The presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Mr. Peter Obi, has urged the Nigerian government to see the international reproach on Nigeria as a motivation to improve the nation rather than resorting to attacks.
In a post on his official X handle, Obi cited the case of the Nigerian-born Kemi Badenoch, a leader in the United Kingdom’s Conservative Party.
Obi further cited how a Nigerian newspaper lamented an informational piece aimed at Americans intending to visit Nigeria, which painted Nigeria in a bad light.
Obi queried that if negative remarks are featured on a country’s official websites, warning citizens to avoid certain risks, how can Nigeria expect to attract investors.
According to him, it’s not enough to resort to blind patriotism by vilifying those who point out our shortcomings. Instead, we should use these criticisms as a catalyst to prioritize critical areas of development and improve the lives of our people.
His post reads,”What should we make of all the negative remarks about Nigeria? Recently, Nigerian-born Kemi Badenoch, a leader in the United Kingdom’s Conservative Party, took a serious swipe at our dear country.
“She stated that she would not want Britain to become like poor Nigeria, where a failed government destroys lives. Nigerians have had mixed reactions to her comments—some have criticized her, while others feel she simply stated the obvious and should not be vilified.
“A few years ago, a respected Nigerian newspaper lamented an informational piece aimed at Americans intending to visit Nigeria, which described the country in very unflattering terms. The travel advisory highlighted two major challenges: poor infrastructure and insecurity.
“Anyone familiar with the Nigerian landscape knows that our performance in these two areas is horrendously low. And sadly, the US embassy did not shy away from pointing this out.
“On health, the advisory confirmed that while Nigeria has well-trained health professionals, the country is lacking in quality healthcare facilities.
“It was noted that essential medications, including those for diabetes and hypertension, are often unavailable, and that medicine should be purchased with extreme caution due to counterfeit risks.
“Five years after those remarks, the situation remains largely unchanged, if not worse. International reproach, such as that from Badenoch, and negative reviews on official websites warning citizens of the country, should serve as a challenge for us to do better. It’s not enough to resort to blind patriotism by vilifying those who point out our shortcomings.
“Instead, we should use these criticisms as a catalyst to prioritize critical areas of development and improve the lives of our people.
“When negative remarks are featured on a country’s official websites, warning citizens to avoid certain risks, how can we expect to attract investors? These painful rebukes, including those coming from our own, should push us to strive for a new Nigeria that is POssible,” he added.
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