Peter Obi slams FG over Ukraine grain donation, deems gesture “disheartening”
One of Nigeria’s main opposition leaders who was also the Labour Party presidential candidate in the last election, Mr. Peter Obi, has voiced his disappointment with the Federal Government after it received grain from the war-torn Ukraine.
In a recent social media post on X, he labelled the gesture as “disheartening.”
Ukraine is referred to as the food basket of the world. The country is blessed with fertile soil, plenty of rain, long hot summers and enough farm labour – all of which combine to make it one of the world’s biggest producers of crops.
The European nation has been fighting a long war with Russia and this has not stopped it from producing crops for local consumption and large exports.
Commenting on the grain donation by Ukraine to Nigeria, Peter Obi said, “As laudable as Ukraine’s kind gesture is, it speaks volumes for us as a people endowed with all needed human and natural resources, that a country officially prosecuting a brutal war of national survival with its powerful neighbour, Russia, is generous enough with their food supplies to help us who are officially at peace,” he wrote.
“It is disheartening that our once economically confident nation, blessed with vast arable land and abundant natural resources, now relies on war-torn Ukraine for food.
“This national disgrace stems from years of leadership failure, necessitating urgent reflection and reordering of our national priorities and resource management and allocation.
“We must aggressively reorder our priorities by investing resources in productive sectors like Agriculture. Addressing insecurity is crucial for farmers to return to their fields, enabling a productive manufacturing sector and supporting small businesses.”
“This act of human solidarity testifies to a rare generosity of spirit which should earn them greater global solidarity,” Obi said as he thanked Ukraine for the donation.
