Governor Babajide Sanwo-Olu of Lagos State has strongly criticized former Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi over comments he made about Nigeria’s economic situation during a recent engagement at Johns Hopkins University in the United States.
Obi, while speaking to students and scholars, had analyzed Nigeria’s economic decline over the past 35 years, comparing it to China, Vietnam, and Indonesia. He highlighted that Nigeria, which once had fewer poor people than the three nations combined in 1990, now has more poor people than China, Vietnam, and Indonesia together — a development he attributed to governance failures.
However, reacting through a statement titled “Factually Addressing Mr. Peter Obi’s Criticism of Nigeria at Johns Hopkins University,” Sanwo-Olu accused Obi of “demarketing” Nigeria on the global stage rather than promoting the country positively, regardless of criticism of the government.
> “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 said.
Focusing on Obi’s credibility to discuss poverty, Sanwo-Olu criticized Obi’s tenure as Governor of Anambra State, claiming he neither built a stand-alone hospital nor a single school during his eight years in office. He further alleged that under Obi, poverty in Anambra State rose from 41.4% to 53.7%, citing it as evidence that Obi contributed to the very poverty he now criticizes.
In contrast, Sanwo-Olu praised President Bola Tinubu’s track record, pointing to the building of over 200 schools, provision of student loans to 200,000 undergraduates, and the rollout of over half a billion dollars in credit facilities for small and medium-sized enterprises during Tinubu’s time as Lagos governor and now as Nigeria’s president.
Sanwo-Olu emphasized:
> “It is ironic that a man like Mr Obi, who did not sustainably provide education, healthcare, or credit facilities, is criticizing a government actively working on those issues. Mr Obi contributed to the poverty he criticizes.”
Despite the heated exchange, Peter Obi has yet to respond publicly to Sanwo-Olu’s criticisms.
