Former Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has expressed support for President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s planned visit to Benue State, following the brutal killings of over 200 people in the region last weekend.
President Tinubu had announced the visit during the commissioning of the Greater Abuja Water Supply Network on Monday.
He extended condolences to the government and people of Benue and emphasized the importance of directly engaging with communities affected by violence.
In a statement issued by his spokesperson, Bayo Onanuga, the President also confirmed that his scheduled official trip to Kaduna State had been postponed so he could personally assess the situation in Benue.
Reacting to the announcement, Obi took to X (formerly Twitter) on Tuesday to thank the President for the decision, while urging him to extend the same level of concern to Niger State, which recently suffered catastrophic flooding that claimed hundreds of lives.
“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.”
“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 wrote.
He stressed that the urgency of these crises demands more immediate responses, warning that delayed visits may undermine the seriousness of government intervention.
“Given the emergency nature of these incidents, a prompt visit would have delivered the urgency needed, instead of giving future dates that makes it look like a state visit.”
“The presence of the President in these devastated and grieving communities will be very reassuring and uplifting.”
Obi drew attention to the scale of human loss in both Benue and Niger states, highlighting that over 200 lives were lost in each tragedy.
“Both Benue and Niger States have lost over 200 lives each due to recent tragedies. In Mokwa alone, more than 200 people were confirmed dead, and over 1,000 are still missing following the floods.”
“These are not just statistics; they are the lives of Nigerian families torn apart and their communities destroyed.”
He also made a comparison to actions taken by other world leaders, notably South African President Cyril Ramaphosa, who recently undertook a long journey to console victims of flooding in his country.
“The distance from Abuja to these affected areas is not far. Abuja to Makurdi is about 282km and Abuja to Mokwa is about 287km.”
“Combined, that’s roughly 1,134 km for a round trip to both locations, still significantly less than the 1,870 km round trip President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa recently made some days ago from Pretoria to Mthatha to personally visit flood victims in his country.”
“Less than 100 persons died in Mthatha, and more than 200 died in Mokwa, with over 1,000 still missing. If the South African President could do it, we trust that you, as our own President, can do the same for your people.”
Obi urged Tinubu to use a visit to Mokwa as an opportunity to reaffirm the value of every Nigerian life and to demonstrate that no part of the country, regardless of location, is neglected.
“Let your visit to Mokwa send a strong message, that all Nigerian lives matter, and that no community, no matter how rural, is forgotten. Please also consider stepping up security across the country, especially in disaster-prone areas.”
Concluding his message, Obi called for a shift from symbolic to responsive governance:
“We look forward to seeing not leadership by remote control but proactive leadership that responds not just with words, but with compassion and action,” he wrote.
