April 25, 2025
By Ayinde Adeleke
Segun Sowunmi, a chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), has advised former presidential candidate Peter Obi to refrain from making negative comments about Nigeria at international forums.
Sowunmi’s advice comes after Obi compared Nigeria’s economic growth unfavorably with China, Vietnam, and Indonesia during a visit to Johns Hopkins University in the United States.
Obi had stated that while the three countries had improved their GDP per capita and Human Development Index (HDI) over the past 35 years, Nigeria’s had declined.
He noted that Nigeria’s GDP per capita had fallen to about one-fifth of Indonesia’s and Vietnam’s and below one-tenth of China’s.
“Within the same period of 35 years, from 1990 to 2025, the GDP Per Capita of these comparable nations have all improved… Today, Nigeria’s per capita is about one-fifth of Indonesia’s ($5000) and Vietnam’s (4400) GDP per capita and below one-tenth of China’s (1300) GDP per capita,” Obi said.
However, Sowunmi faulted Obi’s analysis, saying that his submissions about Nigeria were “extremely skewed.”
He emphasized that those who manipulate economic figures often fail to account for Nigeria’s large informal sector.
“One who wishes to lead a nation called Nigeria must be the de-marketer on steroids of the same country he or she wishes to lead,” Sowunmi advised, urging Obi to stop portraying Nigeria in a bad light abroad.
