A former presidential aide, Mr Reno Omokri, has urged the former Labour Party presidential candidate, Mr Peter Obi, not to politicise the recent fatal stampedes in some parts of the country, saying doing so amounted to politicising the people’s tragedy.
About 39 persons were feared dead in Okija, Anambra State and Maitama in Abuja, the Federal Capital Territory, on Saturday following stampedes at food-sharing events to usher in the Xmas festivities. Both incidents came on the heels of an earlier disaster in Ibadan, during which 35 children died.
Obi, in a tweet on his X handle last week, condemned the scores of children’s deaths in Ibadan during the pre-Xmas fair as a reflection of the nation’s “systemic failure”.
“The devastating news of innocent children reportedly trampled to death during a Christmas celebration in Ibadan is both heart-wrenching and a stark reflection of the systemic failures that plague our nation today,” he said.
He said the tragedy called for deep reflection and decisive actions by leaders to prioritise policies that address poverty, inequality, and equitable resource access while ensuring the highest safety standards for public events, especially those involving children.
However, Omokri reacted on his X handle by accusing Obi of being insensitive to the victims’ plight. He said rather than seeking to reap political benefits from the tragedy, the Labour Party candidate should have empathised with the people who lost their loved ones.
“One would have expected Mr Peter Obi to have condoled with the families and moved on,” he said.
The former presidential aide said the Labour Party’s erstwhile flagbearer’s attempt to blame the federal government for the stampede was hypocritical because the occurrence was a global phenomenon, pointing out that it occurred recently in the US, South Korea, Israel and multiple European countries.
Besides, he recalled that under Obi’s watch as governor of Anambra State, a similar event happened on November 3, 2013, during which 28 persons died. “Funny enough, Peter Obi himself was at the scene of the incident and was accused by survivors of triggering the stampede,” Omokri stated.
He said, “It is hypocritical for a man under whom these events occurred to now use the Ibadan tragedy to stigmatise the Tinubu administration. Genuine opposition politics involves providing alternative solutions to issues. It is an abuse of the idea of opposition to lazily sit and wait for tragedies to occur and then seek to profit from them. That is wickedness, not politics.”
Omokri queried the moral basis of Obi’s persistent criticism of President Bola Tinubu’s administration, pointing out that the former Labour Party’s presidential candidate underperformed during his time as Anambra State governor.
He said, “This is sad coming from a man under who, as Governor of Anambra State, poverty almost doubled, as revealed by his immediate successor, Mr Willie Obiano, and Governor Chukwuma Soludo.
“Before Peter Obi took over as Governor of Anambra, poverty in that state was 41.4%. However, under Mr. Obi, it grew to 53.7%, partly because Peter Obi refused to use the state’s allocations to build infrastructure.
“In his eight years as Governor, Mr. Obi did not initiate, start, complete, or commission even one nursery, primary, secondary school, or university.”
Shortly after Omokri’s severe criticism, Obi deleted his tweet, and yesterday he made another tweet, adjusting his position on the stampedes.
Incidentally, on Saturday there was stampede in Okija, a prominent town in Obi’s home state, during which some people also died. Another occurred in Maitama, Abuja, the nation’s capital.
Reacting to these tragedies, the former aide to President Goodluck Jonathan commiserated with the victims. He called on state governments to learn lessons from the frequent events and implement better crowd control mechanisms.
Obi: my position on stampedes
In his new tweet, Obi said: ”I am deeply saddened and distressed by the tragic loss of lives in desperate searches for food. A few days ago, about 35 people, mostly children, lost their lives in a stampede at a Christmas Funfair in Ibadan, Oyo State.
“This morning, reports emerged of at least 10 people losing their lives in Abuja while scrambling for palliatives, with many others injured.
“Now, I just heard that about 19 more lives were lost in another stampede in Okija, Anambra State, as people struggled to receive food items.
“While I will not cast blame, but instead appreciate the organizers of these respective events for their kind gestures in providing palliatives and support to society, especially the poor, these tragedies reflect the systemic failures that plague our society.
“The desperate quest for survival in these harsh economic times has driven our people to extremes in their search for food, often at the cost of their lives.
“How do we explain that in a nation blessed with abundant resources, our people are dying of hunger in such numbers? How is it possible that we cannot feed our citizens despite the vast, fertile lands our nation is endowed with? My heart bleeds.”
“One can only imagine the pain their families are enduring at this moment. My heart goes out to them. I sincerely commiserate with all the affected families and the good people of Oyo, Anambra, and the FCT over these tragic incidents. May God grant them, and all of us, the strength to bear these painful losses.
“May God Almighty grant the departed souls eternal rest, and may the injured recover swiftly.”
