Nigeria One of the Hungriest Nations on Earth — Obi

… Tinubu Plotting Another Muslim-Muslim Ticket, Says Babachir Lawal
By Jeremy Fregene

Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate, Mr. Peter Obi, has accused President Bola Ahmed Tinubu of feeding Nigerians with manipulated statistics to cover up the country’s deepening economic hardship. Obi said Nigeria has now been ranked among the hungriest nations on Earth, with millions of citizens uncertain about their next meal, while the Tinubu administration continues to present false data on the economy.

In a post on X (formerly Twitter) on Sunday, Obi recalled how Tinubu had mocked his emphasis on data during the 2023 presidential campaign. “In November 2022, while campaigning in Delta State, Tinubu said he was ashamed to call my name and mocked me, saying, ‘Na statistics we go chop? All I want is to put food on the table of Nigerians.’ Now, two years into his four-year tenure, Nigeria is ranked among the hungriest nations in the world, with millions unsure of where their next meal will come from,” Obi said.

Obi accused the president of relying on false economic figures to mislead Nigerians about the true state of the nation. He said the government’s manipulated statistics on unemployment, inflation, and GDP are designed to create a false sense of progress. “President Tinubu is now overfeeding Nigerians with wrong statistics — from unemployment figures to inflation rates and now GDP rebasing — all to paint a rosy picture of our deteriorating economic and household conditions,” Obi said.

He stressed that governance must be anchored on sincerity, competence, and compassion. “Governance is not rocket science. It is not a gamble. It requires sincerity of purpose, character, competence, capacity, and compassion,” Obi stated, warning that no nation can prosper on the back of propaganda.

Meanwhile, former Secretary to the Government of the Federation (SGF), Babachir David Lawal, has alleged that President Tinubu is plotting to run a Muslim-Muslim presidential ticket again in 2027. Speaking on Trust TV, Lawal said Tinubu’s administration has failed to deliver on its promises, and a coalition of northern political leaders is mobilising to produce an alternative candidate for the next general elections.

“These are all cosmetic things,” Lawal said, referring to Tinubu’s recent appointments. “I was the one who opposed the Muslim-Muslim ticket in 2023. When I see the appointment of a Christian APC chairman now, I know Bola is preparing for another Muslim-Muslim ticket.”

Lawal criticised Tinubu’s political appointments, saying they are deliberately designed to divide the electorate. He accused the president of alienating both northern Muslims and Christians who supported him in the 2023 elections. “The Muslims that voted for him, he has alienated them, he has embarrassed them, and underdeveloped them,” he said.

The former SGF blamed the administration’s economic policies, including the removal of fuel subsidy and the soaring cost of living, for plunging Nigerians into greater hardship. “Governments are supposed to improve the lot of the people. The key word here is improved. A government that comes and decides to throw things in the other direction and make it worse must be stopped,” Lawal declared.

Lawal revealed that his group, the Northern Political Consultative Group, is working in collaboration with the Arewa Consultative Forum (ACF), Northern Elders Forum (NEF), and other regional groups to strategise ahead of the 2027 elections. “We are all complementing each other. There is no other way you can get power if you don’t align with a given political party,” he said.

Lawal, who described himself as a large-scale farmer, lamented the neglect of agriculture under Tinubu’s leadership. He said farming has become unprofitable due to poor policies and the flooding of the market with substandard imports. “Last year, we could sell a bag of maize for N110,000, but fertilizer was N45,000. Today, fertilizer is N70,000, while maize has dropped to N65,000. They have imported expired maize and rice, flooding the market and destroying local farmers. Farming has become a lost venture,” Lawal stated.

As political realignments gather pace ahead of the 2027 elections, opposition figures like Obi and Lawal continue to hammer the Tinubu administration over economic mismanagement and growing public discontent, warning that Nigerians will reject propaganda and poor governance at the polls.