Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has slammed President Bola Tinubu for what he described as a lack of “leadership empathy” following the recent mass killings in Benue State and devastating floods in Niger State.
In a post shared on his X handle Monday, Obi expressed dismay that despite the loss of many lives, the president has yet to visit either state. According to the former Anambra State governor, this failure reflects a leadership deficit in competence, capacity, character, and compassion.
“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 wrote.
He also lamented the recent killings in Benue, where, according to reports, over 200 civilians—including women, children, and even soldiers—lost their lives.
“Just days ago, over 200 Nigerians, innocent men, women, children, and even soldiers, were massacred in Benue State. Again, no presidential visit. No physical presence at the scenes of pain. No genuine national mourning. No leadership face to comfort the grieving or give hope to the people,” he added.
Obi hails India, South Africa leaders
Drawing comparisons with international examples, Obi praised the swift responses of leaders in India and South Africa during recent tragedies.
“In India, after a plane crash killed nearly 200 people, the Prime Minister was physically at the scene within hours. In South Africa, when floods claimed 78 lives, the president went personally to the affected communities, stood with them, and took responsibility,” Obi stated.
“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 without a human face.”
Obi stressed that Nigeria’s leadership crisis stems from a flawed electoral culture where voting is based on ethnic and religious sentiments rather than merit.
“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.”
He continued: “It’s in this line that I have always maintained that we must move away from voting based on tribe and religion, and begin to vote for people with competence, capacity, character, and compassion, because we have all seen, painfully, what leadership without these qualities has done to our country.”
Expanding on these qualities, Obi explained: “Competence because Nigeria today needs a leader who understands the issues, who has the knowledge, experience, and clear ideas to solve them. Capacity because it is not a ceremonial position; it requires strength, stamina, and the mental energy to confront our complex challenges.
“And above all, leadership must be rooted in character and integrity because without integrity, public trust collapses, corruption thrives, and selfishness takes over. But perhaps most importantly, we need compassion, because when a leader lacks compassion, human lives are treated as statistics, and suffering is ignored,” he added.
