Lagos State Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu has responded sharply to Peter Obi, the former Anambra State governor and Labour Party presidential candidate, over Obi’s comments on Nigeria’s poverty situation.
Sanwo-Olu accused Obi of contributing to the country’s poverty problem rather than offering meaningful solutions.
The criticism came after Obi delivered a speech at Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, Maryland, where he compared Nigeria’s poverty levels to those of China and Vietnam, suggesting that Nigeria had missed opportunities for growth and development.
In his speech, Obi pointed out that in 1990, Nigeria had the lowest number of people living in poverty among the three countries, but failed to follow the path of development taken by China and Vietnam.
He argued that these countries had effective leadership that invested in education, healthcare, and poverty reduction, unlike Nigeria.
Governor Sanwo-Olu disagreed with Obi’s assessment, calling it hypocritical.
He said that Obi’s remarks were damaging to Nigeria’s reputation abroad and emphasized that Nigerian leaders should work to improve the country’s image globally.
Sanwo-Olu added that it was essential for Nigerians to promote the country’s progress rather than speak negatively about it.
The Governor also defended President Bola Tinubu’s actions in fighting poverty.
He highlighted Tinubu’s efforts, such as investing in education, providing loans to students, and supporting small businesses.
According to Sanwo-Olu, President Tinubu’s administration had facilitated over half a billion dollars in credit for small and medium-sized enterprises and had also established over 200 schools while providing student loans to more than 200,000 undergraduates.
Turning to Peter Obi’s time as Governor of Anambra, Sanwo-Olu questioned Obi’s credibility in addressing poverty.
He pointed out that during Obi’s tenure, the poverty rate in Anambra had increased, rising from 41.4% to 53.7%.
In contrast, Obi’s successor, Willie Obiano, managed to reduce the poverty rate significantly to 14.8%. Sanwo-Olu suggested that Obi’s record in Anambra made him unqualified to criticize Nigeria’s poverty issues.
Leave a Reply