Peter Obi Slams Tinubu’s Habitual Lack of Compassion Over Benue, Niger Tragedies

Presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, has criticised President Bola Tinubu’s leadership, warning that Nigeria is trapped in a cycle of pain due to a lack of competent, compassionate, and accountable governance.

In a post on X, Obi pointed out that leadership cannot be hidden; it either succeeds or fails. He emphasised that four core qualities must define national leadership: Competence, Capacity, Character, and Compassion. According to him, these attributes are glaringly absent in the current administration under President Tinubu.

“Leadership of a nation is such that it’s either succeeding or failing; none can be hidden. There are critical areas of leadership that must exist for a nation to move forward, and these are summed up in four Cs: Competence, Capacity, Character and Compassion. Where these four are non-existent, there is no magic you can do.”

Obi condemned what he described as the government’s habitual indifference to national tragedies, citing recent events that received little to no presidential response. He referenced the deadly flooding in Niger State, which reportedly claimed nearly 200 lives, and the massacre of over 200 civilians and security personnel in Benue State. In both instances, Obi pointed out, there was no presidential visit or public show of empathy from President Tinubu.

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, Obi said.

Drawing a sharp contrast with global examples, Obi noted that leaders in other countries have demonstrated what compassionate leadership looks like. He cited Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who arrived at the site of a plane crash within hours, and South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, who visited flood-ravaged communities and publicly 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 a human face.”

Obi urged Nigerians to reject identity-based politics and vote based on principles and proven ability to lead. “We must move away from voting based on tribe and religion and begin to vote for people with competence, capacity, character, and compassion,” he insisted.

Although he did not mention President Tinubu by name, the timing and tone of Obi’s statement leave little doubt that his message was directed at the current administration.

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