US–based Media Scholar Professor Farooq Kperogi, on Saturday, blew hot on Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, and said Obi is suffering from a “delusional disorder“ regarding his claim that his mandate was stolen.
Kperogi‘s claims challenge the narrative of a stolen mandate put forward by former Nigerian Governor, Peter Obi, after his party, the People‘s Democratic Party (PDP), failed to win a majority of votes in the last general election.
According to Kperogi, Obi only secured up to 25% of the total vote in 20 out of Nigeria‘s 36 states, making it impossible for him to make such a claim.
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In his weekly column, Kperogi pointed out that the church structure which enabled Obi to secure votes from Christians across the region (except in Yoruba land where ethnic loyalty was stronger than religious beliefs) ultimately prevented him from becoming president, even if he had gained the most votes.
“That is why I think Obi is suffering from a delusional disorder when he talks of his “mandate” being “stolen.” What “mandate”? As Muhammadu Buhari will tell him, intense religious mobilization of voters can take a candidate far, but it can never lead to a national mandate.
“Obi couldn’t possibly have a national mandate when he couldn’t get up to 25% of the votes in Kano, Kaduna, Sokoto, Zamfara, Jigawa, Borno, Yobe, Katsina, Gombe, Bauchi, Adamawa, Kwara, Niger, Kogi, Kebbi, Ondo, Osun, Ekiti, Oyo, Ogun. That’s 20 out of Nigeria’s 36 states. He won or got more than 25% of the votes in only 16 states. With or without rigging, I can bet my life that the outcome would be the same.
“When people are ensconced in their hermetically sealed echo chambers, they hear only their own voices and noises. The sounds that exist outside their self-created silos are always inaudible to them. That’s precisely what’s happening to Obi and his devotees. But I look forward to what his petition will reveal.”
