Let me address Reno Omokri directly for the first time, no insults at all — By Obinna Asole
3 min readThere is something called TAKING THE ANGER AND PAIN OF A PEOPLE FOR GRANTED. Yes, most people supporting Peter Obi are doing so from a place of pain, anger and frustration with the Nigeria political establishment. They are the people neglected for years, who pay taxes but nothing to show for it, who drive on bad roads and have accidents, who sleep in darkness with billions voted for power, who are at home instead of school, whose future the political class has been toying with for generations now. Thus, their rage is righteous, justified and beyond reproach. Even the almighty is on their side.
Just today, I read a thread by David Hundeyin cataloging the experiences of Nigerians in the last seven years of Buhari’s misrule. Here is a government voted to be the hope of Nigerians in recovering from the destructions of the 16years of PDP, now ended up the worst in recorded history by all measurable indices. Young men narrated how Buhari either frustrated their jobs through primitive policies, or how they left the country due to hopelessness. These are the people rooting for Peter Obi with all they’ve got.
So in this 2023 election, all the adults in the room must behave themselves; be mindful of their words and be circumspect. Those who talk anyhow will inevitably receive anyhow from these young people, and it will have nothing, absolutely nothing to do with Peter Obi as this is beyond him.
Therefore, blaming Peter Obi for the response Pastor Poju Oyemade got for his tweets is not only wrong but unreasonable. I value Pastor Poju, but I believe if Pastor was convinced that those tweets were sensitive and circumspect enough, he wouldn’t have deleted them afterwards. Those were not words-in-season.
You cannot tell the Nigerian youths how not to waste their time with an unplanned project (Peter Obi as he insinuated). PO was a Governor for 8years, and a former VP candidate. The call for his Presidency has been raging long after that presentation at the platform. So how else does a man prepare for Presidency? How did Yaradua, Jonathan, Obasanjo prepare for Presidency. How did President Bill Clinton prepare for Presidency? How did Donald Trump prepare for Presidency? Can Pator Poju lecture us on who is prepared to be Nigeria’s President come 2023 so we can learn from him.
You cannot hide under whatever you call the shortcomings of Peter Obi’s movement while promoting the candidate of your choice. Come out straight. We are talking about our lives, our future, our destinies, our country which is currently at the mercy of wicked men, and you are telling us about Joseph’s and Noah’s long years of preparation. Excuse me sir, go ahead and support your candidate and allow us waste our support and votes.
So I honestly advise Pastor Poju and those who support other candidates to do so without lecturing Peter Obi supporters on how to go about this movement. For this movement is organic, and will surely evolve as it grows. If you have any genuine advice, you call the man, you have his number. But anyone who decides to use Peter Obi’s name in pushing their candidates should be prepared to receive the righteous anger of the people. And that is not because these young people are disrespectful, rather it will be because you DISRESPECTED their righteous anger and their legitimate frustrations.
As for Mr. Reno, I have posted a video you made voluntarily regarding Peter Obi’s achievements. And I’m wondering, how are you going to explain to your children that the very man you praised publicly to have TRANSFORMED education in Anambra State, for raising the bar of leadership in Nigeria, and for being the best possible candidate Nigeria needs, is now running for President, yet not only do you not support him but use every medium possible to de-market him. Or is it because your children are schooling abroad, that’s why PO’s record doesn’t matter to you anymore? I like to know how you will explain that to your grown up children.
Hope this message meets you well.
God bless you!!!
