₦airaland Forum

By Ayodele Oluwafemi

Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in 2023, says Nigeria can afford basic necessities as a country, noting that they are often not prioritised due to incompetent leadership.

In a series of posts published via X on Tuesday, the former governor of Anambra recalled meeting a young Nigerian who had just graduated from nursing school in the US and was visiting Nigeria for the first time with her parents on an Air Peace flight.

Obi said during the trip, the lady shared her “sadness and confusion” about the current state of Nigeria, while asking questions about why basic things are difficult to get in the country.

The former governor of Anambra said she narrated her experience at a government-owned hospital in Nigeria when her sister had a domestic accident.

"On arrival, even though her sister’s hand was bleeding, the hospital staff insisted that payment must be made before any treatment could begin,” Obi wrote.

“Shocked, they asked the hospital attendant whether he truly did not see the urgency of the situation. In response, they were shown other patients with even worse conditions who were also being left unattended because they had not paid.

"They eventually paid, and it was time for the blood test. Traumatised, they realised the hospital had only one blood-testing machine for all patients, and it was not being sterilised between uses.

When she raised concerns that the equipment had not been properly sterilised, they were bluntly told to stop asking questions if they wanted her sister to be treated. Despite their payment, they had to buy all the items needed for her treatment.

She found it hard to believe because, according to her training and every hospital she had visited, treatment comes first – payment comes later.

“She told me they had considered organizing a GoFundMe to support healthcare back home, but relatives warned them that any money raised would likely be embezzled.

“Then she said something that struck me deeply: ‘I now understand what happened to Boxer Joshua. This is why there was no ambulance to rush him to a nearby hospital’.

She wondered aloud whether it was simply because the country is poor. Yet she added that she would willingly offer her skills and service for free and help raise money to make things better.”

‘FUNDS SPENT TO RENOVATE INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE CENTRE CAN BUY 400 AMBULANCES’

The former presidential candidate said after listening to the lady’s lamentation, he encouraged her not to lose hope in the country.

Obi said the money used for the refurbishment of the International Conference Centre in Abuja and the residence of Vice-President Kashim Shettima should have been used to buy ambulances for emergency treatment.

" I painfully replied by encouraging her not to lose hope. The country is not poor, but it is poorly governed,” he added.

“Nigeria can afford basic necessities, especially critical and necessary ones, but they are often not considered priorities due to incompetent leadership.

"A standard ambulance costs about ₦150 million ($100,000). Nigeria spent ₦39 billion refurbishing the National Conference Centre in Abuja and ₦21 billion rebuilding the vice president’s residence.

“Those two projects alone—₦60 billion—could have provided about 400 brand-new ambulances, roughly 11 per state, including the FCT. Had 11 functional ambulances existed in Ogun State, one might have been available for Joshua.

"Building a primary healthcare centre in a community costs about ₦75 million. Yet we spent about ₦300 billion ($200 million) on an additional presidential jet – money that could have built over 4,000 primary healthcare centres, about 110 per state.

“The only visible value the jet adds is the ability of the president to occasionally disappear without the public knowing where he is, as is the case now.”

https://www.thecable.ng/obi-nigeria-can-afford-basic-necessities-n60bn-used-to-renovate-conference-centre-vps-residence-could-buy-400-ambulances/

Gbamsolutely. God bless us all.

Pls where is manabbqgrill. It's been long ooooo or no data again and the laptop.

I dedicate my FTC to all data boys, God will touch ur heart.

When basic necessities like food security, healthcare, education, and power are sidelined for wasteful spending and political interests, citizens pay the price.

Okay. We have heard you. May God take 9ja to greater heights. Amen

You see, I don't mind anyone saying all these good things, but it cannot be someone who had the opportunity to show these things but was not able to in 8years in office.

Someone like Sowore can make these kinds of statements and get away with it because he has not had the opportunity to show his capacity. He can make all sorts of crap promises, but not this Agulu failure. He had for 8 years and was a failure.

How can someone who was practically pathetic in 8 years as the Governor of just one state be making such an outlandish statement about doing all these on a national level when he failed to do such things on a smaller scale while in office for 8 good years?

