“All Lives Matter”: Obi Asks Tinubu to Show Compassion Like Ramaphosa

Labour Party presidential candidate in the 2023 elections, Peter Obi, has urged President Bola Tinubu to personally visit flood-ravaged and violence-hit communities in Niger and Benue states, citing the example of South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa.

“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,” Obi wrote in a post on X.

“For this I thank him, even as I make further request that similar gesture should be extended to Niger state that lost more number of human lives in a natural disaster, flood recently.”

Obi said such visits convey urgency and compassion: “Given the emergency nature of these incidents, a prompt visit would have delivered the urgency needed, instead of giving future dates that make it look like a state visit.”

He stressed that both states have lost over 200 lives each, noting, “In Mokwa alone, more than 200 people were confirmed dead, and over 1,000 are still missing following the floods.”

Highlighting proximity, Obi said: “The distance from Abuja to Makurdi is about 282 km, and Abuja to Mokwa is about 287 km,” adding that the round trips are “significantly less than the 1,870 km round trip President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa recently made from Pretoria to Mthatha to personally visit flood victims.”

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“If the South African president could do it, we trust that you, as our president, can do the same for your people,” he said.

Obi concluded, “We look forward to seeing not leadership by remote control but proactive leadership that responds not just with words, but with compassion and action.”