Why Nigeria will keep losing investors — Peter Obi

Presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 general election, Peter Obi, has stated reasons Nigeria would keep losing investors, raising concerns over Nigeria’s growing disregard for the rule of law and lawlessness.

He warned that such lawlessness is driving away investors and endangering citizens.

In a post shared via his X (formerly Twitter) account on Tuesday, Obi narrated how his younger brother’s company property in Ikeja, Lagos, was demolished without legal notice or due process.

Obi, a former governor of Anambra State, said his personal experience and recent events involving his younger brother have further confirmed that Nigeria is becoming increasingly hostile to both businesses and individuals.

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“Any society where lawlessness overrides the rule of law is not destined to be a haven for investors.

“Recent reports showing that Nigeria’s human rights indicators have worsened merely highlight severe shortfalls in government protection for civil liberties, personal security, and basic living standards.

This morning, my youngest brother called me frantically, informing me that a group of people had invaded his company property in Ikeja, Lagos, and were demolishing the building,” he wrote.

He said efforts were immediately made to seek redress through legal means, while he also flew into Lagos to witness the situation firsthand.

“On arrival, I was confronted by security personnel who refused to let me access the demolished building.

“I appealed to them and explained that the property belonged to my brother and had been in his possession for over a decade,” Obi stated.

According to him, those on the ground claimed they were acting based on a court judgment, but when he requested a copy, he discovered that the judgment was issued against “an unknown person and squatters.”

“I asked for a demolition order or permit—there was none,” he said.

“I demanded to know who sent them, but the excavator operators said they were only contracted for the job and didn’t know who gave the order.”

The former governor described the situation as a reflection of “coordinated lawlessness and impunity,” lamenting how such actions are becoming common across the country.

He further shared a recent conversation with a businessman who said he invests in Ghana, Senegal, and Benin Republic but avoids Nigeria due to the lack of legal protection for businesses.

“I asked him why, and his answer was piercing: ‘Nigeria is a lawless country. Until we have laws that protect people, nobody will invest in Nigeria,’” Obi said.

“I’m shocked. How did Nigeria get to this level of lawlessness? What kind of country are we trying to build when the rights of citizens, their lives, their properties, and their voices are trampled upon daily?”

Obi concluded that the worsening human rights situation in Nigeria has made the country unsafe for citizens, small businesses, and potential investors, warning that the continued erosion of the rule of law will only deepen the nation’s economic and social crises.

NIGERIAN TRIBUNE