Former presidential candidate and Labour Party leader, Peter Obi, has expressed concern over the rising number of school abductions across Nigeria, warning that the country may be becoming desensitized to insecurity.
In a statement shared on Friday, Obi referenced the 2014 abduction of the Chibok schoolgirls, which sparked global outrage and led to the international #BringBackOurGirls campaign. He noted that the incident once united Nigerians and drew significant global attention to the country’s security crisis.
According to him, while the Chibok tragedy triggered widespread national and international pressure on government authorities, similar levels of outrage appear to have diminished in recent years despite repeated attacks on schools.
Obi claimed that under former President Muhammadu Buhari’s eight-year administration, Nigeria recorded about ten school abductions, while under President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s current administration, more than ten similar incidents have allegedly occurred within three years.
He expressed concern that despite the continued recurrence of such tragedies, there has been no sustained national mobilization or international response comparable to that of 2014.
The former Anambra governor questioned whether Nigerians have become “too accustomed” to insecurity, warning that normalization of such incidents could weaken public pressure for accountability and reform.
He also criticized what he described as a political environment where leadership attention appears increasingly focused on electoral positioning rather than addressing urgent national challenges such as insecurity and economic hardship.
Obi rejected the label of Nigeria as a “now disgraced nation,” stating that while the country faces serious difficulties, it should not be defined by its present struggles. However, he acknowledged that persistent insecurity and hardship have negatively affected Nigeria’s global image.
He called for leadership that is “competent, compassionate, accountable, and genuinely committed” to the welfare and security of citizens, urging Nigerian youths not to become indifferent to ongoing security failures.
“The Nigerian youth must not become indifferent. We must all refuse to normalise failure,” he said, concluding with a call for renewed national engagement and reform, adding: “A new Nigeria is possible.”
