Obi Blames Rising Violence on Failed Leadership, Says Nigeria ‘Bleeding’ From Avoidable Crises

The 2023 Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has attributed the surge in violent incidents across Nigeria to what he described as deep-rooted leadership failures. Obi said no serious nation can survive on “excuses, indifference, or absentee leadership,” stressing that the country’s worsening insecurity reflects a collapse of governance.

In a post on his X handle titled “Is Nigeria cursed, or are we the curse?” Obi said his review of national security developments over the past 10 days revealed “unprecedented negative news,” marked by chaos, lawlessness, and institutional decay.

He lamented that Nigeria is drifting not by fate but through “collective leadership failures” that allow insecurity to flourish. “Each day confronts us with a new tragedy and a reminder that our beloved country is drifting amid a clear absence of competent, compassionate, responsive and responsible leadership,” he said.

Obi cited a series of troubling events: the kidnapping of six senior Ministry of Defence directors in Kogi, the brutal killing of a Brigadier General by terrorists, and the abduction of over 400 citizens — including 300 schoolchildren — in multiple attacks. He also faulted the conduct of judges at the All Nigeria Judges’ Conference, where they stood for an APC campaign song ahead of the president’s address, saying the moment further eroded public trust in the judiciary.

While speaking on these issues, Obi said he received fresh reports of 13 female farmers abducted in Borno State by suspected Boko Haram/ISWAP militants.

He argued that Nigeria’s current turmoil is not inevitable but a direct result of leaders “choosing comfort over courage, politics over people, and power over purpose.” Leadership, he stressed, must be grounded in competence and compassion.

Obi concluded that Nigeria deserves a government that prioritizes human life above politics, insisting that the nation is “bleeding” and urgently in need of responsible leadership committed to ensuring peace and safety.