Peter Obi Responds To Sanwo-Olu: Telling The Truth About Nigeria Is Not Demarketing The Country

Presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 general election, Peter Obi, has responded to recent criticism from Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu, stating that speaking the truth about Nigeria’s worsening poverty and governance challenges should not be misinterpreted as an attempt to “demarket” the country.

Obi made the remarks on Wednesday during the Memorial Lecture and Tributes in honour of the late elder statesman, Pa Edwin Clark, held in Abuja.

His comments come on the heels of Sanwo-Olu’s backlash over a speech Obi delivered at Johns Hopkins University in the United States, in which he painted a bleak picture of Nigeria’s economic and political situation. The Lagos governor, in a statement titled “Factually Addressing Mr. Peter Obi’s Criticism of Nigeria at Johns Hopkins University,” accused the former Anambra State governor of making “disparaging comments” and claimed poverty rose during his tenure.

In his rebuttal, Obi questioned the logic behind the outrage, pointing out that credible international bodies have published similar—if not worse—assessments of Nigeria’s condition.

“I spoke a few days ago and people said I’m demarketing Nigeria. When is truth demarketing? The World Bank just reported that 75% of Nigerians in rural areas are poor,” Obi said.

He continued, “UNICEF released a report that over 2 million Nigerian children are malnourished—the second highest figure in the world. Are these institutions also demarketing Nigeria?”

Obi went further to assert that the country is drifting away from democratic ideals, particularly citing the recent Edo State local government elections, which he described as “the most undemocratic election,” alleging widespread rigging.

“Everybody knows who won that election. So why are we pretending?” he asked.
“We are no longer running a democratic nation. We’ve turned Nigeria into a crime scene—stealing, stealing, and more stealing.”

He also lamented that the sacrifices made by Nigeria’s founding fathers and elder statesmen like Pa Edwin Clark have been betrayed by decades of bad governance and systemic corruption.

“We must begin to live courageously. Nigeria needs leaders with integrity and a conscience,” Obi added.

In contrast, Governor Sanwo-Olu had earlier defended President Bola Tinubu’s administration, saying it had done more to tackle poverty through increased educational investment and access to credit for small businesses. He also questioned Obi’s legacy as governor, claiming it did not significantly improve the welfare of Anambra people.

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