Peter Obi Urges Tinubu To Emulate South African President, Visit Flood Victims
Former presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, has called on President Bola Tinubu to demonstrate active and compassionate leadership by personally visiting communities in Niger State, which has suffered recent tragedies claiming hundreds of lives.
In a statement released Monday, Obi welcomed President Tinubu’s decision to visit Benue following a wave of brutal killings but urged him to extend similar empathy and urgency to flood victims in Niger State, particularly in Mokwa, where over 200 lives have reportedly been lost and more than 1,000 people remain missing.
“It was refreshing news to a bewildered nation to learn that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has finally decided to visit the scene of the brutal killings in Benue State,” Obi said.
“For this, I thank him. But I must also appeal that the same gesture be extended to Niger State, which recently suffered even more casualties in a devastating natural disaster.”
THE WHISTLER reports that torrential floods in Mokwa LGA in Niger State swept through multiple communities, destroying homes, farmlands, and critical infrastructure.
Eyewitnesses described the scale of devastation as unprecedented leading to hundreds of deaths and many more missing, with economic activities halted.
“These are not just statistics,” Obi said. “They are the lives of Nigerian families torn apart, their communities shattered. They deserve to feel seen and heard by the highest office in the land.”
Obi compared the response of Nigerian president to that of his South African counterpart Cyril Ramaphosa, who recently undertook a 1,870 km round trip from Pretoria to Mthatha to visit victims of flooding that claimed fewer than 100 lives.
“In contrast, the distance from Abuja to Makurdi is about 282 km and to Mokwa, 287 km,” Obi noted. “Combined, that’s roughly 1,134 km for a round trip to both locations. If President Ramaphosa could make the journey, we trust that our own President can do the same.”
Obi emphasized that timely, physical presence by the Commander-in-Chief in disaster zones is not merely symbolic but critically important to national unity, morale, and public trust.
“Let your visit to Mokwa send a strong message—that all Nigerian lives matter, and that no community, no matter how rural or remote, is forgotten,” Obi stated.
““Leadership must not be by remote control.
Nigerians need proactive leadership that responds not just with words, but with compassion and action.”
He also urged the federal government to strengthen security and emergency preparedness, especially in disaster-prone regions, and to treat early warning signals with seriousness to prevent further tragedies.
Peter Obi Urges Tinubu To Emulate South African President, Visit Flood Victims is first published on The Whistler Newspaper
