The Labour Party’s presidential candidate in the 2023 general election, Peter Obi, has responded to criticisms from Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu and others who accused him of undermining Nigeria. Obi maintains that he is simply stating the truth about the country’s current situation.
During a recent event at Johns Hopkins University in the United States, Obi discussed Nigeria’s economic decline over the past 25 years, which has led to a significant rise in poverty levels.
The former governor of Anambra State highlighted the alarming fact that Nigeria has a higher number of impoverished individuals than the combined total of China, Indonesia, and Vietnam.
Obi stressed that a nation’s destiny is closely linked to the quality of its leadership, expressing concern over the long-standing issue of ineffective leadership in Nigeria.
In response to Obi’s remarks, Governor Sanwo-Olu condemned them as disparaging and unflattering. He expressed discomfort with Obi’s comments, asserting that they fail to portray Nigeria positively on the international stage.
“He made unflattering remarks not just about the incumbent Nigerian government but also about Nigeria. I also find Mr Obi’s pattern of behaviour disturbing. When prominent Nigerians go overseas, they ought to project Nigeria positively.
“They do not have to do that for the government. But we all owe a duty to market Nigeria on the global stage rather than demarket her. That is what true patriotism is about,” Sanwo-Olu had said in a statement.
But speaking on Wednesday while making a speech at Pa Edwin Clark’s memorial lecture in Abuja, Obi insisted that he did not in any way demarket Nigeria but only stated facts.
He wondered if the World Bank and UNICEF who recently released some negative facts about poverty in Nigeria were also doing it to demarket Nigeria.
Obi said, “I spoke a few days ago and people said I am demarketing Nigeria, when is truth being demarketing? The World Bank has just shown that 75% of Nigerians in rural areas are poor, is the World Bank marketing Nigeria?
“UNICEF two days ago said that Nigeria has over two million malnourished children, the second highest in the world, are they demarketing Nigeria? Let’s face the reality.”
‘Labour of our heroes in vain’
Obi also questioned the silence of those who protested against former President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration, noting that the country now appears to be in a far worse situation.
He wondered whether they are now dead, saying they protested against Jonathan, when he increased fuel from N87 to N120 and a dollar exchanged at N900, but are now quiet when the conditions are far worse.
“I listened to my brother Mike when you talked about, ‘may the Labour of our heroes past not be in vain.
“I’m happy that Jonathan is here. But I can tell you their sacrifice is in vain.
They have sacrificed for nothing. We where in this country, when people were protesting, when there was no need to protest under Goodluck Jonathan. where are those protesters? Have they died? Where are they?
“So why are we saying it (labours of heroes past) should not be in vain? Jonathan increased fuel from N87 to N120 and people were protesting in this country. And when it was N900 they weren’t protesting.
“Again, so why are we saying it (labours of heroes past) should not be in vain? People protested when $1 was N180, and when it was N1500 they weren’t protesting. Are they dead?”