By Amanze Obi
Felix Morka, the national publicity secretary of the All Progressives Congress (APC), must be a man of great indiscretion. Foolhardiness was at the root of his recent outburst against Peter Obi. That was why he was quick to rush in where angels will fear to tread.
Beyond the deficiencies in Morka’s character and disposition, I see a problem of illicit jump in the ongoing controversy between him and Peter Obi. This Morka, from all indications, must be overzealous. Many believe that his decision to pick on Obi was aimed at a publicity stunt. He must have embarked on the provocative drive in order to earn some relevance. That was why he abandoned his brief as the spokesman of his political party and strayed instead into a territory that his mandate does not cover
Who made Morka the spokesman of President Bola Tinubu or the information manager of his government? He is not any of these and cannot appropriate them into his brief for the simple reason that Tinubu was elected on the platform of the political party that Morka speaks for. The problem here is the lack of discipline that has crept into everything that we do as a people. We run from pillar to post without any sense of direction. Everyone wants to be seen or heard even when and where they do not belong to. It was this tendency that gave us the Morka syndrome that we are struggling to deal with. The Morkas of the Nigerian system want to equate a ruling party with the Presidency. They do not know that the Presidency and the APC are not and cannot be the same thing. One is a political party whose primary objective is to organize competitions or provide platforms for the contest of elections. The other is the administrative and governmental entity that exists around the office of a President. In proper democracies, this delineation is well defined and sacrosanct. Wayfarers are never allowed to crash into them or willfully lump them together as Morka has done. Tinubu has his information and publicity crew, ranging from the Minister of Information to the motley crowd of spokespersons who are struggling for space in the presidential arena. Morka has no place in this arrangement.
Now that Morka has forced himself into the presidential arena, let us examine what he has done with his illicit chase. Morka admonished Peter Obi for crossing the line and warned that he should expect whatever comes his way. That, clearly, is a veiled threat. What could be that thing that could possibly come Obi’s way in the context that Morka has spoken? Certainly not anything pleasant.
But what did Morka mean by crossing the line? What line was he talking about?
To cross the line, figuratively speaking, is to do something disgusting; something that is outside the bounds of acceptable behaviour. It also connotes going overboard or overstepping a boundary. If we rely on Morka’s delivery, it will mean that Obi has done something reprehensible. He has overstepped his bounds. Then we ask: who made those rules? Who set the standards that Obi has jumped over? Morka’s crossing the line theory did not clarify this. But since Morka made his remarks against the background of Obi’s New Year message to Nigerians, we will be right to assume that Obi was being accused by Morka of saying things that he is not permitted or allowed to say. Then, we ask again: what are those forbidden words that Obi uttered? Who set the rules? Since Morka did not tell us, let us, by way of critical inquiry, ask: in what way did Obi’s New Year message run foul of what is acceptable?
I have listened to and read the full text of Obi’s press briefing across media platforms. All through his delivery, Obi, from what I listened to or read, did not do anything different from what he has been doing in recent years. He lamented the ills plaguing the Nigerian state. He pointed out our drawbacks. He expressed deep regrets that the government of the day is not doing enough to pull Nigeria out of the cesspool of hunger, deprivation and privation. Obi, as usual, did not just outline our failings, he backed his statements with statistical data. In all of this, Obi, strictly speaking, was merely reemphasizing or rephrasing what he has been saying about the Tinubu administration.
Relying on facts and figures, Obi gave a lie to most of the bogus claims of the Tinubu administration. He also presented us with indices that show, without any iota of doubt, that Nigeria has been on a steady decline in the 18 months of the Tinubu administration. For instance, there is no argument about the fact that Nigeria remains one of the poverty capitals of the world as presented by Obi. Statistics show that over 100 million Nigerians are living in extreme poverty while about 150 million others wallow in multidimensional poverty.
Also, Nigeria under Tinubu lost its position as Africa’s largest economy. The country now ranks fourth on the continent with its Gross Domestic Product falling by more than 50 percent of what it was about a decade ago. There has also been a sharp increase in Nigeria’s national debt under the Tinubu administration. From the facts and figures presented by Obi, Nigeria’s ranking in the 2024 Global Hunger Index is pitiable, a situation that underlines the critical level of hunger and food insecurity in the land.
The list of the unflattering situation in the country under the Tinubu administration as presented by Obi is long. But the important thing about them all is that they reflect the true situation of things in the land. Then I ask Morka: Are the facts and figures presented by Obi not true? If Obi has presented us with any false index, can Morka provide us with contrary facts? But if Obi’s indices are true, as we know them to be, how did any or all of these amount to overstepping a boundary or limit? What boundary? What limit? Who drew that line that Obi is being accused of crossing?
Rather than fly off the handle the way he did, Morka and those who fit into his mould should be commending Obi for his patriotism. In pointing out the failings of the Tinubu administration, Obi did not throw away the baby with the bath water. He was gracious enough to point the way for Tinubu. He told the President the steps he could take to get Nigeria working again. He offered the advice for free. I have looked at some of them and I am convinced that Tinubu’s administration will witness a forward leap if the President swallows his pride and listens to Obi’s counsel. In fact, Obi, wittingly or unwittingly, through his criticisms and suggestions, was helping Tinubu to succeed. Therefore, Obi deserves commendation, not condemnation, for pointing the way for an opponent.
