Peter Obi Says Tinubu Is Tired, Lacks Capacity to Fix Nigeria’s Crises

West Africa WeeklyJuly 27, 20263 Mins read9

The presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, Peter Obi, has called on President Bola Tinubu to retire from office ahead of the 2027 general election, arguing that the President is “tired” and no longer has the capacity to address Nigeria’s worsening economic and security challenges.

Speaking during an exclusive interview on Sunday Politics on Channels Television, Obi said Tinubu’s performance as President had fallen short of expectations, despite his achievements as governor of Lagos State. The former Anambra State governor argued that the Tinubu who governed Lagos is different from the one currently leading the country. “The Bola Tinubu that was governor is not the one that is president today. He’s tired. He should be allowed to retire in peace, and then go home,” Obi said. He maintained that Nigeria was moving in the wrong direction and needed a leader with the energy, vision and commitment to confront its growing challenges. “As it is right now, Bola Tinubu is leading us nowhere. We will turn it so he can see it. That’s why maybe I’m calling for his retirement. The man should just step aside. Yes, he doesn’t have the capacity to do the job.”

Obi painted a grim picture of the country’s economic and social conditions, citing rising poverty, hunger, insecurity and what he described as poor governance. He said public discourse should focus on the hardships facing ordinary Nigerians rather than political personalities, pointing to recent reports by international organisations. “World Bank has just said that 79 percent of Nigerians are going to face poverty. In a country of 230 million people, that’s over 180 million. That should be the issue we should be discussing,” he said. He added that national conversations should centre on pressing issues such as education, healthcare and the effective use of public resources. “They should be talking about the issue of out-of-school children, talking about the issue of health, and all these monies that are missing here and there that would have been invested properly. Nobody is discussing it,” Obi said.

The former presidential candidate also highlighted food insecurity, saying millions of Nigerians were at risk of going hungry. “This election in 2027 should be about issues that affect ordinary Nigerians. The World Food Programme has just said 35 million Nigerians are going to face hunger. Nigerians are being kidnapped. Let’s talk about Nigeria,” he said. Reacting to remarks by former United States President Donald Trump, who recently commended Tinubu’s efforts in tackling insecurity, Obi acknowledged the praise but insisted that the government’s response had not matched the scale of the crisis. “Thank you to Donald Trump. Thank you to President Trump. But we need to do more, far more than what we are doing. I’ve heard people, and Donald Trump is now confirming it, say he has done his best. But with the crisis we are facing, his best is not enough. We need to do more.”

Obi cited recent mass abductions in Zamfara State as evidence that insecurity remained a major national emergency requiring urgent intervention. “On Wednesday, 40 people were abducted in Zamfara, and the entire community, everybody is packing to run away. On Thursday, 50 were abducted. So we’re in a crisis situation that requires another capacity,” he said. He maintained that insecurity could not be effectively addressed without tackling its root causes, particularly poverty and inadequate investment in education. “You can’t create mass poverty and think you can deal with insecurity. The more you put people out of poverty, the more you reduce criminality. You need to invest in education, massive,” Obi said. He said that if elected president, he would personally take responsibility for protecting Nigerians. “Whatever it takes to secure any Nigerian, I will do that. If your people are dying, you should be ready to die. You’re the president. You’re the number one person,” Obi said.

Obi’s call for Tinubu’s retirement adds to mounting political pressure on the President as the country grapples with record inflation, rising insecurity and growing public discontent ahead of the 2027 elections.