Peter Obi acknowledged President Tinubu’s planned Benue visit but urged him to also visit flood victims in Mokwa, Niger State, advocating for more prompt and compassionate leadership in crisis-stricken communities
Tinubu Presidential Travel plans have drawn a response from former presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi, who has acknowledged President Bola Tinubu for “finally deciding to visit the scene of the brutal killings in Benue State.”
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However, Obi, the former Anambra State governor, stated on Tuesday that the President’s intended visit to Benue State on Wednesday was not sufficient.
He urged Tinubu to also visit the victims of the devastating flood in the Mokwa area of Niger State, also located in North Central Nigeria.
President Tinubu had, on Monday, during the inauguration of the Greater Abuja Water Supply Network, sympathized with the people of Benue State over the attack on Yelwata community on Friday, which claimed scores of lives.
The President had committed to adjusting his schedule to pay a condolence visit to the people of Benue State on Wednesday.
Obi, who had previously criticized Tinubu for not visiting both Benue and Niger states where scores had died due to recent tragedies, said it was “refreshing that Tinubu has finally decided to visit the scene of the brutal killings in Benue State.”
While thanking the President for the planned Benue visit, Obi specifically requested a similar trip to Niger State.
For this I thank him even as I make further request that similar gesture should be extended to Niger state that lost more number of human lives in a natural disaster, flood recently.
Obi further emphasized the urgency required in such situations: “Given the emergency nature of these incidents, a prompt visits would have delivered the urgency needed, instead of giving future dates that makes it look like a state visit. The presence of the President in these devastated and grieving communities will be very reassuring and uplifting.”
Highlighting the scale of the tragedies, Obi noted, “Both Benue and Niger States have lost over 200 lives each due to recent tragedies. In Mokwa alone, more than 200 people were confirmed dead, and over 1,000 are still missing following the floods. These are not just statistics; they are the lives of Nigerian families torn apart and their communities destroyed.”
He also drew a comparison to recent international leadership, stating, “The distance from Abuja to these affected areas is not far. Abuja to Makurdi is about 282 km and Abuja to Mokwa is about 287 km. Combined, that’s roughly 1,134 km for a round trip to both locations, still significantly less than the 1,870 km round trip President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa recently made some days ago from Pretoria to Mthatha to personally visit flood victims in his country.”
Obi pointed out the disparity in casualties: “Less than 100 persons died in Mthatha, and more than 200 died in Mokwa, with over 1000 still missing. If the South African President could do it, we trust that you, as our own President, can do the same for your people.”
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He concluded his message by urging a visible display of leadership: “Let your visit to Mokwa send a strong message, that all Nigerian lives matter, and that no community, no matter how rural, is forgotten. Please also consider stepping up security across the country, especially in disaster-prone areas. We look forward to seeing not leadership by remote control but proactive leadership that responds not just with words, but with compassion and action.”
