Eight months to Nigeria’s February 2027 presidential election, the country has entered the season where serious contenders show their seriousness. This is the period when those who seek the highest office begin to persuade the undecided, articulate their governing philosophy, and demonstrate through organisation, coalition‑building, and clarity of agenda that they are prepared for the weight of the Nigerian presidency.

Yet Mr. Peter Obi has chosen a different path. Instead of presenting a compelling alternative, he has reached for a familiar crutch: the claim of persecution. He says he is being obstructed, targeted, and hounded. But as with many of his past allegations, he has made the claim without producing evidence. The facts around his assertions do not support his story.

This is the central weakness in Obi’s narrative. A politician may feel aggrieved, but when he elevates that feeling into an accusation against the state, the burden shifts to him. And once again, Obi has not met that burden.

The Facts Do Not Support His Story
The Edo incident he tried to frame as state hostility was later understood as internal political friction, defections, and local rivalry. His claim that his businesses are being frustrated collapses when placed beside the strong performance of a bank in which he has substantial historical interest. That is not the profile of a man whose commercial empire is being strangled by the state.

And the broader economic pressures he may feel are not unique to him. The Tinubu administration has tilted policy toward production, exportation, and local value creation. Import‑dependent businesses naturally face headwinds. That is macroeconomic restructuring, not persecution.

The Larger Political Context Makes His Strategy Even More Puzzling
Anyone who wants to compete against an incumbent like Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu must put in the work. This is a President who leads Africa’s largest political party, who secured over 11 million votes in his party’s primaries, whose party controls 31 governorships out of 36, 88 Senate seats out of 109, and roughly 282 seats in the House of Representatives out of 360. The APC’s grassroots machinery, elite influence, and institutional spread are unmatched.

Beyond political strength, Tinubu has introduced monumental reforms to reset Nigeria for growth. He has dismantled legacy inhibitors that held the nation down for decades. He has acknowledged the pains Nigerians have endured and assured them that the worst is over. People can see projects across the country. They can see the direction of travel. They can hope for the relief that is coming.

In that landscape, the one opposition figure who can mount a spirited challenge in at least one geopolitical zone has chosen sentiment over seriousness. Rather than telling Nigerians how he would bring down the cost of living, Obi has opted for psychological warfare. It is the politics of “kaka k’eku ma je sese, a fi s’awadanu”. If he cannot eat the cowpea, he would rather render it useless.

He did it in 2023 with divisive rhetoric in the infamous leaked audio. He is doing it again, claiming persecution without evidence.

Subterfuge Is Not a Manifesto
Leadership requires clarity and alternatives. Obi has offered neither. He has attacked nearly every major policy of the Tinubu administration without providing credible substitutes.

He criticised the student loan scheme that is helping millions of young Nigerians access higher education. He opposed the Lagos–Calabar Coastal Highway that will unlock the Southern economy. He condemned the comprehensive upgrade of the Murtala Muhammed International Airport, the first in over fifty years. The list is long, but the pattern is short: attack everything, propose nothing.

This is not the posture of a man prioritising national interest. It is the posture of a man playing spoiler politics, even if the people he claims to champion are hurt in the process.

The Real Question
Obi has every right to complain. But complaints are not evidence. Emotion is not proof. Sentiment is not strategy. If he wishes to be taken seriously, he must stop presenting suspicion as fact and start presenting Nigerians with a credible governing vision.

Until then, the weight of the records will remain heavier than the weight of his rhetoric.

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