By Kunle Oshobi
For years, the Nigerian digital landscape has been dominated by a specific brand of political zealotry. You call yourselves “Obidients,” but to many, the name has become synonymous with a relentless, scorched-earth approach to discourse. You have occupied the comment sections and timelines like a digital infantry, launching routine verbal assaults on anyone who dares to suggest a path forward that doesn’t begin and end with Peter Obi.
While your vitriol has been spread wide, your primary target has always been Atiku Abubakar. You identified him as the singular threat to your “ambition,” and responded with a campaign of insults that blurred the lines between political disagreement and personal vendetta.
Through it all, the Atiku camp maintained a posture of strategic patience. While you threw stones, we extended an olive branch. We recognized the simple electoral math: a divided opposition is a gift to the status quo. We invited you into a coalition, believing that for the sake of the 2027 mandate, personal egos could be set aside for national interest.
That era of restraint is officially over.
The Architecture of Betrayal
Peter Obi’s recent decision to dump the coalition, a move mirrored by Rabiu Kwankwaso, is not just a “strategic pivot.” It is a calculated act of betrayal against the very idea of a united front. After months of back-and-forth and a supposed commitment to a unified ticket, Obi has chosen to retreat into the silo of a third party, effectively fracturing the opposition vote once again.
By walking away, Obi has shown that his priority isn’t “saving Nigeria,” but rather ensuring he remains the “Main Character” of his own political drama. You cannot claim to be a reformer while actively sabotaging the only viable mechanism to bring about change.
The Myth of “One-Way” Civility
The most glaring hypocrisy of the Obidient movement is the glass house you inhabit. You demand the liberty to attack, deconstruct, and insult every other politician, yet you react with performative outrage the moment the same energy is returned.
* You demand silence, while you shout.
* You demand “issue-based” politics, while your supporters trend hashtags rooted in character assassination.
* You ask that we “leave Obi alone” while you spend 24 hours a day obsessing over Atiku’s every move.
The “victim” card has expired. You cannot be the aggressor and the martyr at the same time.
The New Rules of Engagement
Let this be a formal notice to the “Obidient” collective: the gloves are off. We will no longer tolerate the routine excesses of your online machinery.
1. Response in Kind: If you choose to engage in insults rather than ideas, do not expect a polite rebuttal. The Atiku support base will match your energy, tweet for tweet and post for post.
2. No More Sacred Cows: Peter Obi’s record, his inconsistencies, his political flip-flops, and this latest betrayal of the coalition, is now fair game for the same rigorous scrutiny you apply to others.
3. Accountability for Division: Every time you attack the ADC or Atiku, we will remind the nation that it was your candidate who walked away from unity. If the 2027 goal is lost, the blood will be on the hands of those who chose ego over an alliance.
“Loyalty that is conditional on being the leader is not loyalty at all; it is a transaction.”
The hand of friendship was extended, and you bit it. From this point forward, the political space will be exactly what you made it: a battleground. If you find the heat of the kitchen too intense, it’s time to stop starting fires.
Kunle Oshobi is the Head of Strategy and Planning, and Chairman, Narrative command of The Narrative Force
See less
