Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State has sharply criticized former Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi over comments made during a recent lecture at Johns Hopkins University, accusing him of portraying Nigeria negatively on the global stage.
Obi, speaking to students at the prestigious American institution, highlighted Nigeria’s economic decline over the past 25 years. He compared the country’s poverty rates with those of China, Indonesia, and Vietnam, noting that while Nigeria had fewer poor people in 1990, it now has more citizens living in poverty than all three countries combined.
“In the area of poverty, Nigeria, with about 50 million poor people in 1990, had the least among the four countries,” Obi said. “Today, Nigeria has more poor people than China, Indonesia, and Vietnam combined.”
In a statement titled “Factually Addressing Mr. Peter Obi’s Criticism of Nigeria at Johns Hopkins University,” Governor Sanwo-Olu expressed disappointment, accusing Obi of “demarketing” Nigeria internationally.
“I find Mr. Obi’s pattern of behaviour disturbing,” Sanwo-Olu said. “Prominent Nigerians overseas have a duty to project Nigeria positively, regardless of political differences. True patriotism demands that we market, not demarket, our country on the global stage.”
Sanwo-Olu also challenged Obi’s moral standing to discuss poverty, pointing to Obi’s track record as a two-term Governor of Anambra State.
“It is ironic that Mr. Obi, who did not build a single school or stand-alone hospital during his eight years as governor, would criticise the federal government,” he said. “President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, both as governor of Lagos and now as President, has built over 200 schools and provided student loans to more than 200,000 undergraduates.”
The Lagos State Governor further argued that Obi presided over an increase in poverty during his tenure in Anambra State.
“Before Peter Obi assumed office in 2007, Anambra’s poverty rate was 41.4 percent. Just two years into his administration, it rose sharply to 53.7 percent,” Sanwo-Olu stated. “Ironically, five years after Obi left office, his successor, Willie Obiano, significantly reduced the poverty rate to 14.8 percent.”
Sanwo-Olu concluded by asserting that Obi’s past governance record undermines his authority to critique Nigeria’s current economic challenges.
