Former Labour Party Presidential Candidate, Peter Obi, has said the recent condemnation by the United States Mission in Nigeria has exposed the country to global ridicule.

The US Mission, in a post shared under its #TransparencyTuesday campaign, criticised some Nigerian governors for spending billions on new government houses, airports, and flyovers while asking citizens to endure economic hardship.

Reacting via his official X account, Obi said the comments confirm Nigeria’s worsening leadership crisis and the urgent need to reset the system.

“I have consistently maintained that leadership failure lies at the heart of Nigeria’s problems. Until we confront it directly, the country cannot move in the right direction,” he said.

Obi described the US remarks as a reflection of what many Nigerians have long pointed out.

“Our declining governance has drawn global attention, as shown in the recent statement by the U.S. Diplomatic Mission in Nigeria. Once again, let me be clear, you cannot ask the people to keep fasting while you feast every day,” he wrote.

Quoting late author Chinua Achebe, Obi added, “The trouble with Nigeria is simply and squarely a failure of leadership.”

He decried the growing trend of attacking critics instead of addressing core issues of governance.

“I speak out to help build a new Nigeria, free of criminality and corruption. But instead of addressing the message, those who have hijacked our country deploy media thugs to insult and distract,” he said.

Obi called on Nigerians to move beyond politics of ethnicity and religion, urging citizens to elect leaders based on competence, character, and capacity.

“We have voted based on tribe and religion for too long. It is time to vote for competence. Let us move from waste, looting, and reckless borrowing to production. Let us build a Nigeria that works,” he added.

Former Minister of Aviation, Femi Fani-Kayode, sharply accused the United States of hypocrisy.

He faulted the US for attempting to moralise on governance while allegedly contributing to global crises.

“Whilst the children of Gaza are being slaughtered and starved, the American government is sending more and more weapons to Israel to assist them in committing genocide,” he wrote. (Daily Trust)