By Susan Francis
The Labour Party (LP) candidate in the 2023 presidential election in Nigeria, Peter Obi, has urged President Bola Ahmed Tinubu to visit states across the country to witness first-hand the hardships Nigerians are enduring.
The former governor of Anambra State made the call during his recent world press conference, where he emphasised the need for the president to take more decisive action to address the nation's challenges.
According to Obi, of the approximately 580 days of Tinubu's tenure so far, reports indicate that he has spent about 30%, roughly 180 days, on overseas trips.
He appealed to the president to allocate 20% of 2025, equivalent to 72 days, to visit each of Nigeria's 36 states for two days each.
He added that “such visits will give you the opportunity to better understand the dire economic and security situations across our country. It is time you visit our national hospitals and health facilities."
He also advised the president to conduct his medical check-ups in national hospitals and regional medical centres.
Obi criticised the current administration, stating that the political, economic, and security conditions in Nigeria have worsened despite government claims of improvement.
His words: "Nigeria remains one of the poverty capitals of the world, with over 100 million people living in extreme poverty and more than 150 million in multidimensional poverty. The situation has deteriorated significantly in the past 18 months under the current administration.
"As a nation, we have fallen from having the highest GDP in Africa in 2014 at $574 billion and a GDP per capita of about $3,500 to now ranking fourth, with a GDP of less than 50% of what we achieved a decade ago, about $200 billion, and a GDP per capita of less than $1,000."
Obi further highlighted Nigeria's worsening security situation. "Our nation remains one of the most insecure and least peaceful in the world today, with countless families and communities displaced from their homes and now living in IDP camps," he stated.
Citing the Global Peace Index, Obi noted that Nigeria ranks 143rd out of 163 countries in terms of peacefulness.
On food insecurity, Obi said, "In the 2024 Global Hunger Index, Nigeria is ranked 110 out of 127 countries, reflecting a critical level of hunger and food insecurity."
He also called on the president to address the high rate of corruption, mismanagement of public resources, and rising national debt.
To tackle these issues, Obi suggested a visible and verifiable reduction in the cost of governance to allocate more resources to critical areas such as security, health, education, and poverty alleviation.
His recommendations also include aggressive efforts to combat corruption and thorough monitoring of project execution to ensure the effective utilisation of limited resources.
Obi urged President Tinubu to visit national hospitals, tertiary institutions, IDP camps, military formations, and security agencies to gain valuable insights into the country's critical sectors.
"Finally, Nigerians need to hear from you directly, not through your proxies. There should be quarterly updates on what you are doing to improve these crucial situations," Obi said.
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