Peter Obi: Onanuga will destroy Nigeria if not stopped – Obidigbo to Tinubu

Elder statesman, Dr. Chike Obidigbo, has called on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to restrain his aide, Bayo Onanuga from making intemperate public statements that could destroy Nigeria.

Obidigbo lamented that the Special Assistant to the President on Media and Strategy has been making inciting remarks and provocative hate speeches that could not only damage Nigeria’s weak national cohesion but also plunge the nation into unnecessary conflagration.

The industrialist condemned Onanuga’s recent statement saying that the 2023 Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate, Peter Obi, and his supporters called Obidients, should be blamed for the planned nationwide protest against bad governance.

In a statement sent to journalists on Sunday, Obidigbo lamented that despite Onanuga’s experience in media practice and his knowledge of Nigeria’s troubled political history, the presidential aide continues to spread hate and divisive statements.

“Many people still remember Onanuga’s role during the military era, when the Nigerian press adopted guerrilla tactics to draw attention to the country’s oppressive regimes. But having witnessed and now benefiting from the country’s democracy, the veteran journalist has thrown caution to the winds.

“Onanuga has made a habit of speaking disparagingly of Nigerians as if he were at the head of a military junta. When he is not withdrawing ill-conceived communication, he is issuing statements filled with deep bile and sentences laced with insinuations of hate.

“His latest attempt to link the former governor of Anambra State to the nationwide protest led by the youths is one of the thoughtless statements unbecoming of a presidential aide. Onanuga must be reminded that when the dark clouds he conjures bring rain, no roof will be safe,” Obidigbo said.

He lamented that at a time when countless multinational business organisations were leaving the country due to unstable economic indices, people like Onanuga had time to gloat over the recent presidential election.

Obidigbo said: “Onanuga and indeed all those in public office should recognise that Nigeria is at a difficult crossroads and show some level of empathy towards the Nigerian masses who are going through unbearable hardships compounded by insecurity, rising food prices and cost of living challenges.

“Deep in his heart, Bayo Onanuga knows that Mr. Peter Obi has been exemplary in conduct and character and has remained focused on economic development issues, especially alleviating mass poverty and lending a helping hand to the poorest of the poor.

“During the election campaign, Peter was graceful in his public communication and campaign messaging. He resisted provocations and attempts to be carried away by the divisive rhetoric that bedeviled Nigeria’s partisan politics.

“But Onanuga’s attempt to single out the Igbo as the target of his hatred with his dangerous insinuations is not lost on well-meaning Nigerians. This is not the first time the veteran journalist has stooped so low to promote intolerance and ethnic provocation against the Igbo. And it is high time President Tinubu called him to order unless Igbo-bashing is the core of presidential communication.”

Obidigbo said the myriad of socio-economic challenges facing Nigeria outweighs the continued efforts to isolate the Igbo through nepotism and ethnic discrimination, adding that the day equity and justice become the hallmark of national reconciliation, Nigeria will begin the process of national healing.

“Denying the Igbo access to political office may be excusable, but trying to damage their reputation and reliance on self-help could prove to be the straw that breaks the camel’s back,” he warned.