I was hoping you could show me what you have done before, not what you are promising to do tomorrow.


Pls check out the dates on these tweets...these are some of what the citizens of his state said about him while he was Governor.

Basic problem is Nigeria is not making enough money
Healthcare budgets have never passed ten billion dollars. Talk less of seven billion dollars. If we wanted to have a decent healthcare budget , we need something like 400 billion dollars and then we be talking

Obi needs to tell us what he would do to raise more money for Nigeria if elected.

( Not an attack on obi, a genuine question as we are all agreed tinubu should go)

Yeah and even if we spent 75 million on a phc, how do we maintain it over the years? Plus we need more than new phc centers. Government should not be also wasting money on jets

MODIFIED

We need to be spending something like 5-6% of gdp on our health care...an additional 1% for PHC. All those are the barest minimum
To get to healthcare like the USA or UK, we need something like 400 billion dollars...more than our current gdp of 252 billion (half of the 500 billion we had in 2014).

Nigeria is a shameless country. Inspite of all these we are still looking for our President. Has Tinubu escaped?

YesDaddyTill203:
You seeI don't mind anyone saying all these good things but it cannot be someone who had the opportunity to show these things but was not able to in 8years in office.

Hehehe 🤭 APC lappy Geng don sho 🤗

He is castigating Peter Obi meanwhile his druggie da baroni is busy gallivanting the whole of France and showing us fake GROK AI created pictures to try and bamboozle their e-minions like this unfortunate agbadoid I quoted 😏

Ddeliverer007:
Nigeria is a shameless country. Inspite of all these we are still looking for our President. Has Tinubu escaped?

He is drinking tea in paris

Mr President should stop taxing the poor!!!

We know he needs money for election...

What happened to subsidy money??

He should provide jobs or create a balanced economy were people can thrive instead of taxing the poor

"Nigeria is not poor, Nigeria is poorly governed" Peter obi

princeade86:
Gbamsolutely. God bless us all.

Pls where is manabbqgrill. It's been long ooooo or no data again and the laptop.

I dedicate my FTC to all data boys, God will touch ur heart.

Obviously, you have collected your monthly share of Gala and Malt with this post.

People who are hoping for PO to become president don't even know they'll be his first set of casualties as some of them are contributing to the dysfunctional Nigeria state.

Imagine a federal civil servant who hasn't gone to work for months and still gets paid saying that a new Nigeria is POssible. Sanitising this country will be catastrophic but it's long overdue.

King of lamba has spoken...

As governor of anambra I'm sure they was medical tourism.

Convince me with actions not beautiful sounding stories and lamba


You will forever remain king! 👑

SeeWahala:
Hehehe 🤭 APC lappy Geng don sho 🤗

He is castigating Peter Obi meanwhile his druggie da baroni is busy gallivanting the whole of France and showing us fake GROK AI created pictures to try and bamboozle their e-minions like this unfortunate agbadoid I quoted 😏

Let's hope that the Gala and Malt that they gave you have not expired yet. You better check the expiration date, awof they run belle oh

SmartPolician:
People who are hoping for PO to become president don't even know they'll be his first victims as some of them are contributing to the dysfunctional Nigeria state.

Imagine a federal civil servant who hasn't gone to work for months and still gets paid saying that a new Nigeria is POssible. Sanitising this country will be catastrophic but it's long overdue.

I was telling someone something similar to this yesterday, but this lady will not even let me finish.
She was more interested in blaming top politicians while overlooking people like these who are collecting salaries while at home. I even gave an example of someone waiting to collect money from me before providing a basic government service that she's already getting paid for. She didn't think that these types of actions had anything to do with why the country is the way it is.
I just can't believe it. People think govt is just the President and the Governors.....I tire for my people

Bitter Agulu Obideen Grievingory Obituary at it again

Someone that increased school fees when he was a governor, now saying Nigeria can't afford basic things.

Tinubu may not be good but this Peter Obi would be a monumental disaster as a President.

nairalanda1:
Basic problem is Nigeria is not making enough money
Healthcare budgets have never passed ten billion dollars. Talk less of seven billion dollars. If we wanted to have a decent healthcare budget , we need something like 400 billion dollars and then we be talking

Obi needs to tell us what he would do to raise more money for Nigeria if elected.

