Yemi Obafemi
Following President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s announcement of a planned visit to Benue State on Wednesday to sympathize with victims of recent violent attacks, the Labour Party’s presidential candidate in the 2023 general election, Peter Obi, has called on the President to extend the gesture to Niger State, which has also suffered devastating loss of lives due to flooding.
In a statement posted on his official X handle, Obi welcomed Tinubu’s decision to visit Benue but stressed the need for equal attention to be given to Niger State, where over 200 lives were reportedly lost and more than 1,000 people remain missing following recent floods in Mokwa Local Government Area.
“It was refreshing news on Monday to a bewildered nation learning that President Bola Ahmed Tinubu has finally decided to visit the scene of the brutal killings in Benue State. For this, I thank him, even as I make a further request that a similar gesture should be extended to Niger State,” Obi stated.
He emphasized that given the emergency nature of both tragedies, prompt visits would have sent a stronger message of urgency and empathy, rather than what appears to be delayed, formal engagements.
Obi noted that both Benue and Niger States have recorded massive casualties, saying, “These are not just statistics; they are the lives of Nigerian families torn apart and their communities destroyed.”
Highlighting the relatively short distance from Abuja to the affected areas—282 km to Makurdi and 287 km to Mokwa—Obi compared Tinubu’s travel potential with that of South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, who recently traveled over 1,870 km round trip from Pretoria to Mthatha to console flood victims in his country, where less than 100 lives were lost.
“If the South African President could do it, we trust that you, as our own President, can do the same for your people,” Obi said. “Let your visit to Mokwa send a strong message that all Nigerian lives matter, and that no community, no matter how rural, is forgotten.”
