It‘s Wrong Blaming Tinubu For Stampedes – Reno Omokri To Obi

Former presidential aide, Reno Omokri, has cautioned former Labour Party presidential candidate, Mr. Peter Obi, against politicising the recent fatal stampedes in parts of the country, calling it an exploitation of people’s tragedy.

Approximately 39 people were feared dead in two separate stampedes in Okija, Anambra State, and Maitama, Abuja, on Saturday, during food-sharing events ahead of the Christmas festivities.

These incidents followed an earlier disaster in Ibadan, where 35 children tragically lost their lives in a similar stampede.

Obi, in a tweet on his X handle, condemned the deaths in Ibadan, calling it a stark reflection of the nation’s systemic failures.

“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,” Obi wrote.

He argued that the tragedy should prompt deep reflection and call for decisive action by leaders to prioritise policies addressing poverty, inequality, equitable resource access, and public safety standards, particularly at events involving children.

However, Omokri, reacting on his X handle, accused Obi of being insensitive and of seeking to gain political leverage from the tragedy.

He said, “One would have expected Mr. Peter Obi to have condoled with the families and moved on.”

Omokri further criticised Obi for attempting to blame the Federal Government, labelling the incident a global phenomenon.

He pointed out that similar tragedies had recently occurred in the United States, South Korea, Israel, and several European countries.

He also reminded Obi of a similar incident that occurred during his tenure as governor of Anambra State in November 2013, when 28 people died in a stampede.

Omokri claimed that Obi himself was at the scene and was accused by survivors of causing the stampede.

“It is hypocritical for a man under whom these events occurred to now use the Ibadan tragedy to stigmatise the Tinubu administration,” Omokri said.

He criticised Obi for not offering alternative solutions to the issues and instead using such tragedies to score political points.

Omokri also questioned the moral basis for Obi’s repeated criticism of President Tinubu’s administration, pointing out that under Obi’s governance, poverty in Anambra State nearly doubled.

He cited figures from Obi’s successor, Mr. Willie Obiano, and current governor, Prof. Chukwuma Soludo, who revealed that poverty in the state grew from 41.4% to 53.7% under Obi’s leadership.

“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, preferring to deposit them in his bank to yield interest that went into his pockets,” Omokri said.

He added that Obi did not initiate, start, complete, or commission any new schools during his eight years as governor.