Former Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has commended President Bola Tinubu for “finally deciding to visit the scene of the brutal killings” in Benue State, but urged him to also visit flood victims in Niger State, where hundreds have died and thousands remain missing.
President Tinubu had on Monday, during the inauguration of the Greater Abuja Water Supply Network, expressed sympathy with the people of Benue following a deadly attack on Yelwata community that claimed numerous lives. He announced plans to visit the affected area on Wednesday.
Reacting via his official X handle on Tuesday, Obi welcomed the president’s decision but stressed that the gesture should not end with Benue.
“For this, I thank him,” Obi wrote. “Even as I make a further request that a similar gesture be extended to Niger State, which recently suffered a natural disaster—flooding—that claimed even more lives.”
He criticized the delay in the President’s response to both tragedies, arguing that the nature of the incidents demanded urgency.
“Given the emergency nature of these incidents, prompt visits would have conveyed the seriousness and compassion required, rather than future-dated trips that resemble ceremonial state visits,” Obi stated.
“The President’s presence in these devastated and grieving communities would be both reassuring and uplifting,” he added.
Obi underscored the scale of devastation, noting that both Benue and Niger states have lost over 200 lives each in recent weeks. In Mokwa, Niger State, over 200 people have been confirmed dead and more than 1,000 remain missing following catastrophic floods.
“These are not just statistics,” Obi said. “They represent Nigerian families torn apart, homes destroyed, and communities shattered.”
He emphasized the proximity of the affected areas to the seat of power: “Abuja to Makurdi is about 282 km. Abuja to Mokwa is about 287 km. Combined, that’s roughly 1,134 km for a round trip to both locations — far less than the 1,870 km round trip South African President Cyril Ramaphosa recently made from Pretoria to Mthatha to visit flood victims in his country.”
Obi contrasted the casualty numbers, noting that fewer than 100 people died in the Mthatha floods, yet the South African leader made the journey in person.
“If President Ramaphosa could make that trip, we trust that you, as our own President, can do the same for your people,” Obi said, addressing Tinubu directly.
“Let your visit to Mokwa send a strong message — that all Nigerian lives matter, and no community, no matter how rural, is forgotten.”
Obi concluded by calling for more proactive governance: “We look forward to seeing not leadership by remote control, but compassionate, hands-on leadership that responds not just with words, but with decisive action.”
