The political atmosphere is gradually becoming charged as the incumbents at the national and subnational levels inch towards midterm of their four-year tenure. Understandably, the president and many governors who are constitutionally entitled to second-term contest are invariably doing whatever is possible to ward off adversarial scenarios likely to imperil their quests for tenure renewal in 2027. The plots and permutations are inevitable parts of foreseeable battles for which many mandate holders have long girded their loins, even on their first day in office.
To some extent, the inclination of officials of the political parties to consolidate their stronghold on the polity can be seen from varying vituperative reactions to criticisms, regardless of the inherent objectivity. Incensed and unjustifiably indignant, some official spokespersons often descend on individuals whose assessment of policy initiatives and programmes of government in power differs from their perspective. The trend is gaining currency with the increased enlargement of media teams, especially in the Southern part of the country.
An evidential aspect of the development is the recent response of the All Progressives Congress (APC) national spokesperson, Mr. Felix Morka to Peter Obi’s critical analysis of the Federal Government budget for 2025. The latter’s criticism of the absence of initiatives to address the hardship faced by Nigerians infuriated Morka who dismissed Obi’s viewpoint, disparaged him and even threatened him openly. His description of Obi as someone who has “crossed the line” and therefore should accept the “consequences” has raised fear for the safety of Opposition leaders in Nigeria.
The phrase “crossed the line” conveys both denotative and connotative meanings. It implies a direct threat which on the basis of taxonomy is one of the categories of threat. While the other three are indirect, veiled and conditional, each reflects the situational context of the issue. The threat would have not have arisen if Morka was taciturn or tongue-in-cheek regarding that aspect of his remarks. In a way, Obi is justifiably frightened about the likelihood of harm befalling him either now or in the near future. Of course, Morka’s utterance captures the five threat levels that often precede tragic visitations on opposition leaders in many jurisdictions.
Let’s get it clear. Morka has an inalienable right to respond to Obi’s criticism if he felt it would worsen Nigerians’ poor perception of APC and further whittle its shrinking support base, but he is not in a position to define who has crossed the line or not in Nigeria’s political space. His volte-face on his unguarded statement after Obi had raised an alarm over threats to his life and those of his family members was an afterthought. A puerile defence of an apparently rash expression clearly distanced from mindful communication on public issues.
Invariably, an elongated ridicule in the eyes of the public may accompany Morka’s steps and blight his image for a long time unlike Obi who gained sympathy of the populace. Tendering an apology to the latter is a worthy option rather than Morka’s vain resort to rationalize his willful action bereft of the minutest iota of civility and good conduct. He alone can neither validate his offensive opinion nor seek an approbation of such incendiary remark without an objective evaluation by a third party. Can any reasonable man set an examination for himself, mark same and score himself? Not at all.
Ours is still a multiparty democracy undergirded by a constitution, despite its manifest dysfunction. While the Tinubu administration has shown a trail of authoritarian disposition lately, no politician of note had been threatened until Mr. Morka’s opened a new chapter of bizarre despicable utterance. Unless such abhorrent conduct is addressed quickly and the fears among Opposition leaders allayed, the recent threat might eventually birth a state of apprehension, coercion and outright suppression of alternative opinions ahead of 2027 general elections.
A time like this should make us sit up and protect the hard-won democracy through vigilance and collective positive actions. What this presupposes is that it is incumbent on us to assert and defend our rights as provided in the extant Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria (CFRN). It behooves us not to resign to fate even in the face of sheer intimidation by the governing political party. Granted, the rulership of a country by a political party at a point in time is circumstantial and subject to some variables, but it does not confer sole ownership of that geopolitical entity on the political party and its operators.
