Yemi Obafemi
Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has strongly condemned President Bola Ahmed Tinubu for wearing what he described as a “celebratory agbada attire” during a recent sympathy visit to Benue State, amid national mourning over deadly attacks and severe flooding that claimed hundreds of lives in Benue and Niger States.
In a statement posted on his official X handle, Obi criticized the tone and optics of the President’s visit, which he said lacked the solemnity and compassion befitting the gravity of the tragedies.
“The President arrived not in mourning cloth but in celebratory agbada attire, like it was an occasion for joy,” he wrote.
Obi also lashed out at the Benue State government for declaring a public holiday to organize what he called a “fanfare,” instead of a day for reflection or prayer.
He expressed dismay that schools were shut down and grieving children and parents were lined up in the rain, rehearsed to sing and dance for the President. “In what kind of country does this happen?” Obi asked.
The former Anambra State governor lamented that condolence visits in Nigeria are increasingly turning into carnivals, complete with banners, music, and staged performances.
“We have tragically arrived at a point where condolence visits have become carnivals. A time that should be marked by silence and solemnity is now polluted by banners, music, and rehearsed spectacles. Precious Nigerian lives have been lost, yet we’re clapping, singing, and organizing processions, as though this were a campaign rally.
“This is not how any compassionate nation behaves. The energy, resources, and logistics poured into this charade could have gone into food supplies, temporary shelters, medical aid, school support, and trauma counselling for grieving families. Instead, we chose optics over empathy.
“Look elsewhere: When President Ramaphosa visited Mthatha after the floods in South Africa, there were no drums. No staged crowds. No rented cheers. Just presence, silence, and action. When Prime Minister Modi went to the site of a crash, no one lined up to welcome him. He came, he mourned, he acted. That is what leadership looks like in moments of pain.
“We must ask ourselves: What kind of people have we become?
“Enough of this culture of impunity. We are not at war yet our nation is bleeding, and we are clapping. It is not only insensitive, it is dangerous.
“Let us not forget: These were human beings, children, mothers, fathers whose blood cries out for justice.
“When very sad incidents like this turns to campaign or festival, our Nation Losing Its Soul,” the statement reads
