Peter Obi, the Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate, has faulted the Tinubu administration’s focus on the Lagos-Calabar Coastal Highway, arguing that Nigeria’s worsening insecurity and economic instability demand more urgent attention.
Speaking during an interview with ARISE NEWS on Monday, Obi questioned the rationale behind committing substantial resources to large-scale infrastructure projects amid the country’s ongoing crises.
“Are you saying that the coastal road is more important than securing Nigeria?” he asked.
He emphasised that national security and economic production are the backbone of any successful society, insisting that no infrastructure project, regardless of its scale, should come before securing lives and livelihoods.
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“The roads we have all over the country are no more durable. You fix those roads first and use your resources to secure your country. Security is far more fundamental than roads. Would you prefer a road to your village when you cannot drive to your village? If you prefer, let us do what we are doing. So if you say our problem is insecurity, they can’t go to farm, our problem is power, let’s deal with those things,” Obi said.
He stressed the need for government to act decisively in securing its people: “We are a government. We must secure our people, and it requires decisive action.”
Obi called for greater support and empowerment of security agencies, noting that internal threats must be handled with the urgency of a wartime response.
“If we were in a war, we would declare a state of war… whatever it takes to secure the country, I would do it,” he declared.
