‘The labour of our heroes past are all in vain’, Peter Obi laments

The 2023 presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, has said that the labour of Nigeria’s past heroes is now in vain.

Obi said this while speaking at the Memorial Lecture of the late Edwin Clark on Wednesday, May 7, 2025.

According to the former Anambra State governor, Clark was one of Nigeria‘s leaders who fought tooth and nail for a better nation but never lived to see Nigeria become the desire of many citizens.

However, highlighting some of the challenges, criminality and pockets of corruption by leaders across the country, Obi said it is unfortunate that past leaders’ efforts have been brought to ruins.

Also dismissing criticism against some of his remarks at global events, the former governor said he was not demarketing Nigeria.

He said, “I spoke a few days ago and people said I’m demarketing Nigeria. When is speaking the truth being demarketing Nigeria? The World Bank has just shown that 75% of Nigerians in rural areas are poor.

“Is the World Bank demarketing Nigeria. UNICEF two days ago released that Nigerians now have over two million malnourished children, the second highest in the world, are they demarketing Nigeria.”

“Let’s tell the truth. Their labour is in vain. We have a country now that is not democratic. We are not a democratic country,” Obi stated.

Condemning the situation of things in the country and the rascality exhibited by many Nigerian leaders, Obi said the country has drifted from democracy.

“The election that happened in Edo State, is it democratic? 

“Just the last election in Edo is the most undemocratic election. Everybody knows who won that election. So why are we keeping it and saying let their labour go in vain?”

“It is in vain. So we can start picking the pieces now because they’ve destroyed everything people have sacrificed for.

“Look at what is happening in Nigeria today. The country people sacrificed have turned into a crime scene. All we do today is stealing, stealing, stealing, stealing.”

“And we have to do something. All we need to do is live a courageous life. 

“May God Almighty that calls him home grant him eternal rest and grant us the courage to look into what our father lived for and start picking our pieces,” Obi said.