The major debate has began between the ex-presidential aide Reno Omokri and the ex-presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi over alleged threats from supporters of political opponents.
The controversy began when Obi posted a New Year message questioning if he had “crossed the line,” citing threats against him and his family.
If what I have done is worst than before, I want someone to correct and remind me of the appropriate etiquette that I should follow. However, I will not be silenced in my resolve to speak truthfully,” Obi stated, expressing concerns about what he termed “undemocratic practices.”
In response, Omokri strongly criticized Obi for what he perceived as hypocrisy, alleging that Obi’s supporters, known as “Obidients,” had previously engaged in similar threatening behavior.
There’s actually more but let me spare you the details When your Obidients were threatening the life of my one-year-old daughter, what did you do? I informed you of this. You did nothing,” Omokri wrote; the list of personal harassments mentioned including threats, the leakage of personal details.
Omokri went further to list names of some personalities that he claimed had been attacked by Obi’s supporters such as Professor Wole Soyinka, Pastor Enoch Adeboye and others. He dismissed Obi’s fears of authoritarianism and the online war telling the former presidential candidate that perhaps he also needed to look at his part in these fights.
The exchange enshrines new trends in political discussion in Nigeria especially in concern to new role of social media in the political discourse, as well as new understanding of political parties’ leadership for their supporters’ actions on social sites.
