Nigeria’s major opposition figure, Peter Obi, has again slammed the handling of the country’s economy by the APC government under President Bola Tinubu, praising the military dictatorship of Ibrahim Babangida for not doing a bad job as the incumbent head of state.

“Using our contemporary peers as a benchmark, when IBB left office in 1992, countries like Bangladesh, India, Vietnam, and Ghana were all in the low Human Development Index (HDI) category—just like Nigeria,” said the former Anambra governor during Mr Babangida’s book launch on Thursday at the Transcorp Hilton, Abuja. “Today, however, these nations have advanced to medium and high HDI levels, while Nigeria remains in the low HDI category, having either stagnated or declined.”

Mr Obi noted, “The first is the keynote speaker’s notable quotation in French, ‘Rien n’a changé’ meaning ‘Nothing much has changed’. In the case of Nigeria, we are worse off than we were during IBB’s era.”

The politician claimed that Mr Babangida’s contributions to Nigeria’s economy and his strong support for entrepreneurship and private sector growth “remain immeasurable.” 

“Under his leadership, Nigeria witnessed substantial growth, particularly in the financial sector,” stated Mr Obi. “He played a key role in fostering a united and equitable Nigeria and economic landscape, ensuring policies that strengthened national cohesion and economic development.”

Mr Obi, who came third in the 2023 presidential poll, has remained a thorn in the side of Mr Tinubu and his ruling party while claiming to have won the election.