Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has criticised President Bola Tinubu for failing to visit Niger and Benue states after recent tragedies that claimed hundreds of lives.
Obi, in a statement titled “What cannot be hidden in Leadership” posted on Monday, June 16, via his official X handle, accused the president of lacking empathy and responsibility in the face of national grief.
“Recently, we witnessed severe flooding in Niger State that claimed nearly 200 lives, with many still missing. Yet, not even a single presidential visit, this, in a nation where the scene of the tragedy is less than an hour away by helicopter,” he said.
He also pointed to the massacre in Benue, where over 200 Nigerians, including soldiers, were reportedly killed by armed groups.
“Just days ago, over 200 Nigerians, innocent men, women, children, and even soldiers were massacred in Benue State.
“Again, no presidential visit. No physical presence at the scenes of pain. No genuine national mourning. No leadership face to comfort the grieving or give hope to the people,” Obi added.
He contrasted Tinubu’s approach to leadership with that of world leaders who show up during crises.
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“In India, after a plane crash killed nearly 200 people, the Prime Minister was physically at the scene within hours. In South Africa, when floods claimed 78 lives, the president went personally to the affected communities, stood with them, and took responsibility,” he said.
Obi described the Tinubu administration’s absence at such moments as a clear sign of a leadership without compassion.
“That is leadership with compassion. That is leadership that understands the value of human life. But here in Nigeria, we have normalised leadership without empathy, without accountability, and without a human face.”
He said true leadership demands four key values, competence, capacity, character, and compassion, all of which he claimed are missing in the current government.
“There are critical areas of leadership that must exist for a nation to move forward, and these are summed up in four Cs: Competence, Capacity, Character and Compassion. Where these four are non-existent, there is no magic you can do,” Obi said.
“Nigeria does not just need another president; Nigeria needs a leader, a leader with competence, capacity, character, and compassion. Until we choose leaders on these principles, the cycle of pain will only continue,” Obi concluded.