‘I didn’t demarket Nigeria, I said the truth – Peter Obi replies Sanwo-Olu

‘I didn’t demarket Nigeria, I said the truth – Peter Obi replies Sanwo-Olu

The Labour Party, LP, presidential candidate in the 2023
general elections, Peter Obi, has replied to Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of
Lagos State and other critics who accused him of demarketing Nigeria.

 

Recall that Obi, in his recent engagement at Johns Hopkins
University in the United States of America, described how Nigeria fell off
economically within 25 years, leading to a massive increase in the poverty
rate.

 

The former Anambra State governor insisted that he is only
telling the truth about the country’s situation, comparing Nigeria’s poverty
rate with that of China, Indonesia, and Vietnam combined.

 

The philanthropist reiterated that Nigeria has more poor
people than the three countries combined.

 

According to him, the fate of a nation is closely tied to
the quality of its leadership, lamenting that Nigeria has had to deal with poor
leadership over the years.

 

Governor Sanwo-Olu, however, condemned Obi’s comments about
the country, describing them as disparaging and unflattering remarks.

 

The governor said he finds Obi’s behavior troubling, noting
that his comments about Nigeria on the global stage fail to present the country
in a positive light.

 

“He made unflattering remarks not just about the incumbent
Nigerian government but also about Nigeria. I also find Mr. Obi’s pattern of
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 demarket her. That
is what true patriotism is about,” Sanwo-Olu had said in a statement.

 

However, speaking on Wednesday while making a speech at Pa
Edwin Clark’s memorial lecture in Abuja, Obi insisted that he did not in any
way demarket Nigeria but only stated facts.

 

He expressed wonder if the World Bank and UNICEF, who
recently released some negative facts about poverty in Nigeria, were also doing
it to demarket Nigeria.

 

“I spoke a few days ago and people said I am demarketing
Nigeria. When is truth being demarketing? The World Bank has just shown that
75% of Nigerians in rural areas are poor; is the World Bank marketing Nigeria?
“UNICEF, two days ago, said that Nigeria has over two million malnourished
children, the second highest in the world. Are they demarketing Nigeria? Let’s
face the reality,” Obi said.

Source: ‘I didn’t demarket Nigeria, I said the truth – Peter Obi replies Sanwo-Olu

 - NigerianEye

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