The South East Revival Group (SERG) has condemned in the strongest possible terms the ongoing attacks by Mr. Kenneth Okonkwo against his former principal, Mr. Peter Obi, describing them as a desperate and self-indicting campaign that raises fundamental questions about the actor’s credibility, consistency, and political character.
The tragedy of Kenneth Okonkwo’s current crusade against Peter Obi is that every attack he launches against Obi ultimately rebounds against himself.
This is because Kenneth Okonkwo was not a distant observer of Peter Obi’s political journey. He was not an outsider. He was not an opponent. He was one of Obi’s most visible defenders, trusted allies, and public advocates.
For years, he stood before Nigerians and passionately sold Peter Obi as the embodiment of integrity, prudence, competence, transparency, accountability, and transformational leadership.
He vouched for Obi’s character.
He vouched for Obi’s judgment.
He vouched for Obi’s capacity.
He vouched for Obi’s integrity.
He vouched for Obi’s fitness for the highest office in the land.
Today, the same Kenneth Okonkwo wants Nigerians to believe a completely different story.
SERG therefore asks a simple question: Which Kenneth Okonkwo should Nigerians believe?
The Kenneth Okonkwo who passionately told Nigerians that Peter Obi was one of the finest political leaders in contemporary Nigeria?
Or the Kenneth Okonkwo who now seeks to portray the same man in an entirely different light after their political relationship collapsed?
Both versions cannot be true.
If Kenneth Okonkwo was truthful then, why should Nigerians take his current attacks seriously?
If he is truthful now, then why did he spend years misleading Nigerians?
Either way, the greatest victim of this contradiction is Kenneth Okonkwo’s own credibility.
SERG finds it remarkable that a man who once presented Peter Obi as incorruptible, disciplined, prudent, and exceptionally qualified to lead Nigeria now appears determined to convince Nigerians that all his previous representations should be discarded.
That is not a problem for Peter Obi.
That is a problem for Kenneth Okonkwo.
Nigerians are also not likely to forget that Kenneth Okonkwo previously directed some of his harshest criticisms at former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, questioning his suitability for leadership and vigorously opposing his political aspirations.
Today, political alignments have changed.
Yesterday’s enemy has become today’s ally.
Yesterday’s hero has become today’s villain.
The question therefore is not about Peter Obi.
The question is whether Kenneth Okonkwo stands for any enduring principle beyond the politics of convenience.
SERG recalls a similar political transformation involving Daniel Bwala, who once fiercely criticised President Bola Ahmed Tinubu and publicly questioned his capacity to govern Nigeria, only to later find himself serving in the same administration.
While every citizen has a right to change political opinions, Nigerians are becoming increasingly weary of political actors whose convictions appear to change with their political locations.
This growing culture of political shape-shifting is one of the reasons many citizens have lost confidence in the political class.
SERG is particularly amused by reports that following Peter Obi’s threat of a N5 billion defamation suit, Kenneth Okonkwo has vowed to “expose” his former principal in court.
Our response is straightforward.
Let him do so.
The courtroom is not a television studio.
The courtroom is not a political rally.
The courtroom is not social media.
The courtroom is where evidence is tested, facts are scrutinised, and truth is separated from propaganda.
If Kenneth Okonkwo possesses credible evidence, he should present it before the court.
If he does not, then Nigerians will know that the noise was merely noise.
SERG therefore urges Peter Obi not to retreat, not to be distracted, and not to be intimidated by threats of sensational revelations.
If there are grounds for legal action, he should proceed and allow the judicial process to run its course.
No democracy can thrive where reputations are recklessly assaulted without accountability.
We also call on Kenneth Okonkwo to immediately apologise to Peter Obi and Nigerians for creating a situation in which his current statements directly contradict the glowing endorsements he repeatedly made in the past.
His present posture leaves Nigerians with only two troubling possibilities: either he misled Nigerians then or he is misleading them now.
Neither possibility inspires confidence.
The South East Revival Group therefore advises Nigerians to be extremely cautious of political jobbers whose loyalty is not to principles but to political opportunity; individuals who market leaders as saints when they are inside the tent and denounce them as villains when they leave it.
Such individuals should not be mistaken for political thinkers, ideological advocates, or custodians of public morality.
They are merely political weathercocks, moving whichever way the wind blows.
SERG maintains that the greatest lesson from this unfortunate episode is that Nigerians must learn to judge leaders based on verifiable records and enduring values rather than the changing opinions of political actors whose positions shift with circumstances.
History will always be kinder to those who remain consistent in their convictions than to those who repeatedly reinvent themselves to suit the politics of the moment.
Signed:
Rt. Hon. Nnaemeka Aleke National Publicity Secretary South East Revival Group (SERG)
