Former presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi, has advised that Kemi Badenoch’s remarks about Nigeria should spur the country into improving living conditions for its citizens.
Obi stated this in an X post on Tuesday in reaction to
Badenoch, Nigeria-born leader of the UK’s Conservative Party, who recently said
she would not like to see Britain become poor like Nigeria where failed
governments and selfish politicians destroy lives.
“What should we make of all the negative remarks about
Nigeria?” Obi began his note.
“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.”
Obi lamented that 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,” the ex-governor added.
“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.”
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