Senate President Godswill Akpabio has issued a caution to Peter Obi, the 2023 presidential candidate, urging him to refrain from making divisive comments that could sow confusion across the country.
Obi, speaking at a memorial lecture in honour of Pa Edwin Clark, had lamented the country’s state of affairs, declaring, “We are not a democratic country. Let’s tell ourselves the truth. The labour of our heroes past is in vain.”
However, during a valedictory session in the Senate on Thursday, Akpabio refuted Obi’s claims, instead crediting elder statesmen like Clark for helping maintain Nigeria’s unity through difficult times.
“I beg to differ. Let Peter Obi demonstrate leadership by first resolving the crisis within the Labour Party,” Akpabio said. “If he cannot resolve that, how can he handle issues like Boko Haram?”
He also criticised social media commentators, accusing some of spreading misinformation without a proper understanding of Nigeria’s historical context.
According to Akpabio, some presidential aspirants are “causing confusion with their mouths.” He advised them to “sort out the small party they have before talking about the bigger Nigeria. That is the kind of advice Pa Edwin Clark would have given.”
Obi Responds to Sanwo-Olu and Other Critics
Meanwhile, Peter Obi has responded to criticism from Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu and others who accused him of demarketing Nigeria. Obi insisted that he is simply stating uncomfortable truths about the country’s challenges.
Speaking recently at Johns Hopkins University in the United States, Obi described how Nigeria’s economy had sharply declined over the past 25 years, resulting in a significant rise in poverty levels.
He noted that Nigeria now has more poor people than China, Indonesia, and Vietnam combined, attributing the decline to long-standing failures in leadership.
In response, Governor Sanwo-Olu condemned Obi’s remarks as “unflattering” and “disparaging”, suggesting they fail to present Nigeria positively on the global stage.
“Prominent Nigerians travelling abroad have a responsibility to project Nigeria positively,” Sanwo-Olu said. “They don’t have to defend the government, but they must not demarket the nation. That is what true patriotism entails.”
Obi, however, stood by his comments, speaking again at the memorial lecture in Abuja. He argued that stating facts should not be considered as demarketing.
“When is truth demarketing?” he asked. “The World Bank recently reported that 75% of rural Nigerians live in poverty. Is the World Bank demarketing Nigeria?
“UNICEF said just two days ago that Nigeria has over two million malnourished children, the second highest figure globally. Are they demarketing Nigeria? We must face the reality.”