Stampedes: Peter Obi Mourns, Says  "These Tragedies Reflect the Systemic Failures that Plague Our Society"

By:Olufemi Orunsola 

The presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 elections, Peter Obi has blamed dire hunger and systemic failures for the recent scourge of stampedes across the country. 

Obi's blame is coming after Nigeria experienced the avoidable death of well over 50 people including 35 children at the Ibadan stampede as well as women in the Anambra church stampede while many others sustained varying degrees of i juries in the chain of tragic incidents in Ibadan, Oyo State; Okija in Anambra and another one in the nation’s capital of Abuja, all witdaysa span of 5 days.

OPEN TELEVISION NAIJA (OTN) News reports that the last weekend before Christmas, precisely last Saturday turned out to be a dark Saturday as the Anambra and Abuja stampedes happened same day during seperate food distribution outreaches.

OTN News gathered that Obi has described thectragic incidents as an offshoot of the pervasive hunger in the country, which has reduced the vulnerable masses to a lesser than desirable state of living like mere asses.

Reacting to the incident, Obi said, "I am deeply saddened and distressed by the tragic loss of lives in desperate searches for food.”

Obi, a former governor of Anambra, one of the affected states, wrote in a post on his X account Saturday afternoon.

“While I will not cast blame, but instead appreciate the organizers of these respective events for their kind gestures in providing palliatives and support to society, especially the poor, these tragedies reflect the systemic failures that plague our society,” he said.

“The desperate quest for survival in these harsh economic times has driven our people to extremes in their search for food, often at the cost of their lives 

While mourning the dead, the opposition party Presidential candidate wondered why a country like Nigeria, “blessed with abundant resources” would have its people “dying of hunger in such numbers”.

Obi querried, “How is it possible that we cannot feed our citizens despite the vast, fertile lands our nation is endowed with? My heart bleeds,” he said.

The former Anambra governor commiserated with the families of the victims affected by the tragic incidents.

“One can only imagine the pain their families are enduring at this moment. My heart goes out to them,” he said, wishing that the “injured recover swiftly”.

Obi further wrote, “I sincerely commiserate with all the affected families and the good people of Oyo, Anambra, and the FCT over these tragic incidents. May God grant them, and all of us, the strength to bear these painful losses."