2023 Election Scam Alert By Muhammad Al-Ghazali.
POLITICS DIGEST- Early this morning, I received a viral message that Arise TV was going to interview the Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi, alongside the Governor of Kaduna state Nasir el-Rufai.
The message wetted the apetite of Nigerians and extolled viewers to expect fireworks.
I was naturally intrigued by the prospect because both individuals are not known to pull punches in their interrogation of critical national issues.
Not only did I decide to watch the interview, I also set my PVR to record it for posterity. My expectations were that high.
But alas, the so-called ‘interview’ turned out to be a mere glorified monologue with Peter Obi, who was given free reign to virtuperate and deflect multiple controversies that have dogged his campaign so far without the slightest pushback from the clearly partisan panel. But that was not my only worry!
What I excepted from the from the interview going by the content of the viral message, was a virtual ‘debate’ between Obi, and the equally diminutive Kaduna state governor el-Rufai. But the latter was nowhere in sight or even mentioned throught the charade!
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And so, what happened? Did the viral notice actually emanate from Arise TV; or was it simply a scam to entice, or sell Obi to Nigerians outside his natural comfort zone which was easily achieved with the inclusion of el-Rufai on the panel?
Either way, one thing is clearly beyond dispute. Nigerians did not get the semblance of what was earlier advertised.
To be fair to Obi, he did say lots of useful things, but all that must now come under the cloud of deceit. His message could have been more impactful if he had an el-Rufai to spar with during the interview.
The panel he faced did nothing to dispel the notion that the ‘interview’ was a contrived PR opportunity for Obi.
And whoever sent out the viral message certainly advance knowledge of the interview and its timing!
If Arise TV can easily deny responsibility for the misinformation since their logo did not appear on the message, the undeniable truth is that whoever composed, or circulated it, must be close to the principal beneficiary Obi.
The proof is in its fine details.
Nigerians who took valuable time to watch it were therefore deliberately scammed in the scrict sense of the word and it may well boomerang!
One thing potential voters look for in candidates is honesty! It is certainly disingenuous to lie to them even in this election cycle.
And lying is one charge frequently labled against Obi by those opposed to his candidacy!
@Muhammad Al-Ghazali
