Obi blockage: Call overzealous governors to order, Ejiofor tells Tinubu

By Nwabueze Okonkwo

ONITSHA — A political analyst, Sir Ifeanyi Ejiofor, has called on President Bola Tinubu to rein in what he described as “overzealous” political actors, warning that unchecked political tension could consume the country ahead of the 2027 general elections.

Ejiofor made the call in a statement on Wednesday titled, “Benue and the Dangerous Road to 2027: Political Intolerance Must Not Become the New Normal and Beyond Peter Obi, What the Benue Incident Means for Nigeria’s Democracy.”

He cautioned that the road to the 2027 elections should be defined by ideas, tolerance and democratic competition rather than thuggery, obstruction and violence.

Ejiofor said his intervention was not partisan but motivated by the need to protect the country’s democratic process.

“I am not ordinarily accustomed to dabbling into partisan political activities, particularly as they relate to the affairs of political parties. However, when a dangerous aberration is allowed to persist unchecked, it risks becoming a convention; and when a convention is repeatedly tolerated, it may ultimately acquire the unfortunate character of a political culture,” he said.

He noted that with political activities for the 2027 elections underway, presidential candidates and other political contestants were entitled, within the law, to move across the country, present their manifestoes and seek the support of Nigerians.

He expressed concern over what he described as the emergence of political intolerance, intimidation and organised thuggery at the early stage of the electioneering season.

Ejiofor particularly condemned the reported obstruction of Peter Obi and members of his entourage in Benue State while they were travelling to Yelwata, describing the incident as “profoundly disturbing.”

He alleged that armed political thugs obstructed the convoy in the presence of security personnel, creating an atmosphere of intimidation.

That Obi eventually left the scene unharmed, he said, should not diminish the seriousness of the incident.

“The larger and far more dangerous question is: what message does such an incident send to other political actors, and ultimately to the Nigerian electorate?” he asked.

According to him, allowing political actors to restrict the movement of opponents through force or intimidation could pave the way for political anarchy.

“If a presidential candidate can be obstructed by political thugs from entering a state during the lawful discharge of his political activities, what happens when the campaign becomes more intense?

“What happens when political rhetoric hardens, tempers rise and rival camps become more desperate? Democracy cannot survive where political disagreements are settled by the roadblock, the cudgel or the gun,” he said.

Ejiofor also cautioned Governor Hyacinth Alia and other political office holders against allowing political supporters to abuse their positions or resort to intimidation.

“Governor Hyacinth Alia and every other political office holder must understand that occupying a public office is not a licence to convert the state into a political fiefdom. The authority of a governor is constitutional; the authority of a political thug is neither constitutional nor democratic,” he said.

He warned that Nigeria’s history of political violence showed that seemingly isolated incidents of intimidation could escalate into wider confrontation.

Ejiofor further argued that political actors who engage in such conduct in the name of President Tinubu or the All Progressives Congress, APC, could ultimately damage the image of the administration.

“Some of these overzealous actors may genuinely be labouring under the mistaken impression that they are helping President Bola Ahmed Tinubu or strengthening the ruling All Progressives Congress. Nothing could be farther from the truth. They are not helping the President; they are demarketing him,” he said.

He urged the President to call political actors, particularly those holding constitutional offices, to order and ensure that political competition remained within democratic boundaries.

“I therefore respectfully urge President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to call such overzealous political actors, particularly those in positions of constitutional authority, to order.

“The appropriate battlefield for political contests is the marketplace of ideas, not the streets; the manifesto, not the machete; the ballot box, not the political thug,” Ejiofor said.

He also urged governors and other political leaders to campaign on their records, policies, programmes and achievements, while allowing voters to freely assess and judge them at the polls.

“With campaign activities now officially underway, there is an urgent need for civility, restraint, tolerance and strict adherence to democratic norms,” he added.