( Not an attack on obi, a genuine question as we are all agreed tinubu should go)

Yeah and even if we spent 75 million on a phc, how do we maintain it over the years? Plus we need more than new phc centers. Government should not be also wasting money on jets

He is saying we already have enough to care for our basic needs. You are saying we need more. This is where you defer.

The essence of what he is saying is that if we cut waste, spend wisely, we can balance the books. What he is saying is that if we invest in things that benefit the many as against the few or the individual, we can turn to the many to fund our needs in time.

But your focus remains on more and more and I tell you, more and more income will never satisfy a mindset that is hardwired to waste. The tax regime is on. Let us see whether it will 'prosper' this country.

But you and I know it will not, just as the idea that increasing the size of your airconditioner will compensate for your inability to keep your doors and windows shut in this blazing hot season.

Absolutely correct.

Obi for president.

YesDaddyTill203:
You see, I don't mind anyone saying all these good things, but it cannot be someone who had the opportunity to show these things but was not able to in 8years in office.

Someone like Sowore can make these kinds of statements and get away with it because he has not had the opportunity to show his capacity. He can make all sorts of crap promises, but not this Agulu failure. He had for 8 years and was a failure.

How can someone who was practically pathetic in 8 years as the Governor of just one state be making such an outlandish statement about doing all these on a national level when he failed to do such things on a smaller scale while in office for 8 good years?

I was hoping you could show me what you have done before, not what you are promising to do tomorrow.


Pls check out the dates on these tweets...these are some of what the citizens of his state said about him while he was Governor.

His records are there. Even though you are paid to do your job. Still read. The impact of Obi's government in the health and educational sectors in Anambra state is still speaking till tomorrow.

danijesus:
"Nigeria is not poor, Nigeria is poorly governed" Peter obi

This is absolutely true.
It is run by a cartel of dubious contractors and so called consultants that lead the compromised astray.

It is what they want government to spend money on that happens.

Watch how they attack the OBI instead of the topic

That's to show you how bad the country have been in corruption

Atiku said he is not stepping down for any body. Here u are. ADC don trap P man

Says the content creator who did nothing as a state governor.
He thinks sane Nigerians are gullible and d@ft like his one way supporters...

You would come fourth this time.

Mark my words ... you can't win Lagos again...you are not fit to be a LG chairman in south west Nigeria.

Bad news carrier...

Alliswell248:
Says the content creator who did nothing as a state governor.
He thinks Nigerians are sane Nigerians are gullible and d@ft like his one way supporters...

You would come fourth this time.

It's 2026. Your claim that he did NOTHING is not only false. It's wicked and ignorant.

Stop this. Please.

DMCA:
Bitter Agulu Obideen Grievingory Obituary at it again

You should have a better comeback than this, nau.
At least, say something coherent

PlasmaTV:
It's 2026. Your claim that he did NOTHING is not only false. It's wicked and ignorant.

Stop this. Please.

I was in Anambra when he became a governor.
He was a complete failure.

Tell me something else.

Alliswell248:
I was in Anambra when he became a governor.
He was a complete failure.

Tell me something else.

Someone moved the education from zero to the best in Nigeria, yet you call him a failure.

YesDaddyTill203:
You see, I don't mind anyone saying all these good things, but it cannot be someone who had the opportunity to show these things but was not able to in 8years in office.

Someone like Sowore can make these kinds of statements and get away with it because he has not had the opportunity to show his capacity. He can make all sorts of crap promises, but not this Agulu failure. He had for 8 years and was a failure.

How can someone who was practically pathetic in 8 years as the Governor of just one state be making such an outlandish statement about doing all these on a national level when he failed to do such things on a smaller scale while in office for 8 good years?

I was hoping you could show me what you have done before, not what you are promising to do tomorrow.


Pls check out the dates on these tweets...these are some of what the citizens of his state said about him while he was Governor.

Thanks for putting it succinctly.

Nothing to add.