The recent outburst of His Excellency Prof. Charles Soludo on Mr Peter Obi, the presidential standard flag bearer of Labour Party has been trending.
His remarks, impression and verdicts on Obi investments in Anambra as a governor and the near impossibility of him winning the presidential election are issues of personal interest, choice and feelings which of course he has the right to.
That he has chosen that route means he is unique, single minded and independent whether those views of him portray him as a good brother, kinsman or a patriotic “onye Igbo” is another discussion.
I have read many views, many out of emotions and sentiments have cast him on a very bad light, painting him with a smelly oil black paint, even a devil in its ugliness would win a beauty contest over him.
I don’t in anyway approve of his outburst, discrediting Obi and making him look incompetent to win election. In every matter there is a place of virtue which stands at the middle, sadly not everyone has that virtue and shouldn’t be seen as curse for those who don’t have it.
Soludo obviously does not have such virtue, but did he make any sense in all that he said against Obi? That is where I have problems with him.
It is better to interrogate all that he said against Obi using the lenses of 1) Are they true? 2) Are they necessary 3) Are they dignifying 4) Are they set out to correct or to damage?
It is better to look at Soludo’ remarks and projection of Obi critically not from the emotional platform of tribal, ethnic and kinsman corporation mentality. The latter obviously wouldn’t make much impact since many of those throwing muds and stones at him, may not be free from such backbiting they accused him of in a very good day.
It is a common knowledge that a greater percentage of ndi Igbo don’t love themselves. An average Igbo man at the helm of affairs would rather help a stranger than lift a kinsman. Speak your language to him as way of identification and bonding he disparage it.
There is this notion rightly or wrongly that an Igbo man would always want to be the only cock that crows in their vicinity, the only aka ji aku( The successful) please fact check this.
Before you hit Soludo hard and make him look as if he is doing something very strange, please pause and make a mental recount of the number of betrayal, backbiting, hatred, poisoning etc caused by envy and jealous among siblings in your clime?
Soludo is playing out the scorpion in his human nature which of course could be found in other cultural settings, though with in a varying degree.
What is the difference between Soludo and any other Igbo person rooting for either Atiku or Tinubu? What is the difference between all the South East governors and top ranking politicians camping with the camp of Ashiwaju and Atiku? Is it because they are not as scathing and malicious as Soludo?
Better to deal with an enemy who makes no pretence about it than one who hides in lamb clothing but more of a wolf.
What Soludo has done can be likened to accusing an “impotent and sterile man of going about committing sin of immorality. Isn’t than laughable and at the same time an assessment of the state of his mental coordination.
For me Soludo has successfully amputed his political legs in his chase for Obi’ down fall. He has created a hole in his once admired political yantch, by such a futile chase against the political wind of Obi’ ambition. Just a matter of time it will capsize. Ochu nwa okuko nwe ada ,nwe okuko nwe nwa ncho ncho oso( He who pursues a fowl, is bound to fall)
To a blind mind the hiden intents of Soludo are seen. To the deaf the hidden motive of Soludo is so loud. And to those suffering from Anosmia the bad and foul smell of Soludo’ skirmish is profound.
Now that he has made himself an enemy not by stating facts and figures correctly but by providing his claws for the dirty job of picking the nuts from the furnace, those hands wouldn’t survive the embers and flame of nemesis.
Choices have consequences. It is his choice and the consequences of this choice which are not readily determined , he will live with.
Who hugs an active transformer and lives? Who hangs on a high tension wire with high voltage and lives?
Wether Soludo survives this moment with a burgeoning political life line or shrivelled like an electrocuted person politically only time shall tell.
Who can kill one on the lap of the gods?
And he that the gods wants to kill they curse them with deafness blindness.
Jarlath Opara Jarlathuche@gmail.com
