Peter Obi, the Labour Party presidential candidate in the last election, has continued his public relations blitz aimed at members of the Muslim faith of the country following the damaging fall-out of his leaked conversation with Bishop David Oyedepo during which he branded himself the Christian candidate and called for a religious war ostensibly against Muslims.
Obi who made it a habit in the last presidential elections to campaign in churches and had urged Christians to “take back their country” is seizing the Eid-el-Fitr celebrations to reach out to Nigeria’s Muslim community with a series of staged PR events and stunts.
In his message acknowledging the end of the Ramadan fast, Obi began with an uncharacteristic “as-salamu alaykum to our Muslim brothers and sisters” in an obvious attempt to impress the Muslim community.
He followed that with a visit to the Central Mosque in Onitsha, Anambra State, to celebrate the holiday with Muslims of the state, something he had never done before. In the statement announcing the event, Obi claimed his visit was ‘customary’ although no proof of previous visits exists and his tenure as governor of Anambra state was marred by allegations of attempts to establish Catholic supremacy in the state.
Obi’s lack of success at the polls was informed largely by the divisive nature of his campaign and his reputation as an ethnic and religious bigot. He was accused by members of his party of pushing an all-Igbo agenda and in Anambra state, he was alleged to have started a Catholic-Anglican rift to maintain his hold on power.