Former Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi has challenged Nigerians to focus on addressing the country’s fundamental problems rather than being preoccupied with how the nation is perceived internationally.
During his appearance on Symfoni TV, where he discussed President Trump’s recent statements on violence against Christians in Nigeria, Obi responded to concerns about whether the country has been disgraced on the global stage.
Addressing questions he has received following widespread media coverage of the issue, Obi said many people have been asking him, “Are we disgraced?” However, he urged a different perspective, invoking philosophical principles to make his point. “As a philosopher, one thing that is central to philosophy is that an unexamined life is not worth living. You must go back to yourself and ask yourself,” he stated.
When confronted with the notion of Nigeria being labeled a disgraced country, Obi questioned why the focus remains on external criticism rather than internal challenges. “Why is it that anytime people make comments, instead of looking inward, we’re looking the other way around?” he asked.
The former presidential candidate then highlighted Nigeria’s poverty crisis to illustrate his concern. He pointed out that Nigeria has approximately 130 million people living in poverty—a figure that, according to him, exceeds the combined number of poor people in India and China, despite those two nations having a combined population of nearly 3 billion people.
“You have more people living in poverty than the two of them combined, and you’re worried that somebody called you disgraced,” Obi remarked. “Why don’t you look back and know whether there’s anything that is causing you disgrace behind you?”
His comments suggest that Nigeria’s leadership and citizens should prioritize self-examination and addressing domestic crises rather than defending the nation’s image against international criticism.
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