Stop demarketing Nigeria – PDP Chieftain tells Peter Obi

A chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Segun Sowunmi, has called on the 2023 Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, to refrain from demarketing Nigeria, especially in international forums.

Sowunmi’s statement came in response to Obi’s recent post on X (formerly Twitter), where he compared Nigeria’s economic growth with countries like China, Indonesia, and Vietnam.

During a visit to Johns Hopkins University in the U.S., Obi highlighted that while Nigeria, China, Vietnam, and Indonesia were all classified under the medium Human Development Index (HDI) category in 1990, Nigeria has since fallen to the low category, while the others progressed to high.

However, Sowunmi criticized Obi’s analysis, calling it “faulty” and “extremely skewed,” arguing that global metrics fail to account for Nigeria’s robust informal sector.

He wrote on X:
“With due respect @PeterObi, these measurements are faulty. Those who manipulate these figures lack proper metrics to assess Nigeria’s informal sector. You must stop this, especially at international forums. The burden should be placed on their flawed neoliberal policies and deep-state manipulations that pressure Africa! No one aspiring to lead Nigeria should be its biggest demarketer. Stop it immediately.”

What are your thoughts? Should leaders speak openly about Nigeria’s challenges, or does it harm the country’s image?