The Labour Party's presidential candidate in 2023, Peter Obi, has compared Nigeria’s current state to the Titanic.
In a television interview on Wednesday night, the former governor of Anambra State sarcastically said President Bola Tinubu has been excellent in continuing Muhammadu Buhari’s legacy of failure.
He criticized the president for being detached from the sufferings of Nigerians.
“The first thing you do as a leader who inherited a difficult situation is to lead by example,” Obi said, as Nigeria celebrated Democracy Day on 12 June.
“And it starts with your own style, your behavior, your conduct, and how you manage resources.
“You cannot say that things are difficult when you’re living in conspicuous consumption.”
Obi said Tinubu’s government has been spending recklessly in the one year he’s been in office.
“Nigeria today is the country with the highest amount of people without homes – over 24 million, yet you’re spending twenty-something billion to build a house for one person,” the opposition politician said, about the government’s N21 billion spent on the vice president’s home.
“The Titanic's collapse exemplifies Nigeria's current situation. While it was going down, people on the upper deck were busy dancing until the whole thing collapsed emphasizing the need for moral change and corruption control.”
Critiquing Tinubu's tenure, Obi included a critical analysis of economic data, pointing out that the economy has collapsed and prices of products and services skyrocketed since the president took office.
According to him, the value of various goods and services has increased drastically, as has the country's debt, from N87 trillion to over N100 trillion.
Peter Obi suggested elected officials should live like they’re experiencing hardship and addressing corruption as the first step towards change.
He also suggested reducing governance expenses and addressing widespread corruption to create a more sustainable and equitable society.
