NDC presidential candidate Peter Obi has called on Nigerian youths to “take back” the country, warning against growing public indifference to insecurity.
In a statement posted on his verified X account on Friday, the former Anambra State governor decried the normalisation of kidnappings and violence, citing the 2014 abduction of Chibok schoolgirls as a turning point that once unified national and international outrage.
Obi recalled that the Chibok incident sparked the global #BringBackOurGirls campaign and placed significant pressure on the government at the time.
“One school abduction was enough to unite Nigerians, attract international attention, and place enormous pressure on the government,” he wrote.
The former governor contrasted that reaction with more recent events. He noted that Nigeria recorded approximately ten school abductions during President Muhammadu Buhari’s eight-year tenure. Under President Bola Tinubu’s administration, he added, more than ten such incidents have occurred in just three years.
“Despite these repeated tragedies, there has been neither sustained national outrage nor significant international attention comparable to what followed Chibok,” Obi stated.
He questioned whether Nigerians had become desensitised to violence: “Have we become so accustomed to insecurity that what once shocked our national conscience is now treated as normal?”
Obi urged young Nigerians not to accept failure as the norm.
“The Nigerian youth must not become indifferent. We must all refuse to normalise failure. Young Nigerians – take back your country!”
He further criticised the political class, saying that at a time when millions face insecurity, poverty, and hardship, those in power appeared more preoccupied with electoral calculations than with addressing urgent national challenges.