goes by Harry of Milan (@SantaChidi) on Twitter,
shared the picture with a stern warning that if the Panel of Justices
should compromise themselves in the judgment, Tsammani would regret
it.
His message reads, “Hello Justice Haruna Tsammani! I know people will
say this is blackmail or whitemail or LGTV mail, I don’t give a flying
hoot. This is to let you and every judge on the PEPT Panel know that if
you get compromised, lemme reserve my thoughts. “DON’T LET THE
DEVIL USE YOU AGAINST YOURSELF cos the implosion go loud.”
Justice Haruna Tsammani led the panel of five Justices of PEPTC with
Moses Ugo, Bolaji-Yusuf, Justice Stephen Adah, and Abbah
Mohammed.
But the threat was not enough to stop the justices from doing their job.
In fact, Justice Bolaji Yusuf in her own judgment, mentioned the threat
on social media with a warning to those behind the threat to desist as it
won’t deter them from doing their job.
Few days before the judgment was delivered, it was the turn of Justice
Mary Odili, a retired Chief Justice of the Supreme Court to, in the words
of her assaulter, receive her own ‘wotowoto’ when they descended on
her for daring to air her view on the state of the nation.
While speaking at the colloquium and book launch of Chief J.K.
Gadzama on his 25 years as a Senior Advocate of Nigeria, Justice Odili
had warned against fanning the embers of hatred, bigotry, and tribalism
without restraint following the 2023 presidential election, saying it could
consume everyone.
This is what she said that angered the Obidients on social media: “This
colloquium and book launch of Chief J.K. Gadzama upon the attainment
of 25 years as a senior advocate of Nigeria is an epochal achievement. It
is no doubt appropriate that the theme is ‘the Nigeria of our dreams, a
call to the patriots’, is very apt and timely. I say so in light of the
prevailing situation in Nigeria as a result of the 2023 general elections
which has generated a lot of storms necessitating the conversation we
are about to indulge in as there seems to be a move to draw the nation
into chaos or conflagration. This may be brought about by some
individuals and groups who fan the embers of hatred, bigotry, and
tribalism and fail to see the possible outcomes of utterances without
caution that are being thrown around. It is human to feel cheated or
having the short end of the stick but one who is not declared a winner at
any of the electoral contests, such a notion, however grieved, does not
justify bringing the roof down – the roof of our nation,” she said.
According to her, an aggrieved person may not be spared as the
commotion would be like “an unguided missile that could land
anywhere and upon anyone.’’ But her admonition fell on deaf ears as she
was tagged a traitor, and threats thrown her way.
Again, rather than taking a dispassionate look at the judgment of the
tribunal, accusations have been flying on social media that the justices
were bribed and that the judgment, this time around, was written by
Tinubu’s lawyers. But until two or three of these social media warriors
are arrested, prosecuted, and jailed, the trend is likely to continue. They
don’t give a hoot whether the nation ends up in smoke as they have little
or nothing to lose. Many of them hide their real identity, while some are
even outside the shores of the country.
It is time for Peter Obi to denounce this headless mob campaigning for
him on social media if he has nothing to do with them. They have
inadvertently turned his brand to what many, who ordinarily would love
to associate with, away from his politics and his group. Atiku and Obi
lost the presidential election the day Obi resigned from the PDP to join
the Labour Party. If they had teamed up to face President Bola Ahmed
Tinubu, the story would have been different today. But the unbridled
ambition of both men did them in. They should look inward and find
how they can work together, instead of their supporters threatening and
bullying others on social media platforms. It is when we have a country
that Atiku and Obi can run for office. The peace and unity of Nigeria
should come first.
See you next week.