The alarm raised last week by the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, saying he may not be alive to contest the 2027 general election needs to be taken seriously.
Obi, who spoke during an interview with Chude Jideonwo, Obi suggested that his life was under threat because President Bola Tinubu’s government was constantly frustrating and targeting him.
During the interview, Jideonwo asked the NDC candidate whether there was any possibility that he would not fly the party’s flag in the 2027 presidential election.
“Not even a candidate. I might not even be alive. I’m telling you,” he responded, alleging that the current Nigerian government has been frustrating his activities and targeting opposition figures.
He continued, “Every single thing I do for a living, this government is frustrating. Deliberately so. So, there is even a possibility that, if they have the opportunity, I will not be alive.”
Obi, however, clarified that he was not making direct accusations against President Tinubu’s government because the government does not act openly.
“It’s not an accusation. I know. I get frustrated every day because you do things that you think would be normal – it is not normal anymore.
“They (the government) won’t come directly and say, ‘Oh, we’re doing this,’ but you can see their hand in everything,” he said.
Giving instances of attacks against him, Mr Obi referenced an incident at an airport where officials allegedly locked his car, despite other vehicles being parked in the same area.
“I said, ‘It’s me.’ The person in charge said he didn’t care. But I said, ‘Look at the cars of other people,’” he recalled.
But reacting in a post, Tinubu’s Special Adviser on Information and Strategy, Bayo Onanuga, described the claims as “unfounded and misleading.”
“His claim that he may not be alive for the January 2027 election and that people are being pressured not to invite him to social events is nothing more than a fabricated narrative, a page from his book of lies and propaganda,” Onanuga said.
Despite Onanuga’s attempt to dismiss Obi’s fears, the federal government should beef up security around the former Anambra State governor.
Obi should be allowed to exercise his democratic rights and nothing should happen to him.
Those who claim to be apostles of democracy should not stifle the democratic space.
