The 2023 presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, has expressed sadness over the recent deaths caused by stampedes while the victims were searching for food.
A few days ago, about 35 people, mostly children, lost their lives in a stampede at a Christmas Funfair in Ibadan, Oyo State.
In a post on X, Obi said he got report that at least 10 people lost their lives on Saturday morning in Abuja while scrambling for palliatives, with many others injured.
This was immediately followed by news of another stampede in Okija, Anambra State, with multiple lives lost while partaking in the sharing of bags of rice donated by a philanthropist.
“While I will not cast blame, but instead appreciate the organisers of these respective events for their kind gestures in providing palliatives and support to society, especially the poor, these tragedies reflect the systemic failures that plague our society,” Obi reacted.
He lamented that the desperate quest for survival in this harsh economic has driven people to extremes in their search for food, often at the cost of their lives.
“How do we explain that in a nation blessed with abundant resources, our people are dying of hunger in such numbers? How is it possible that we cannot feed our citizens despite the vast, fertile lands our nation is endowed with? My heart bleeds,” he said.
He concluded by commiserating with all the affected families and the good people of Oyo, Anambra, and the Abuja over the tragic incidents.
