Nigeria, Sept. 29 -- There is a point at which political criticism ceases to be criticism and becomes an attempt to destroy a man's reputation by any means available. In Nigeria's increasingly combative political environment, this distinction matters, particularly when the target is a public figure whose name has acquired considerable resonance among millions of citizens. Given the foregoing view, it is not an exaggeration to opine that Peter Obi has become one such figure.

To his admirers, Obi's political prominence is not merely the product of political machinery, money or conventional patronage. They see it as a combination of personal conviction, political persistence, public identification with his message and, ultimately, divine f...