Vice-President Kashim Shettima has criticised Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), over his use of statistics and comparisons with other countries, arguing that Nigeria’s unique circumstances demand policies tailored to its realities.
Shettima made the remarks on Wednesday at the inauguration of the All Progressives Congress (APC) Presidential Campaign Council at the Banquet Hall of the Presidential Villa in Abuja, where he described Obi as a “master of bogus statistics”.
Although he referred to Obi as “my very good friend”, the vice-president questioned the suitability of applying economic policies from countries such as Bangladesh to Nigeria without accounting for differences in population, institutions and economic structures.
Using a clothing analogy, Shettima said: “He seems convinced that a size 36 shirt tailored for Bangladesh will somehow fit Nigeria’s size 52 frame.”
He argued that a country with more than 250 million people required governance strategies that reflected its distinct social, economic, political and institutional conditions.
“Governance is an art that demands mastery of context, whether social, economic, political or institutional.
“What succeeds in Bangladesh cannot simply be transplanted to Nigeria without accounting for the differences in our population, economic structures, institutions and national circumstances.
“A country of over 250 million people cannot be governed through borrowed statistics and economic prescriptions without its peculiarities.”
Shettima further characterised what he described as Obi’s approach as a “delusion of grandeur”, adding: “Our context is with the politics of yesterday dressed as tomorrow’s deliverance.”
Despite his criticism of the opposition candidate, the vice-president urged APC campaigners to maintain civility and respect for political opponents throughout the campaign.
“For the rest of the duration of this campaign, we’ll discuss ideas, we’ll discuss policies, but we’ll treat all our opponents with respect and dignity. They are not our enemies. They are our brothers. They are our countrymen. They are our leaders,” he said.
He also warned party members against trading insults with opponents, urging them to respond to criticism with evidence and reason rather than emotion.
“We have the capacity to respond to all sorts of innuendos and outright lies that our political opponents are taking on. But we won’t fall into their traps. We’ll give them facts. We’ll give them statistics. We argue with reason, not with sentiments.”
