Peter Obi, the 2023 presidential candidate of the Labour Party, yesterday, used the occasion of Democracy Day to deliver a critique of the Tinubu administration, declaring that Nigeria can no longer be classified as a democratic country. In a post on X, Obi wrote, “Democracy is said to be ‘a government of the people, by the people, and for the people,’ yet none of these three measures exist in our democracy today.”
He accused the current government of overseeing “a broad erosion of democratic principles” within just two years, citing rigged elections, rising poverty, corruption, and a collapsing economy. “We have traversed from rigged elections to collapsing social services; from soaring poverty to rising corruption; and from a seemingly stable economy to a parlous economy,” he said.
Obi laid out a series of hard-hitting statistics to support his claims, including a drop in GDP from $364 billion to $188 billion and a decline in GDP per capita from $1,640 to $835. He said poverty has worsened dramatically, with 129 million Nigerians now living below the poverty line and Nigeria recording the world’s highest number of out-of-school children. “Our country today can best be described as a nation declining fast in all its facets,” he said. “The security of lives and property has worsened, and the rule of law is virtually non-existent.”
The former Anambra governor called on President Tinubu to stop “governing by remote control” and “tour the Nigerian states instead” of spending time abroad. “Mr. President you have already made over 30 international trips, spending nearly 150 days abroad,” Obi said. “Governing by remote control is not what Nigerians need.”
Obi also urged the president to end insecurity, resettle internally displaced persons, restore electoral integrity, and “aggressively tackle the economic problems” by supporting agriculture and manufacturing. He ended with a message to the Nigerian people: “This is time to stop the propaganda and lies and let us make Nigeria the democratic nation that it is supposed to be”
