The Governor of Lagos state babajide Sanwo-Olu, in a statement via is official X handle on Monday knocked the 2023 Labour Party presidential candidate and former governor of Anambra State, Peter Obi, for de-marketing Nigeria when he travelled to the U.S.

Obi had on 24 April speaks on “Politics and Change in Nigeria,” at the John Hopkins University where he pointed out that the failure of a nation depends largely on its Political Leadership.

He mentioned Competent, capable and compassion with integrity as the hallmark of a true leader that will help nations to achieve sustainable growth and development.

The former governor had compare the GDP of China, Vietnam and Indonesia to that of Nigeria, from 1990 to date.

“From 1990 to 2025, the GDP Per Capita of these comparable nations have all improved. As of 1990, while Nigeria had a GDP per capita of $556, China had $317, Indonesia had $578, and Vietnam had only $99. Nigeria, obviously, had higher GDP per capita than China, while Vietnam had less than one-fifth of Nigeria’s per capita. Today, Nigeria’s per capita is about one-fifth of Indonesia’s ($5000) and Vietnam’s (4400) GDP per capita and below one-tenth of China’s (1300) GDP per capita.”

However, this does not sit well with Governor Sanwo-Olu who berated Obi Criticism of Nigeria on foreign soil, claiming he disparaged the country, thereby finding his behavior “disturbing.”

“When prominent Nigerians go overseas, they ought to project Nigeria positively. They do not have to do that for the government. But we all owe a duty to market Nigeria on the global stage rather than de-market her. That is what true patriotism is about.

“Because Mr. Obi focused on poverty and said that the current administration’s policies are making Nigerians poorer, I will concentrate on that.

“Any leader can fight poverty generationally by promoting education, improving healthcare, providing credit, and granting access to land.”

Throwing his weight behind President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Sanwo-Olu further knocked Obi revealing that during his administration as the governor of Anambra State, he had nothing to show for his eight years in power, therefore should not belittle the present administration effort to fight poverty.

Praising president Tinubu who administer as the governor of Lagos state between 1999 -2007, Sanwo-Olu listed his achievement and comparing it to Obi’s tenure, while he insisted that the latter contributed to poverty in Nigeria.

“Now, I find it somewhat ironic that a man like Mr. Obi, who did not build a single school or a stand alone hospital throughout his eight-year tenure as Governor of Anambra or sustainably provide credit facilities, would criticise the Government of Nigeria, which is actively doing that.

“I say this because the President of Nigeria, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, is my predecessor, and as Governor of Lagos and now President of Nigeria, has built over 200 schools and provided student loans to more than 200,000 undergraduates of Nigerian tertiary institutions.

 “In less than two years, he has provided over half a billion dollars in credit facilities to small and medium-scale enterprises.

“While he was Governor of Lagos State between 1999 and 2007, the President reduced poverty by more than 46%. There is every reason to believe that, based on what he did as Governor of Lagos, he will repeat the same feat at the federal level. After all, the best predictor of the future is the past.

“But let us examine the messenger, not just the message, and look at the issuer as well as the issues.

“Mr. Obi talks a good game. But was he able to reduce poverty while he governed Anambra? Perhaps we can let the facts speak for themselves.

“Under Peter Obi as a two term Anambra Governor, poverty in Anambra increased. It did not reduce. Before Peter Obi became Anambra Governor on Thursday, June 14, 2007, the poverty rate in Anambra was 41.4%.

“But after only two years in office, the poverty rate in Anambra jumped to 53.7%. But the interesting thing is that five years after Peter Obi left office, his successor, Willie Obiano, reduced the poverty rate in Anambra from almost 60% to 14.8%.

“As such, I am not sure that Mr. Obi is morally well placed to make the alarming claims he made about Nigeria at Johns Hopkins.

“Being that that is the case, who should criticise who?” Sanwo-Olu queried.

By: Adeoye Olorunseun Elizabeth