By Ayomide Otitoju
Former Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi has criticised President Bola Tinubu for what he described as a lack of “leadership empathy” following the killing of over 50 people in Benue State and devastating floods in Niger State.
In a strongly worded post on Monday via his X (formerly Twitter) account, Obi condemned the President’s failure to visit the affected areas, attributing it to an absence of competence, capacity, character, and compassion — qualities he described as essential for effective leadership.
“Recently, we witnessed severe flooding in Niger State that claimed nearly 200 lives, with many still missing,” Obi stated. “Yet, not even a single presidential visit — this in a nation where the scene of the tragedy is less than an hour away by helicopter.”
He also highlighted the massacre of more than 200 people in Benue State, including soldiers, lamenting the lack of presidential presence, national mourning, or words of comfort for grieving families.
Obi contrasted Tinubu’s response with examples of empathetic leadership abroad, citing how leaders in India and South Africa personally visited disaster sites to console victims and demonstrate accountability.
“That is leadership with compassion. But here in Nigeria, we have normalised leadership without empathy, without accountability, and without a human face,” Obi stated.
He reiterated his call for Nigerians to elect leaders based on competence rather than ethnicity or religion, warning that the country would continue to suffer under failed leadership if such patterns persist.
“Leadership is either succeeding or failing — it cannot be hidden,” Obi said, advocating for the ‘four Cs’ of leadership: Competence, Capacity, Character, and Compassion. “Where these four are non-existent, there is no magic you can do.”
He concluded by stressing the need for leaders with the knowledge, energy, and moral integrity to address Nigeria’s complex challenges. Without compassion, he warned, lives are reduced to mere statistics and human suffering becomes an afterthought.
