Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has strongly criticised Labour Party’s presidential candidate, Peter Obi, over comments he made about Nigeria during a recent speech at Johns Hopkins University in the United States.
Speaking through a statement titled “Factually Addressing Mr. Peter Obi’s Criticism of Nigeria at Johns Hopkins University,” Sanwo-Olu said Obi had no moral right to talk about poverty or leadership challenges in Nigeria. According to Sanwo-Olu, poverty actually worsened during Obi’s time as governor of Anambra State.
Peter Obi, while addressing students and faculty at Johns Hopkins University, compared Nigeria’s poverty levels to those of countries like China and Vietnam, blaming poor leadership for the situation. He argued that other countries had succeeded because they invested heavily in education, healthcare, and lifting citizens out of poverty.
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However, in a strong reaction, Sanwo-Olu slammed Peter Obi for “demarketing” Nigeria on the international stage instead of promoting a positive image. He said prominent Nigerians should project the country positively when abroad, even if they have criticisms of the government.
“True patriotism is marketing Nigeria well globally, not tearing her down,” Sanwo-Olu said. He pointed out that Peter Obi failed to build any new schools or standalone hospitals during his eight years in office, and did not provide sustainable credit schemes for small businesses.
Highlighting the work of President Bola Tinubu, Sanwo-Olu said Tinubu built over 200 schools, provided loans to more than 200,000 students, and gave out over half a billion dollars in credit facilities to small and medium-sized businesses. He argued that Tinubu’s record shows genuine efforts to reduce poverty, unlike Obi’s.
Sanwo-Olu also said that during Obi’s time as governor, Anambra’s poverty rate actually rose from 41.4% to 53.7%, while his successor, Willie Obiano, later reduced it significantly to 14.8%.
Concluding, Sanwo-Olu slammed Peter Obi again, saying, “The facts are clear: Peter Obi contributed to increasing poverty, while leaders like Tinubu have lifted millions out of it. So, who really has the right to criticise who?”
The back-and-forth between Sanwo-Olu and Peter Obi highlights rising political tensions ahead of the next general elections.
