Former presidential candidate Peter Obi has commended President Bola Tinubu for planning to visit Benue State following the recent brutal killings.
Obi however, urged the president to also visit Niger State, which was devastated by flooding that claimed over 200 lives and left over 1,000 people missing.
President Tinubu announced plans to visit Benue State on Wednesday to pay condolences to the victims of the attack.
Obi, who had criticised Tinubu earlier for failing to visit the state as well as Niger where scores died due to flooding recently, said it was refreshing that Tinubu “has finally decided to visit the scene of the brutal killings in Benue State.”
He thanked the president for the planned visit but requested that he also visit Niger State to show compassion to the flood victims.
“For this I thank him even as I make further request that similar gesture should be extended to Niger state that lost more number of human lives in a natural disaster, flood recently,” Obi wrote on his X handle on Tuesday.
“Given the emergency nature of these incidents, a prompt visits would have delivered the urgency needed, instead of giving future dates that makes it look like a state visit.
“The presence of the President in these devastated and grieving communities will be very reassuring and uplifting.
“Both Benue and Niger States have lost over 200 lives each due to recent tragedies.
”In Mokwa alone, more than 200 people were confirmed dead, and over 1,000 are still missing following the floods.
”These are not just statistics; they are the lives of Nigerian families torn apart and their communities destroyed.
“The distance from Abuja to these affected areas is not far. Abuja to Makurdi is about 282 km and Abuja to Mokwa is about 287 km.
“Combined, that’s roughly 1,134 km for a round trip to both locations, still significantly less than the 1,870 km round trip President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa recently made some days ago from Pretoria to Mthatha to personally visit flood victims in his country.
“Less than 100 persons died in Mthatha, and more than 200 died in Mokwa, with over 1000 still missing.
Obi cited the example of South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, who visited flood victims in his country, and urged Tinubu to do the same for Nigerians affected by disasters.
He emphasised the need for prompt action in times of crisis, rather than delayed visits that may appear like state visits.
Obi stressed that the president’s presence in devastated communities would be reassuring and uplifting for the victims.
“Let your visit to Mokwa send a strong message, that all Nigerian lives matter, and that no community, no matter how rural, is forgotten. Please also consider stepping up security across the country, especially in disaster-prone areas.
“We look forward to seeing not leadership by remote control but proactive leadership that responds not just with words, but with compassion and action, ” he added.
He also called on the president to step up security across the country and provide proactive leadership in responding to disasters.
