Obi reminds Tinubu, Nigerians getting poorer on your watch as you avoid the bites of hardship at home and luxuriate offshore
By Jeph Ajobaju, Chief Copy Editor
Peter Obi has again reminded Bola Tinubu of the dire conditions of Nigerians while the President has taken on the portfolio of Minister of Tourism, frequently jetting off to luxuriate in any country of his choosing, ignoring worsening poverty among his people.
The Labour Party (LP) member now eyeing the coalition African Democratic Congress (ADC) contrasted Nigeria’s situation with the progress made by countries like China, India, and Vietnam in lifting millions of their citizens out of poverty through disciplined execution of policies.
Obi made the point on X in Lagos while delivering the keynote address at the maiden Lagos Business School (LBS) All MBA Students Conference.
He spoke on the theme of “Execution as a Competitive Edge” and stressed that while planning and strategising are important, they are meaningless without effective execution.
“Execution that delivers results is driven by competent and responsible leadership with capacity, compassion, and character to drive disciplined and committed implementation of sound policies and strategies,” he said.
Obi cited China, India, and Vietnam as examples of nations where disciplined execution under responsible leadership translated into tangible progress during the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) era (2000–2015) and the ongoing Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) period (2015–2030).
Through consistent execution, Obi stressed, China lifted over 430 million people out of poverty, India 270 million, and Vietnam 45 million to significantly improve their Human Development Index (HDI).
He expressed regret, however, that Nigeria and much of Sub-Saharan Africa have failed to achieve similar results despite signing on to the same global policies.
“While these countries and others are lifting people out of poverty, more people are falling into poverty in Nigeria, with over 130 million Nigerians presently classified as multidimensionally poor.”
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