Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate, Mr. Peter Gregory Obi, has said Nigerians should stop attacking former U.S. President Donald Trump over his recent comments about Nigeria and instead confront the harsh realities that justify such criticism.
Speaking at a national media event attended by senior editors and journalists, Obi said Nigeria’s outrage over Trump’s remarks was misplaced, arguing that the country’s worsening poverty, insecurity, and corruption make it difficult to defend its image before the world.
“People asked me, ‘Are we really a disgraced country?’ I said, what is wrong with that? Why are we angry instead of asking ourselves if there’s something behind the disgrace we should fix?” Obi asked.
He said the real issue is not Trump’s choice of words but Nigeria’s failure to face the truth about its condition.
“In the past two weeks, the President of America made a statement where killings and even genocide were mentioned. Instead of asking if the killings are real, we are debating whether it’s genocide or not,” he noted.
The former Anambra State governor described Nigeria as “a nation in denial,” adding that the country’s shameful statistics speak louder than any foreign insult.
“You are a country with the highest number of poor people in one place — 133 million Nigerians. You have more poor people than India and China combined. Twenty million of your children are out of school. You’ve overtaken India seven times in infant mortality, and yet you’re angry that someone called you disgraced?” he queried.
Obi added that even war-torn Ukraine fares better than Nigeria in addressing hunger and humanitarian crises.
“Ukraine, in the middle of war, is feeding its people better than we are. That’s what should worry us, not Trump’s words,” he said.
Obi faulted those who accuse him of “demarketing Nigeria,” saying that telling the truth is the highest form of patriotism.
“It’s not demarketing to tell the truth. The real disgrace is when a government fails its people and citizens defend failure in the name of patriotism,” he said.
He also challenged the media to take responsibility for driving reform by confronting political leaders with truth and evidence.
“You, the press, are the conscience of the nation. You shape opinions. If you start telling the truth, politicians will have no choice but to think differently,” Obi told the gathering.
On government policy, Obi said the removal of fuel subsidy and currency unification were good decisions in principle but had failed because of corruption and reckless spending by public officials.
“You can’t ask people to fast while leaders are feasting. Until we stop the executive rascality and corruption, no policy will work,” he declared.
The Labour Party candidate ended his address by urging Nigerians to embrace honest national reflection.
“As philosophers say, an unexamined life is not worth living. So, an unexamined nation is not worth defending. Let’s fix what’s wrong before we complain that the world disrespects us,” he said.
