A chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Segun Sowunmi, has criticized former Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi for allegedly “demarketing” Nigeria at international platforms.
Sowunmi’s remarks came in response to Obi’s post on X (formerly Twitter) on Friday, where he shared an analysis comparing Nigeria’s economic growth with China, Vietnam, and Indonesia during a recent visit to Johns Hopkins University in the United States.
Obi had pointed out that in 1990, when the Human Development Index (HDI) measurement began, Nigeria, China, Vietnam, and Indonesia were all classified under the medium category. However, by 2025, the three Asian countries had moved into the high HDI category, while Nigeria had fallen into the low category.
Reacting, Sowunmi argued that Obi’s analysis was flawed, criticizing the methodology and its failure to account for Nigeria’s large informal economy.
“With due respect @PeterObi, these measurements are faulty. Extremely skewed for those who manipulate these figures have no metrics to measure the informal sector in Nigeria,” Sowunmi wrote on X.
He warned Obi against what he called “demarketing” Nigeria, especially on international stages, and urged him to focus criticism on global neoliberal policies rather than portraying Nigeria negatively.
“No 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. Stop it immediately,” he said.
