Why Obi And His “Obi-dient” Followers Must Beware Of Reno Omokri’s Greek Gifts
There is no denying the fact that if I have the opportunity to be asked, “Where Are The Prophets?” in the same manner a Nigerian reggae musician, Peterside Ottong, asked in one of his music albums in 1989, that I would not hesitate to reply by saying “Rev. Fr. Kelvin Ugwu is one of the prophets”. The reason for the commendable reply cannot be farfetched, particularly when seen from the fact that he is loving and compassionate, honest and accountable and humble. Without a doubt, some of the attractive characteristics in him that compelled me to be one of his admirers is that he is a teacher, a philanthropist, and a social commentator; particularly on issues that concern Nigeria as a nation.
For those that do not know who Rev. Fr. Ugwu is, it would be expedient in this context to say that he is an extraction of Enugu State and grew up in Abuja. He had his primary education at LEA Primary School, Karu, and government school and then proceeded to Government Secondary School Karu, where he specifically chose to study sciences in preparation to read Medicine and Surgery at the university.
According to him at a media parley, while he was reading very hard to become a doctor, he could not help admiring the white cassock worn by priests.
He said, “It appeared very angelic to me. But as I kept growing, I saw myself longing to serve beyond just the white cassock. I wanted the priesthood to save souls,” he revealed.
Given the compelling force to serve humanity as a clergyman in the Christendom, Ugwu abandoned his dream of becoming a doctor and joined the congregation called Missionary Society of St. Paul (MSP), the first Nigerian indigenous missionary congregation founded by the Bishops’ Conference of Nigeria in 1977 to train priests for the mission.
“I entered the seminary in 2006 and was ordained in 2015 after nine years of intensive studies and formation,” he explained.
Ugwu is now the parish priest of a church in Kalembe in Malawi, where he oversees 51 outstations. The outstations, he says are a distance apart from one another but added that he always organizes programs every year to enable him to at least celebrate masses in all the outstations, attend to their spiritual needs, retreat, and other sacraments.
Against the foregoing backdrop, it is assumed that an explanatory insight has in this context been thrown towards the understanding of who he is.
Be that as it may, permit me to say that a post of his about Reno Omokri, extracted from the Facebook page of Igbo TV by this writer as a background material for this piece speaks volumes.
The post titled, “ATTENTION - Nigerians Beware!!! Reno Omokri, The Manipulative Emotional Blackmailer!” reads as follows:
“Who first shared Peter Obi's picture printed on a Muslim mat and made it go viral? Reno
Who used the mat and picture and tried to instigate a Muslim Vs Christian fight with arguments on tolerance and intolerance that even led to Peter Obi making a disclaimer? Reno
Who started the false story of Peter Obi leaving PDP to join NNPP? Reno
Who edited a picture of Peter obi and Kwankwaso and came up with the false story that Peter Obi is trying to sideline Kwankwaso in "his own party"? Reno
Who is trying so hard to make Peter Obi look merely like an Igbo project? Reno
Who is the one trying to gaslight Peter Obi's supporters by emotionally blackmailing them and accusing them of Cyberbullying? Reno
Just this recent interview that Peter Obi granted with Arise news in which he used a driver-pilot analogy to explain how we need to start hiring the right and qualified candidate for the job without the primitive consideration of tribe and religion. . . who is trying to turn his analogy upside down to cause tension and division between Muslims in the North and Christians in the South by playing a mind game on the Northerners even to the extent of making the post in the Hausa language? Reno
Who will come out to still post pictures of himself and Peter Obi and make videos claiming to be Peter Obi's friend? Reno
Who is the man that claims to be a Christian Pastor yet does not believe that Jesus is God? Reno
What is the best word that we can use to describe the person and actions of Reno Omokri?
Please, if you have an idea, help me. . .”
Given the weight of notoriety in tarnishing the image of politicians that he is not working for, one would be compelled to agree with Ugwu’s opinion about Omokri.
It is germane to say that in as much as this piece is not aimed at tarnishing the image of Omokri, it is pragmatic to say that his character was aptly captured by the well-respected clergyman, even as it is permissible to opine that he shares the same character with Femi Fani-Kayode (FFK). Recall that former President Olusegun Obasanjo aptly captured his character when he said, “Femi Fani-Kayode is my boy. Provide him with food, he will eat and then sing for you. He’s a smart boy.”
In fact, given the predilection to attacking Obi and his “Obi-dent” followers, I was appalled when I read the news a few days ago that Omokri has announced his decision to stop throwing mud on other presidential candidates as well as their supporters. I was appalled, not because he has taken a decision no one has ever taken but because he would technically be out of business as it is well known that he financially survives, and literarily maintains his stomach by praising politicians; irrespective of party affiliations, and attacks their opponents by smearing their image, and calumniating them.
I wondered, “Just like that?” I asked myself, “Can a leopard change its spots?”
The news has it that Omokri said with the signing of the Peace Accord on Thursday, September 29, ahead of the 2023 general elections, his campaigns for the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Atiku Abubakar, would now squarely be issue-based. I also gathered that he pledged to focus on selling his principal to Nigerians the best way rather than discussing why others are the worst.
Omokri tweeted: “The Peace Accord by the National Peace Committee was signed yesterday by my candidate. We have entered a new phase of campaigns. From today, my focus will be on persuading Nigerians as to why Waziri Atiku is the best candidate in 2023, not why others are the worst!”
As if his repentant, his peaceful and somewhat reconciliatory moves were not enough, in his reaction to the massive rallies held across the country by the “Obi-dients movement” on Saturday in support of the candidacy of Obi ahead of the 2023 presidential election has said that Peter Obi, the flag bearer of the Labour Party, and his “Obi-dients” supporters have disrupted the Nigerian political space.
According to Omokri, the rallies were great achievements, as the “Obi-dient” movement is too strong to be belittled.
On Twitter, he wrote; “The Obi-dient rallies at Festac and Amuwo were amazing. They are great achievements. Anyone who tries to belittle them is not politically astute. While Obi will not win in 2023, he has successfully disrupted politics in Nigeria. Well done Obi! Well done Obidients!”
In an earlier tweet, Omokri described the rallies as merely a show of force by southeastern traders.
The tweet read; “These so-called ‘one million man marches’ are mostly a gathering of traders in various Nigerian towns and cities, who close down their markets (that are heavily dominated by people of southeastern origin), to do what in the military is called a show of force”.
Against the foregoing backdrop, permit me to say I so much believe in an Igbo proverb that says “Onu Kuru Njo Ge Ku Nma”, which interpretatively means “The mouth that utters bad words will also utter good words”. It is used to calm fray nerves that anyone that tarnished your image will one day speaks well about you. However, I am using this piece to caution fellow “Obi-dients” and Mr. Peter Obi to beware of an Omokri bearing gifts.
I must confess that the foregoing admonition was inspired by the phrasal saying, “Beware of Greeks bearing gifts”, which is a saying that stems from the legend of the Trojan War, where the Greek army left the Trojans a “gift” of a giant wooden horse, with Greek soldiers hidden inside. When the Trojans brought the horse inside the gates of Troy, the Greek soldiers slipped out of the horse, opened the city gates to let in the Greek army, and Troy was conquered.
Simply put in this context, the “Obi-dients” and Peter Obi should be suspicious of people like Omokri who suddenly became kind to them by saying commendable words about Obi and the “Obi-dients”. It is expedient to say that the phrase “Beware of Greeks Bearing Gifts” is a proverb that is given as a warning. If someone tells you to beware of Greeks bearing gifts, he is warning you to be wary about the reasons why someone is suddenly treating you kindly.