Peter Obi, the Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate, has sharply criticized President Bola Tinubu’s condolence visit to Benue State on June 18, 2025, describing it as a “carnival” that lacked compassion for the grieving Yelwata community, where over 200 people were massacred by suspected herders on June 13.
In a statement on Thursday, June 19, Obi condemned the celebratory atmosphere, including banners, music, and a public holiday, as insensitive.
Obi, a former Anambra governor, argued that Tinubu’s visit to Makurdi, accompanied by Governor Hyacinth Alia and Secretary to the Government George Akume, resembled a campaign rally rather than a solemn act of mourning. “We have tragically arrived at a point where condolence visits have become carnivals,” Obi said, noting that children were lined up in the rain to sing for the president. He contrasted Tinubu’s agbada attire and fanfare with the somber visits of South Africa’s Cyril Ramaphosa to flood-hit Mthatha and India’s Narendra Modi to a crash site, emphasizing their silence and action.
Tinubu, during a town hall in Makurdi, ordered security agencies to arrest the perpetrators, per Arise News, and visited victims at Benue State University Teaching Hospital. Obi, however, criticized Tinubu’s failure to visit Yelwata, dismissing excuses of bad roads as “unacceptable” given the presidential air fleet’s capabilities. He urged redirecting resources to food, shelters, and trauma counseling, warning that such displays erode Nigeria’s soul. The criticism follows Obi’s earlier praise on June 17 for Tinubu’s decision to visit, urging a similar trip to Niger State’s flood-hit Mokwa.