|By Adejumo Adekunle
Former presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, has blasted political leaders across the country for shifting attention to the 2027 general elections while violence continues to claim lives nationwide.
In a strongly worded statement posted on his official X handle, Obi decried what he described as a worsening security crisis, revealing that more than 1,000 Nigerians were reportedly killed in just the first two months of 2026. He added that thousands more were abducted in coordinated attacks across several states.
According to him, communities in Zamfara State, Kwara State, Ondo State, Kebbi State, Edo State, Benue State, Adamawa State, and Plateau State have been devastated by sustained violence, forcing families to bury loved ones and abandon their homes.
“From Zamfara to Kwara, Ondo, Kebbi, Edo, Benue, Adamawa, Plateau, and many other states, families have buried loved ones, and communities have been emptied by gunshots and fear,” Obi wrote.
He argued that the scale of killings now rivals, and in some cases surpasses, conditions in countries officially at war. The former Anambra State governor condemned what he called a dangerous disconnect between political conversations and the daily reality of Nigerians battling insecurity.
Obi took direct aim at political actors who are already strategizing for 2027, accusing them of obsessing over party structures, zoning formulas and campaign tactics while citizens fight for survival.
“We strategize about 2027 while Nigerians struggle to survive 2026. This is inhumane,” he declared.
Calling for an urgent reset of national priorities, Obi insisted that leadership must centre on protecting lives rather than perfecting electoral blueprints. He warned that history would judge today’s leaders not by their political manoeuvres but by their response to the bloodshed.
“History will not remember how many strategies we perfected for 2027; it will remember whether we acted when Nigerians were dying. We must choose Nigerian lives over politics. We must put Nigerians first,” he added.
The statement has since triggered fresh debate over governance, security reforms and the direction of national politics ahead of the next election cycle.
