FORMER Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi has expressed his concerns regarding the ongoing power crisis in Nigeria following yet another collapse of the national grid.
Nigerians experienced a blackout yesterday due to the latest failure of the national power grid.
Since January 2024, the grid has collapsed ten times, with three failures occurring within a single week in October, prompting widespread reactions from the public.
In a statement posted today on X, Obi compared Nigeria’s power supply challenges to South Africa’s recent achievement of seven months of uninterrupted electricity.
He stated, “Once again, we received the now-familiar news that the National Grid has collapsed. Just a few days ago, on October 25th, South Africa—formerly the second-largest economy in Africa after Nigeria, with only a quarter of our population—celebrated seven months of consistent power supply.
“South Africa generates and distributes approximately 40,000 MW of electricity, while Nigeria struggles to produce and distribute just 10% of that amount.”
Obi highlighted that the power crisis impacts all Nigerians, regardless of region or religion, and dismissed any claims that certain groups benefit more than others in the energy sector.
“Is there any tribe in Nigeria that enjoys uninterrupted power supply like South Africa? I am labeled a tribal bigot for asking this. When I inquire if any religion receives special privileges during this crisis, I am called a religious bigot. Nevertheless, I will continue to speak the truth about our current situation,” he remarked.
Emphasizing the need for collective action, Obi argued that the solution lies not in tribal or religious divisions but in unified, visionary leadership.
“The reality is that we are all suffering equally from this failure,” he asserted.
Obi called on Nigerians to move beyond “primordial sentiments” and focus on electing leaders who can propel the country towards development. He stressed the importance of transformative leadership to shift Nigeria from a consumer-driven economy to a productive one by investing in critical sectors like health, education, and infrastructure.
He said; “The fact remains that we are all suffering equally from this failure. The solution does not lie in tribal or religious affiliations but in visionary leadership and a collective commitment to progress.
“We must put aside these primordial sentiments and elect leaders who are competent, capable, and possess the vision to transform our nation from a consumer-driven economy to a productive one by directing our limited resources into essential areas of development such as health and education, lifting our people out of poverty, and ensuring increased electricity production and distribution.”
