The 2023 presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Mr Peter Obi has bemoaned the perceived inactive response rate towards tragedies in Nigeria.
With a close look at the ongoing recent killings that befell the food basket of the nation, Benue State, the former Anambra State Governor, Mr. Obi forgrounded the insensitivity of the Nigerian government towards the tragedy in Benue.
Taking to his official X handle, Obi frowned at the lack of any leadership presence at the tragic scene after the killings happened.
According to him, the attitude of the Federal Government showed lack of
competence, capacity, character and compassion.
He said, the four Cs’ are important if the country is determined to make progress. Adding that the country is currently in deep trouble because a leadership with the above qualities is lacking, arguing that to achieve these qualities, Nigerians “must move away from voting based on tribe and religion.”
He wrote, “Competence because Nigeria today needs a leader who understands the issues, who has the knowledge, experience, and clear ideas to solve them. Capacity because it is not a ceremonial position; it requires strength, stamina, and the mental energy to confront our complex challenges.
“And above all, leadership must be rooted in character and integrity because without integrity, public trust collapses, corruption thrives, and selfishness takes over. But perhaps most importantly, we need compassion, because when a leader lacks compassion, human lives are treated as statistics, and suffering is ignored.
“Sadly, the evidence is right before our eyes. 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.
“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.”
Twitting further, Mr. Obi compared the response rate of Nigerian leaders to other some countries who equally faced tragedies of similar magnitude like the recent plane crash in India and South Africa were many were affected by flood.
Obi said, true leadership is felt in other countries as the Indian Prime Minister has promptly visited the scene of the crash and by extension, visited the lone survivor from the plane crash at the hospital.
His words; , “Yet, we have seen what true leadership looks like elsewhere:
“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.
“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.
“That is why I insist: 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.”
Similarly, the LP’s acting chairman,
Senator Usman decried the killing of “over 100 Nigerians”, among whom were Internally Displaced Persons (IDPS), women, children, and security officers, she said the bloodletting was most unbearable.
In her tweet about the deceased, she said, “ they were not just numbers. They were human beings, innocent lives cut short; children who deserved protection, not slaughter; mothers who should be nurturing their families, not buried in mass graves; fathers whose lives were stolen while defending their homes.”
She, however, sought urgent humanitarian services for the affected communities in Benue state, including food, shelter, medical care, and trauma support for victims.
Oluwaseun Adejumo reporting for The Pendulum Media
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