The Presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 general election, Peter Obi, has cautioned Nigerians against gloating over the fall of President Bola Tinubu during the Democracy Day celebration.
Tinubu tripped and fell while trying to climb the truck on his way to give his speech at Eagles Square in Abuja on Wednesday, June 12, 2024, to mark Democracy Day.
A viral video showed that the President lost his footing while stepping into the presidential parade vehicle and in the process fell before he was helped by his security entourage.
Several top personalities have so far reacted to President Tinubu’s fall including Obi who described the incident as unfortunate, adding that no one achieves anything by gloating.
“I was saddened to learn of President Tinubu’s unfortunate fall today. I wish him well,” the former governor of Anambra State said.
“We achieve nothing by gloating about an accident that could well happen to any of us.
“We are all human beings and, while we profoundly disagree on how to move Nigeria forward, we must remember our common human frailty.
“Let us stay focused on the issues that will lead to a new Nigeria. May this moment serve as a poignant reminder of our shared humanity and the need for compassion, empathy, and unity in our pursuit of a brighter future for our great nation.”
Obi had earlier in his Democracy Day post on X urged Nigeria to re-examine its democratic journey, saying the country has deteriorated into “classical state capture” rather than a government for the people.
As the country marks 25 years of uninterrupted democracy, Obi lamented that Nigeria’s democratic experience has been marred by leadership failures that have resulted in uncontrolled systemic corruption, high levels of insecurity, lack of freedom of speech, increasing poverty rates, and unprecedented levels of hunger and hardship, which remain unsolved and are growing geometrically.
Obi noted that “true democracy” should be people-oriented, where the rights of citizens are respected, the laws are obeyed, and the leaders remain accountable to the people but the opposite is the case for Nigeria.
To further illustrate, he added that the country is not truly democratic and has only produced the vices enumerated above.
