Peter Obi and the England Immigration Saga: My Thoughts

There are two possibilities that have to do with Peter Obi and with England’s immigration detaining him.

The presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the just-concluded February 25th presidential election in Nigeria was detained at the London airport on grounds that they are already cases of someone impersonating him or he might be the impersonator.

It took the intervention of Nigerians that recognized him at the airport to question the immigration and ask them why they were detaining him.

Being a sort of a celebrity with a cult-like following with the youths of Nigeria that gave him their massive support during the just-concluded election,  it would have been almost impossible for the immigration officers not to experience resistance when they detain a man that most Nigerians see as the only person that can turn around their fortune for the better.

Now the question remains, was the detention of Mr Peter Obi a politically-motivated one or were the immigration officials just doing their job?

This begs the question because from the level of harassment that members of the Labour Party and their supporters have been facing since the just concluded election, it is safe to say that whatever ill-treatments experienced from any government organization will be seen as harassment.

Was detaining Mr. Peter Obi a politically-motivated move by the opposition parties?

I strongly believe that there’s a direct or indirect connection between Mr. Obi’s detention at the London airport with the opposition party.

Talking about the direct involvement of the opposition party to his delay at the airport,  if I’m to go that route, then it will mean that the England government is now collaborating with the incumbent government to frustrate the person of Peter Obi and his move to reclaim his mandate.

But because I don’t have any evidence to that fact I’ll be making a careless accusation because I will want to look at a country as developed as the United Kingdom and believe that they are supporters of democracy and believers of the rule of law.

That being the case,  in the world of politics especially international politics nothing can be ruled out.

If the government of the United Kingdom feels that the incumbent government possesses the required alliance mindset for them to maintain the bond they have with the Nigerian government,  I see no reason why they might not collaborate with the incumbents to frustrate the opposition.

Secondly,  if the government of the United Kingdom is not directly involved with Mr. Peter Obi’s detention at the London airport,  and their claim of reports of impersonation is valid,  then it can only mean that the incumbent is using their connection to frustrate his move as much as they can on the international front and paint him bad.

The government of the APC and its caucus are very much aware of the connection Mr. Peter Obi has with Nigerians in the diaspora.

His messages and manifestos resonate well with this class of Nigerians which is why he enjoys a lot of support on foreign grounds and also at home.

Any cheap attempt to paint him black for the government of the United States and the United Kingdom is a possible move that I believe the incumbent government will take because they know that he has a case in court with valid arguments. 

My thoughts on Peter Obi’s detention

Of all the bright Ideas that the government of the APC can come up with in order to slow down the move by Mr Peter Obi to reclaim his mandate, if detaining him at the airport on grounds of impersonating someone is all they can come up with then I tend to doubt their ability to bring Nigeria out of the quicksand in which it’s sinking.

The lack of bright Ideas in the government of the APC is the reason why Nigeria is facing a lot of hoops and loops in its economy and other areas of the government.

While I am very much aware that they are wasting their time with all their cheap and miscalculated moves,  I hope the government of the United Kingdom comes out and clarifies their stand while declaring their support for a clean democratic process that can bring in a government of the people by the people and for the people.