Monday, June 16, 2025 - 2023 Labour party presidential candidate, Peter Obi has slammed the Bola Ahmed Tinubu administration for “lack of empathy” towards victims of recent tragedies in the nation.
He wrote on X;
What cannot
be hidden in Leadership
Leadership of a nation is such that it's either succeeding or failing, none can be hidden. There are critical areas of leadership that must exist for a nation to move forward, and these are summed up in four Cs: Competence, Capacity, Character and Compassion. Where these four are non-existent, there is no magic you can do.
It's in this line that I have always maintained that we must move away from
voting based on tribe and religion, and begin to vote for people with
competence, capacity, character, and compassion, because we have all seen,
painfully, what leadership without these qualities has done to our country.
Competence
because Nigeria today needs a leader who understands the issues, who has the
knowledge, experience, and clear ideas to solve them. Capacity because it is
not a ceremonial position; it requires strength, stamina, and the mental energy
to confront our complex challenges. And above all, leadership must be rooted in
character and integrity because without integrity, public trust collapses,
corruption thrives, and selfishness takes over. But perhaps most importantly,
we need compassion, because when a leader lacks compassion, human lives are
treated as statistics, and suffering is ignored.
Sadly, the
evidence is right before our eyes. Recently, we witnessed severe flooding in
Niger State that claimed nearly 200 lives, with many still missing. Yet, not
even a single presidential visit, this, in a nation where the scene of the
tragedy is less than an hour away by helicopter.
Just days
ago, over 200 Nigerians, innocent men, women, children, and even soldiers were
massacred in Benue State. Again, no presidential visit. No physical presence at
the scenes of pain. No genuine national mourning. No leadership face to comfort
the grieving or give hope to the people.
Yet, we have
seen what true leadership looks like elsewhere:
In India,
after a plane crash killed nearly 200 people, the Prime Minister was physically
at the scene within hours.
In South
Africa, when floods claimed 78 lives, the president went personally to the
affected communities, stood with them, and took responsibility.
That is
leadership with compassion. That is leadership that understands the value of
human life. But here in Nigeria, we have normalised leadership without empathy,
without accountability, and without a human face.
That is why
I insist: Nigeria does not just need another president; Nigeria needs a leader,
a leader with competence, capacity, character, and compassion. Until we choose
leaders on these principles, the cycle of pain will only continue.
A New
Nigeria is Possible.
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