By Valentine Obienyem—
Do you know the bird, the egret? It is that human-friendly creature, generous to a fault, that shares its pristine whiteness with us when we were infants, leaving its white colour on our fingers when beckoned. It moves with slow, contemplative grace, as if perpetually meditating upon the eternal rhythms of nature. In one of his timeless songs, Oliver de Coque used the egret as a metaphor for those whom adversaries attempt to smear with coloration, only for them to emerge even more luminous.
That image of the egret came to mind when I saw the attached viral video of Mr Peter Obi. It also reminded me of something I wrote in 2022, while preparing my usual birthday piece on Mr Peter Obi. A childhood friend of his had shared tales of their youthful escapades, recounting how they attended parties and how nobody danced quite like Mr. Peter Obi. I concluded then that such youthful indulgences were entirely normal. What I quarrel with, even now, are perpetual youths who, rather than mature, remain becalmed at a single stage of life.
Perhaps that is why I found the video particularly amusing. Speaking of Mr Obi’s dancing skills, I was not surprised when I saw it, even though it is AI-generated. Beyond the humour, however, I deeply admire the craftsmanship behind it. The composer is a genuine genius. He captures Obi as he truly is: a man who, through sheer discipline, has cultivated the known virtues and earned the enduring affection of the people.
And therein lies the connection with the egret. The more some of his detractors, led by Professor Charles Cain Soludo, attempt to colour the character of Mr. Peter Abel Obi, the more brightly he seems to shine. The very effort to stain the white plumage only makes the whiteness more conspicuous. The egret does not need to fight the colour thrown at it; it simply remains what it is.
Mr Obi remains a central river in the country’s present political equation; other currents are mere tributaries. Perhaps this explains why some of his critics, in attempting to diminish him, end up drawing greater attention to the very qualities they seek to obscure. Like the egret in Oliver de Coque’s metaphor, the more they try to colour him, the more luminous.
