Chief Sunday Adeyemo aka Sunday Igboho has been given the warlord persona by the media. His historical antecedents as a warrior that fought in the Ife-Modakeke war in 1999 have helped in backing up his ratings in the media. He was also alleged to possess spiritual powers that enable him to easily crush his enemies and come out of tough battles unscathed.
But no matter how elusive a rat is, there are many ways to nail it. These are ways President Muhammadu Buhari could explore to silence Sunday Igboho whose rise to national prominence has been threatening his administration.
The tested and trusted measures are listed below:
(1) House Arrest:
Just like the way the leader of Uganda, President Yoweri Museveni incapacitated opposition leader, Bobi Wine by placing him on house arrest in the heat of the presidential election, Buhari might deploy hundreds of soldiers to surround his house and make sure he never leaves over a period of time. With this move, Igboho is easily cornered and silenced.
(2) Outright Arrest By The Police:
Buhari might ignore the war rhetorics of Sunday Igboho and go ahead with his arrest as already rumoured. He has been accused of attacking a Fulani settlement and this is a criminal offence. This is a gamble that might attract consequences but if he is treated well in police custody and charged to court, the public outrage might be mild. This judicial process will break Igboho and slow him down as it did to Nnamdi Kanu in 2017/2018.
(3) Media Attacks:
Waging a media war against Igboho could also work effectively. Igboho enjoys so much goodwill in the media. Contents about him are massively consumed and his supporters are increasing by the day. But Igboho is not that perfect. He isn’t a saint. He has been alleged to be a land grabber and a political thug who benefitted from the political turmoil in Oyo State and the South-western politics at large. If Buhari mandates some certain journalists to dig up dirt on him and publicize, he will immediately lose popularity and become irrelevant like most activists in Nigeria.
(4) Stirring Up Internal Crisis:
Sunday Igboho is enjoying political backings of some Yoruba leaders and other prominent people in the South-western region. This open and clandestine support has turned him into a sacred cow that can’t be touched. If Buhari sows division amongst the Yoruba leaders, Igboho will be exposed. Already, Gani Adams appears to be jealous of Igboho’s popularity and Femi Ojudu indirectly attacked him too.
(5) Sponsoring His Local Enemies
Just like the way the Federal Government allegedly used hoodlums and political thugs to discreetly thwart the peaceful EndSARS protests last year, Buhari might take the same route against Igboho. The government could empower his local arch-rival, Alhaji Mukaila Lamidi, popularly called Auxiliary against him. These bad guys know each other and could silently cripple Igboho from within without public suspicions.
(6) Using Money
Sunday Igboho is stinkingly rich. He made his vast wealth from politics by supporting popular political actors. Like Femi Ojudu said in his controversial article, Igboho has his price. We all have our own prices. If Buhari splashes cash on the table of Igboho and offers him a lucrative contract or oil block, he might purposely lose his voice and go live with the Fulanis.
