Lagos State Governor, Babajide Sanwo-Olu, has criticized former Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, over his recent remarks about Nigeria’s economic struggles during a lecture at Johns Hopkins University in the United States.
Sanwo-Olu accused Obi of lacking the moral standing to discuss poverty in Nigeria, arguing that his comments painted the country in a negative light on an international stage.
During his address at Johns Hopkins, Obi compared Nigeria’s economic decline over the past 25 years to the progress made by China, Indonesia, and Vietnam.
He highlighted that in 1990, when the Human Development Index (HDI) was first introduced, Nigeria, China, Indonesia, and Vietnam were all classified within the medium HDI category. At that time, Nigeria had the fewest number of people living in poverty among the four countries.
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“In 1990, Nigeria had about 50 million people living in poverty, while China had 750 million, Indonesia 85 million, and Vietnam 60 million. Today, Nigeria has more poor people than China, Indonesia, and Vietnam combined,” Obi said, using the poverty index to underline his point.
Responding in a statement titled “Factually Addressing Mr. Peter Obi’s Criticism of Nigeria at Johns Hopkins University,” Governor Sanwo-Olu said Obi’s comments were disparaging, not only toward the current government but toward Nigeria itself.
He expressed concern over what he called a troubling pattern of behavior, insisting that prominent Nigerians should use international platforms to promote, not undermine, the country’s image.
“They do not have to praise the government,” Sanwo-Olu said, “but true patriotism demands that we market Nigeria positively abroad.”
Focusing on Obi’s emphasis on poverty, Sanwo-Olu questioned Obi’s credibility on the matter, noting that during his tenure as Governor of Anambra State, Obi neither built a single school nor established a stand-alone hospital.
He argued that genuine efforts to fight poverty involve investing in education, healthcare, access to credit, and land reforms areas in which he claims Obi’s leadership fell short.
Sanwo-Olu said, “I find it somewhat ironic that a man like Mr Obi, who did not build a single school or a stand-alone hospital throughout his eight-year tenure as governor of Anambra or sustainably provide credit facilities, would criticise the government of Nigeria, which is actively doing that.
“I say this because the president of Nigeria, President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, is my predecessor, and as governor of Lagos and now President of Nigeria, has built over 200 schools and provided student loans to more than 200,000 undergraduates of Nigerian tertiary institutions.
“In less than two years, he has provided over half a billion dollars in credit facilities to small and medium-scale enterprises.”
Explaining how Obi contributed to the poverty problem he criticised, the Lagos State Governor highlighted how poverty increased during Obi’s administration from 41.4 per cent to 53.7 per cent in two years.
He said, “Under Peter Obi, a two-term Anambra Governor, poverty in Anambra increased. It did not reduce. Before Peter Obi became Anambra Governor on Thursday, June 14, 2007, the poverty rate in Anambra was 41.4 per cent.
“But after only two years in office, the poverty rate in Anambra jumped to 53.7 per cent. But the interesting thing is that five years after Peter Obi left office, his successor, Willie Obiano, reduced the poverty rate in Anambra from almost 60 per cent to 14.8 per cent.
“As such, I am not sure that Mr. Obi is morally well placed to make the alarming claims he made about Nigeria at Johns Hopkins. Mr Obi contributed to the increase in poverty in Nigeria.
