Benue: Attackers Of Peter Obi Are People In Their 40’s And 50’s – Onjeh

The Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC) senatorial candidate for Benue South, Daniel Onjeh, has distanced Benue youths from the attack on the convoy of the party’s presidential candidate, Peter Obi.

Naija News reports that Onjeh, who was alongside Obi when the incident occurred, said the individuals who mounted a barricade against the convoy during Obi’s attempted visit to Yelwata were largely middle-aged men.

The former National Association of Nigerian Students (NANS) president clarified in a statement on Friday, urging the public and the media to distinguish between the actions of the alleged attackers and the position of young people across the state.

According to Onjeh, the voting pattern in the 2023 presidential election showed that Obi enjoyed considerable support among Benue residents, particularly youths.

He noted that Obi secured 308,372 votes in the state, narrowly behind the All Progressives Congress (APC) candidate, who polled 310,468 votes.

He further stated that Obi recorded more than 95,000 votes in Benue South, while the APC and Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) candidates received roughly 40,000 votes each or less.

Onjeh questioned why youths who supported Obi in the last presidential election would suddenly be portrayed as those who tried to stop him from entering the state.

He said, “Young people constituted a potent part of that voting force. So, how can the same young people who came out in their numbers and voted overwhelmingly for Peter Obi suddenly be presented as the people who mobilised with sticks and stones to prevent him from entering Makurdi? It simply does not add up.

“Peter Obi was not rejected by Benue, and he was certainly not rejected by Benue youths. His support in Benue is organic. It cannot be manufactured by government, and it cannot be extinguished by thuggery.”

Onjeh said several youths had contacted him after the incident to express their disappointment and distance themselves from the attack.

He said some of them had even invited Obi to return to the state so they could receive him and show that the incident did not represent the views of Benue youths.

According to him, the footage of the incident also showed that the men involved should not be collectively described as youths.

Onjeh further stated, “Take a very close look at the footage and photographs that have circulated since the incident. Look carefully at the thugs carrying sticks and stones and those barricading the road.

“It also corresponds with what I saw with my own eyes. I was standing right beside Mr Peter Obi and saw these men at close range. They were predominantly middle-aged men, many visibly in their 40s and 50s.”

Onjeh explained that Obi’s trip to Benue was not connected to campaign activities.

He said the NDC candidate intended to visit Yelwata to commiserate with families affected by violence, meet survivors and displaced persons and express solidarity with the victims.

“This was not a campaign visit. Peter Obi did not want noise. He did not want fanfare. If we wanted a political reception, we would have announced his coming, mobilised our members and supporters, and Makurdi would have known that he was coming,” he stated.

Onjeh said the roadblock’s location prevented Obi from reaching other parts of Makurdi, where he could have interacted with residents.

“He was stopped before he could get to the people. A barricade mounted by a handful of thugs at the exit from the airport cannot therefore be presented as the verdict of the people of Benue State,” he said.

The NDC candidate appealed to journalists and political actors to stop using the term “Benue youths” to describe those behind the incident.

Onjeh added, “Do not speak for Benue youths with stones. Do not speak for them with sticks. Do not speak for them with a barricade. Allow them to speak for themselves.

“Today it is Peter Obi. Tomorrow it could be the candidate of another political party. If we normalise thuggery simply because its immediate target is somebody we do not support, eventually nobody will be safe from the monster we have created.

“The answer to a candidate you do not support is not a stone. It is your vote.

“A barricade is not a ballot. Thuggery is not democracy. And the men who attacked Peter Obi’s convoy must never be allowed to become the face of the courageous youths of Benue State.”