By Ike Mgbatogu
Staff Writer
Onumba.com,USA ———- The former Governor of Anambra state Mr. Peter Obi is running for president of Nigeria for the second time. And going up against an incumbent snollygoster monickered Jagaban, he is going to need all the help he can muster to knock off beleaguered Atiku Abubakar and unseat President Tinubu.
Obi for sure has his work cut out for him. However, he is a political juggernaut who is doing pretty well given that his massive following cuts across all regions and ethnicities of the country.
But even with that avalanche of support, and most importantly, he is going to need his Igbo kinfolks to come through in a big way for him.
There’s a broad consensus among the Igbos believing it is their turn to produce the next president.
So ——- why are some influential Igbo figures mouthing off public utterances to sabotage Obi’s bid?
Governor Charles Chukwuma Soludo of Anambra state, politician Kenneth Okonkwo, former Abia State Governor Orji Uzo Kalu, the minister of works David Umahi to name a few with the deepest clout and the loudest microphone. These guys have not only expressed opposition to Mr. Obi’s presidential ambition, but also actively working to undermine his efforts.
Interestingly, they are not lampooning Mr. Obi’s policies; rather they are assaulting him personally. But for Mr. Obi, who rarely gets flustered by personal attacks, it all comes with the territory.
Okonjo-Iweala and her flawed, misguided analysis
But while that territory talk soothes the sting of these broadsides, the biggest attempt yet to poke hole on Mr. Obi’s case against Tinubu is what no one saw coming. The highly admired former Minister of Finance Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, another influential Igbo figure, recently tossed a political hand grenade at Mr. Obi, intentionally or unintentionally striking a massive blow to weaken his strongest case against Tinubu.
That threw everyone for a loop.
In short, it was kick in the gut.
Mr. Obi’s minions flew into a rage after Okonjo-Iweala ——- the current Director General of the World Trade organization (WTO) ——– emerged from a powwow with President Tinubu, unleashing a downpour of praises on the president.
Worse yet, the waterfall of accolades centered on the economy ——– the bread and butter of Mr. Obi’s case against the president.
“We think that the President and his team have worked hard to stabilize the economy,” said Okonjo-Iweala.
“So, he has to be given the credit for the stability of the economy. The reforms have been in the right direction.”
What?
It is unclear who exactly initiated the meeting, but heck, it doesn’t really matter at this cusp.
Tinubu should send her a basket of muffins with a thank you note pasted on it.
Okonjo-Iweala is dead wrong. Can’t she see that the country is in serious trouble
Where do I start?
Okonjo-Iweala, with all due respect, your remarks regarding Tinubu”s performance on the economy is epic hogwash. In short, your analysis is outlandish, misplaced, and unhinged. It is a complete departure from the teeth-gnashing reality on the ground where Nigerian plebs feel as though they live in a country comparable to the Valley of Hinnon —— a place of social squalor and economic torment.
Therefore, ma’am, you are dead, dead wrong.
The truth is, President Tinubu has been an epic failure. He has accomplished absolutely nothing in the last three years to advance the social and economic prosperity of the country. Nigeria’s economy is tumbling in tatters and the government is ——- just there. An arrantly clueless Tinubu is presiding over a lawless kakistocracy in dysfunction and disarray. He has no substance, no stamina, nothing, all fluff. Dude is an absolute debacle.
Nigerians ——– unless of course you are deep-pocketed, a kleptomaniac politician or well-connected, the Tinubu administration is not working for you. His policies offer diddly-squat to improve the economic condition of struggling Nigerians. The prices of stuff are way over the roof. The country is wallowing in a debilitating insecurity quagmire. It is a monumental mess. Worst of all, Nigeria is on a slippery slope to a catastrophic tinderbox., especially if Tinubu manipulates the outcome of the upcoming election in his favor.
Keep in mind that Okonjo-Iweala resides abroad and therefore untouched by any of this.
So ——- what the heck is she talking about?
What stability? What reforms? What does she mean by “We think”?
This is flat-out nonsense.
Her own performance as minister is often left alone. No one talks about it
Perhaps, this opens up a rare opportunity to call out Okonjo-Iweala herself. Because of her vast name recognition and esteemed pedigree with ties to global organizations, she often flies under the radar shirking scrutiny.
In short, she often gets a pass under the glib veil of global acclaim, none of which means nothing to a hungry child in Umuahia, a child hawking gala in Ogbomosho and another attending a dilapidated school in Lafia.
Clearly, Okonjo-Iweala has been elevated above public scrutiny, allowing her to bag undue credit for her own performance as Minister of Finance. In my opinion, all of that is nothing but a feel-good, kumbaya bandwagon —— which I refuse to join.
The fact is, Nigeria was a colossal mess during her tenure in government. No politician should be spared when it comes to holding these charlatans accountable and assessing their job performance. Clearly, they all have failed woefully. They all have let the country down, and Okonjo-Iweala is right up there with the rest of the feckless cabal of unproductive leaders. Period.
Back to her meeting with Tinubu, rather than brutally and honestly convey to the president the fierce urgency of addressing the myriad issues tormenting the country, of course respectfully, Okonjo-Iweala opted for the mollifying, namby-pamby niceties, speaking in a genteel and polished language, and then proceeded to lecture the dumb country on the nuances and acrobatic dynamics of economic development.
It was as though she was unveiling an epiphany to Nigerian plebs who just don’t understand that ‘stabilizing’ the economy is a laudable achievement ——- even as these Nigerians suffer the scourge of hunger, joblessness, lack of adequate health care while tiptoeing around to avoid the deadly menace of insecurity.
So —– she made a beeline to Aso Rock to coddle the president and let him know that he “deserves credit” for stabilizing the economy.
What a crock of shit from Okonjo-Iweala!
Please jam your jaws if you have nothing meaningful to say.
You don’t have to knock the president for his visible rank incompetence, but you don’t have to shower praises on him, either.
