BY TONY EKE
The inclination of officials of political parties to consolidate their stronghold on the polity is evident in 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 the government in power differs from their perspective. The trend is gaining currency with the enlargement of media teams serving the President and Governors.
An evidential aspect of this 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, based on taxonomy, falls under the categories of threat. While the other three are indirect, veiled and conditional, each reflects the situational context of a particular threat. 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. After all, Morka’s utterance captures the five threat levels that characterise the causative process of tragic visitations on opposition leaders in many jurisdictions.
There are indeed taxonomical layers to examine an actionable issue such as threat which may emanate from a seeming verbal diarrhoea seasonally suffered by an individual or a group of individuals. A further explication of the utterance and assigning its consequential attributes provides clarity of its intended meaning. Unbeknown to him, Morka appropriated semantic features of referent and reference in the way that he forged and delivered it. Even without signification, the inclusion of “consequences” as a likely fallout of having “crossed the line” is foreboding.
Let’s get it clear. Morka has an inalienable right to respond to Obi’s criticism if he felt that the latter’s opinion 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 period of ridicule in the eyes of the public may dog Morka’s steps and blight his image in the public domain unlike Obi who had gained sympathy of the populace. Tendering an apology to the latter is a worthier option than a vain resort to rationalize his willful action that lacked the minutest iota of civility and good conduct. He alone can neither validate his offensive opinion nor seek an approbation of such an 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 trace of authoritarian disposition lately, no politician of note had been threatened until Mr. Morka opened a new chapter of despicable utterance. Unless such an abhorrent conduct is quickly addressed and the fears among Opposition leaders allayed, the recent threat might birth a state of apprehension, coercion, and outright suppression of alternative opinions ahead of 2027 general elections.
A difficult time such as this should strengthen us to protect this hard-won democracy through vigilance and collective positive actions. It presupposes a need to raise citizens’ awareness as a prelude to insistence on their rights to free speech as sanctioned by the extant Constitution of the Federal Republic of Nigeria(CFRN). In retrospect, the same grundnorm gave Tinubu and his lieutenants a platform as well as a cover to carry out an insidious campaign which demonised the former governing party.
So, a greater imperative is for us to trudge on rather than resign to fate even in the face of sheer intimidation by the APC. Granted, the rulership of a country by a political party is induced by circumstantial variables, but it does not confer sole ownership of that geopolitical entity on the political party and its operators. It’s very likely that the ill fate that dimmed the PDP’s dominance at the national level in 2015 could dog the APC’s desperate steps to retain the presidency in 2027.
*TONY EKE, a journalist, who lives in Asaba, Delta State capital, can be reached via [email protected] or on 08035504896(text only).
