Labour Party presidential candidate in the 2023 general election, Peter Obi, has called on President Bola Tinubu to immediately suspend his retreat abroad and return home to address Nigeria’s deepening security crisis.
In a strongly worded statement posted on his official X account on Wednesday, Obi described the President’s continued stay in France as a symbol of governance in retreat, while lives are being lost and insecurity worsens across the country.
Obi said the urgency of the moment demands the President’s physical presence and leadership at home, warning that the country appears rudderless amid escalating violence in several regions.
“In the two weeks you have been away, over 150 Nigerians have lost their lives to insecurity across Nigeria, especially in Plateau and Zamfara States,” Obi said. “The repeated pipeline explosions in the Niger Delta further reflect a nation in distress.”
He added that insurgents are regrouping in the North-East, where leaders in Borno State are raising the alarm over a resurgence of attacks, while the South-East continues to witness targeted killings and abductions. “The story is the same all over the country,” he said.
Mr. President, Domestic problems Beacons.
I am compelled at this time in our lives as a nation to call on our retreating President’s attention to the security challenges at home, which entails that he immediately suspend his ongoing retreat in a foreign land and come home to…
— Peter Obi (@PeterObi) April 16, 2025
According to Obi, the President’s decision to remain outside the country while Nigerians endure worsening insecurity betrays the government’s primary duty—protecting lives and property.
“One wonders what kind of retreat is ongoing in another country—France—where peace and security have already been achieved by their own leaders, while blood continues to flow in our own country,” Obi said.
He likened Nigeria to a troubled company whose Chief Executive Officer is absent from the headquarters during a crisis. “The CEO of the troubling company called Nigeria is in a faraway land while the headquarters is engulfed in turmoil,” he said.
Obi insisted that building a new Nigeria is not about individual ambition but about policies that genuinely benefit citizens and prioritise their safety and well-being.
“I urge Mr President to quickly suspend whatever he is doing in France and rush home to take responsibility by addressing these disturbing issues,” he said. “That is the New Nigeria that the nation seeks.”
Obi ended his statement with a familiar rallying cry: “A New Nigeria is POssible.”
