Obi
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Peter Obi, the 2023 Presidential candidate of the Labour Party, has thrown barbs President Bola Tinubu for his Wednesday’s carnival-like visit to Benue State.
The president had visited the North-central state to commiserate the people over the killings of 200 villagers by terrorists at Yelwata on June 13 and 14.
Sadly, the visit lacked any semblance to the mourning such a sombre occasion demanded.
The President held a town hall meeting with leaders and elders in the state and also visited hospitals to see victims of the attack during the visit.
That notwithstanding, the state government had a day prior to the visit mandated interest groups to dress in colourful attire to welcome the president while also declaring a public holiday, with rain-drenched children lining up on the road to welcome the president.
A cross section of Nigerians across the country condemned the colourful displays, which they described as insensitive to the deceased and bereaved families.
Peter Obi, the former Anambra State governor, joined other Nigerians in condemning turning an occasion of grief and sorrow into a political campaign.
Obi mocked Tinubu for going to the Benue State, dressed in a flamboyant agbada and turned the visit into a joyous one said instead of mourning the victims.
“What has happened to our compassion as a People ? We pleaded that the President should show leadership and visit Benue and Niger States in the spirit of deep national mourning, to offer compassion and solidarity to families torn apart by the senseless massacre of over 200 innocent Nigerians in Benue State and flooding that killed a similar number in Niger State,” Obi wrote on X.
“But what we saw in Benue visit was instead of a solemn, reflective visit, a display that would have been more befitting for the commissioning of reconstructed Enugu-Makurdi highway, a critical road connecting South and Northern Nigeria which had become impassable for years.
“The President arrived not in mourning cloth but in celebratory agbada attire, like it was an occasion for joy.
“Even more heartbreaking is the role of the State. Rather than being in mourning mood and weeping declared a public holiday, not for reflection or prayer, but to organize fanfare. Schools were shut down. Children who should be mourning their slaughtered classmates, and parents were instead lined up under the rain, rehearsed to sing and dance for the President. In what kind of country does this happen?”
Not done, Obi added: “We have tragically arrived at a point where condolence visits have become carnivals. A time that should be marked by silence and solemnity is now polluted by banners, music, and rehearsed spectacles. Precious Nigerian lives have been lost, yet we’re clapping, singing, and organizing processions, as though this were a campaign rally.
“This is not how any compassionate nation behaves. The energy, resources, and logistics poured into this charade could have gone into food supplies, temporary shelters, medical aid, school support, and trauma counselling for grieving families. Instead, we chose optics over empathy.
“Look elsewhere: When President Ramaphosa visited Mthatha after the floods in South Africa, there were no drums. No staged crowds. No rented cheers. Just presence, silence, and action. When Prime Minister Modi went to the site of a crash, no one lined up to welcome him. He came, he mourned, he acted. That is what leadership looks like in moments of pain.”
Obi declared that Nigerians have had enough of impunity and bloodshed.
“We must ask ourselves: What kind of people have we become? Enough of this culture of impunity. We are not at war yet our nation is bleeding, and we are clapping. It is not only insensitive, it is dangerous,” he said.
“Let us not forget: These were human beings, children, mothers, fathers whose blood cries out for justice. When very sad incidents like this turn to campaigns or festivals, our Nation Losing Its Soul.”
