Bayo Onanuga, the Special Adviser to the President on Information and Strategy, has again chosen invective over insight. As the chief communicator for a government widely perceived as failing on the core tests of governance, economic stability, social cohesion, and moral authority, his portfolio places him squarely as the public defender-in-chief of policies that have deepened hardship and eroded trust.
It is therefore unsurprising that, having failed to offer Nigerians any coherent explanation for his principal’s recent national embarrassment and personal disgrace in Turkey, Onanuga has reverted to a familiar tactic – targeting Peter Obi. This is characteristic.
When the weight of public failure becomes unbearable, the Presidency looks away from its record and fixes its gaze on one man who continues to give it a political migraine, one it has been unable to cure with propaganda, insults, or intimidation.
Yet, no matter the powers vested in Onanuga’s office, he still struggles profusely to convince. Authority has not translated into credibility. The spontaneous crowd that trooped out in Abuja must have peeled his eyes in envy. The sight of citizens climbing trees simply to catch a glimpse of the man of the moment would unsettle any propagandist. That image alone – unfiltered, unpaid, uncoerced – likely quadrupled the resentment behind the words.
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To describe engagement with Nigeria’s complex political reality as desperation is either a deliberate misrepresentation or a profound misunderstanding of leadership. Peter Obi has not abandoned his principles. He has remained consistent in insisting that governance must be anchored on prudence, accountability, and service to the people. Acknowledging political actors is not an endorsement of their pasts. It is an acceptance that nation building requires ideas and values to confront reality, not retreat from it.
What truly unsettles the Presidency is not inconsistency, but credibility. Not opportunism, but trust. In a political environment saturated with noise, Nigerians recognise clarity when they see it. That recognition, earned over time, is what no amount of official outrage can erase. And it is precisely why the attacks persist.
To dear OBIdients, voices like Onanuga’s should be ignored entirely. They thrive on distraction. Our focus is 2027. Every cry of agony from the corridors of power is not a deterrent. It is a signal. A sign that the distance between the present and change is shrinking.
Tai Emeka Obasi
