Peter Obi, former Labour Party presidential candidate, has responded pointedly to Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, who accused him of portraying Nigeria negatively in international forums.
Governor Sanwo-Olu had taken aim at Obi’s recent remarks at Johns Hopkins University in the United States, where the ex-Anambra State governor spoke about Nigeria’s worsening poverty levels, rising insecurity, and governance failures. Sanwo-Olu labeled these remarks as harmful to Nigeria’s global image and further questioned Obi’s credibility, citing economic indicators from Obi’s time in office.
But after only two years in office, the poverty rate in Anambra jumped to 53.7%. His successor later brought it down. So I’m not sure Mr. Obi is morally well-placed to make the alarming claims he made,” Sanwo-Olu had said.
In response, Obi addressed the matter during a memorial service for elder statesman Edwin Clark, where he delivered a firm rebuttal grounded in data. Without mentioning Sanwo-Olu by name, Obi said:
“People say I am demarketing Nigeria. When is truth being demarketed? The World Bank has just shown that 75% of Nigerians in rural areas are poor. Is the World Bank demarketing Nigeria?”
He added that UNICEF had recently reported that Nigeria now ranks second globally in child malnutrition, with more than 2 million children affected. “Are they demarketing Nigeria?” he asked rhetorically.
Obi went further, lamenting the erosion of democratic values and effective governance in Nigeria. He expressed concern that the efforts of Nigeria’s founding fathers are being squandered.
“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 General Gowon is here, Jonathan is here. But I can tell you their sacrifice is in vain,” Obi stated.
He then pointed to inconsistencies in civil protest movements, contrasting reactions under different administrations.
“We were in this country when people were protesting under Jonathan, when there was no need to protest. Jonathan increased fuel from N87 to N120, but when it was N900, they were not protesting. Where are those protesters today? Have they died?” he asked.
Closing his remarks, Obi hinted at irregularities in the recent Edo State elections, saying, “Everybody knows who won that election,” without providing specific names.
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