I took a stroll to PDP dominated platforms. My determination was to understudy the philosophy behind the increasing anger and frustration that have snowballed into utter desperation to unseat President Muhammadu Buhari. The more my inquiry, the more I saw the innocence and sincerity of Buhari. I am a victim of intimidation and attempted murder by a powerful cabal in a PDP state. Innocent though I am, it cost me my job and I have lost everything because I support and love Buhari.

Two geo-political zones were the initial focus of my research. People from these PDP geo-political zones are visible in social media especially in twitter. They use religion and the media for sponsored propaganda against Buhari as a strategy to dislodge him from power come 2019.  Buhari does not pay the media, he has stopped the culture of Aso Rock envelopes and private jets. Desperadoes especially in PDP must hunt him down by negative propaganda aimed at presenting him as the sole cause of all the problems that bedevil Nigeria since independence.

The class of those that  hate Buhari includes business men especially those that have links with the marine industry.

In truth, these people were really rich in the days of PDP. They had so much money to play around. They could fund their children in foreign schools, take their girlfriends to holidays in foreign countries, pay for hotel rooms for their girlfriends for as long as whole year, they could build mansions in a matter of months, they could club every night, they had enough to buy luxurious  cars and acquire choice properties abroad. They could just sit at the comfort of their prodigious lifestyle and continually get alerts that can sustain any form of extravagances they choose for the day.

These are the people whose businesses are folding today. They were those that the community leaders recognized and gathered to give chieftaincy titles as successful business men and women. These men acquired ships and exploited the sea to make huge money mostly through illegal means.

Some of them were import and export clearing agents that were working hand in hand with the Customs. Those whose relations were custom officers or clearing agents during the PDP days know exactly what I am saying. Your guess here could be as good as mine as their cookies crumbled with the new policies of Mr Integrity.

The line of business of most haters of Buhari ranges from oil bunkering, import and export, money laundering, oil marketing, arms dealing, sea pirating, clearing and forwarding and customized brokers offering myriad of cargo transportation and value-added logistics services ranging from customs clearance to assistance with regulatory compliance issues.

Haters of Buhari are also amongst ex service chiefs, past military heads of state and the elites that made stupendous money from ownership of oil blocks. Politics was built around these people; they made politics more desperate with the  conscription of armed criminals that increasingly became agents of thuggery, ballot box snatchers, political assassins, etc.

Some of these men that were armed by politicians became too powerful and stronger than their initial bosses. They also form arch enemies of Buhari. You can understand why the leader of IPOB and one Niger Delta Militant were the first to declare that Buhari is a clone of Jibrin Al Sudan. Besides negative propaganda, there are some gang members whose mission is to discredit Buhari through insecurity.

The boys that were armed by politicians became independent from their political masters and  sought alternative source of funds. They formed themselves into gangs of armed robbers, kidnappers, militants, human trafficking, assassins, oil bunkers, etc.

After making much monies, these men of the underworld  displayed their wealth by acquiring properties in choice places and spending on women. No wonder prostitution was a huge source of livelihood in the days of PDP.

With the emergence of Buhari and the appointment of Hadiza Bala Usman as managing director of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) and Col. Hameed Ibrahim Ali (Rtd) as Comptroller-General of Customs, the stranglehold of Atiku Abubakar, the PDP’s presidential candidate on Nigeria’s economy was broken. While the managing director of the Nigerian Ports Authority (NPA) terminated Nigerian contract with INTEL – the company where he holds interest, the Comptroller-General of Customs tightened the borders and increased checks and balance on imports in collaboration with IRS unit.

At this point, Atiku could no longer stomach being in APC, but had to jump out. OBJ’s book “My Watch” would haunt Atiku for the rest of his life. OBJ  got an opportunity to deal a hard blow on Atiku in retaliation for denying him the opportunity for a successful third term bid as president. The ire in OBJ and the force to retaliate made him swear that God will not forgive him if he ever supports Atiku for any cause.

However, just like the frustration of Atiku’s businesses made Atiku to fall out with Buhari, Buhari’s decision not to renew oil licenses became a threat to OBJ. Buhari then became the enemy to both of them. The enemy of my enemy is my friend. Buhari is the enemy of Atiku, therefore Atiku must become a new found friend of OBJ so that they can fight and see an end to their common enemy in person of Baba Buhari.

• Odok, PhD, is Director Media and Strategic Communication, Coalition for Buhari/Osinbajo Movement.