The Senate President, Senator Godswill Akpabio, has issued a warning to the 2023 presidential candidate, Peter Obi, cautioning him against making divisive comments that could cause confusion in the country.
Obi who was speaking at a memorial lecture held in honour of Clark, lamented the condition of the nation, stating that ‘We are not a democratic country. Let’s tell ourselves the truth. The labour of our heroes past is in vain’.
But Akpabio, on Thursday, during a valedictory session at the Senate chamber in honour of the late elder statesman, rejected his assertions. He crediting the resilience of voices like Clark’s for keeping Nigeria united through turbulent times.
According to the former Akwa Ibom governor, “I beg to disagree, let Peter Obi show leadership first by resolving the crisis in the Labour Party,” he said, adding, “If he is unable to resolve that crisis, is it the crisis of Boko Haram he can resolve?”
The Senate President also took aim at social media commentators, some of whom he claimed spread misinformation without understanding the country’s history.
He claimed those “aspiring to be presidential candidates are “causing confusion with their mouths”.
Senator Akpabio asked them to resolve the crisis in their party first before speaking of the larger Nigeria. Tell them to resolve the small party they have in that before they come to talk about the larger Nigeria. That is what Pa Edwin Clark would have advised,” he stressed.
Meanwhile, Obi has replied to Lagos governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, and other critics who accused him of demarketing Nigeria, insisting that he is only telling the truth about the country’s situation.
Obi, who had his recent engagement at Johns Hopkins University in the United States of America described how Nigeria fell off economically within 25 years, leading to a massive increase in the poverty rate.
The former Anambra governor compared Nigeria’s poverty rate with that of China, Indonesia, and Vietnam combined. According to him, Nigeria has more poor people than the three countries combined.
He emphasised that the fate of a nation is closely tied to the quality of its leadership, lamenting that Nigeria has had to deal with poor leadership over the years.
Obi’s comments about the country were, however, condemned by Governor Sanwo-Olu, who described them as disparaging and unflattering remarks.
He said he finds Obi’s behavior troubling, noting that his comments about Nigeria on the global stage fail to present the country in a positive light.
For him: “He made unflattering remarks not just about the incumbent Nigerian government, but also about Nigeria. I also find Mr Obi’s pattern of behaviour disturbing. When prominent Nigerians go overseas, they ought to project Nigeria positively.
“They do not have to do that for the government. But we all owe a duty to market Nigeria on the global stage rather than demarket her. That is what true patriotism is about,” Sanwo-Olu had said in a statement.
But speaking on Wednesday while making a speech at Pa Edwin Clark’s memorial lecture in Abuja, Obi insisted that he did not in any way demarket Nigeria but only stated facts.
He wondered if the World Bank and UNICEF, who recently released some negative facts about poverty in Nigeria, were also doing it to demarket Nigeria.
Obi said, “I spoke a few days ago and people said I am demarketing Nigeria. When is truth being demarketing? The World Bank has just shown that 75% of Nigerians in rural areas are poor. Is the World Bank marketing Nigeria?
“UNICEF two days ago said that Nigeria has over two million malnourished children, the second highest in the world. Are they demarketing Nigeria? Let’s face the reality.”, he added.
