Stop Demarketing Nigeria – PDP Chieftain Tells Peter Obi

Segun Sowunmi, a prominent member of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has urged Peter Obi, the 2023 Labour Party presidential candidate, to refrain from “demarketing” Nigeria, particularly in international settings. This call came in response to Obi’s recent comments comparing Nigeria’s economic growth to that of other countries at a lecture in the United States.

During a visit to Johns Hopkins University, Obi drew comparisons between Nigeria and nations such as China, Indonesia, and Vietnam, focusing on their economic growth since 1990. He noted that all four countries were categorized under the medium Human Development Index (HDI) when the measurement began, but by 2025, while China, Indonesia, and Vietnam had moved into the high HDI category, Nigeria had fallen into the low HDI category.

Sowunmi, however, disagreed with Obi’s analysis, describing it as flawed. In a post on X, he argued that such comparisons failed to account for the informal sector in Nigeria, which is not adequately measured in these HDI figures. Sowunmi called on Obi to stop presenting such views, especially on international platforms, and to instead direct the criticism toward the global neoliberal policies that he believes have unfairly impacted Africa. He emphasized that anyone seeking to lead Nigeria should not be actively undermining the country’s image abroad.