By Clement Nwabuko
ABUJA (PRECISE POST) – Former Secretary to the Anambra State Government, Oseloka Obaze has accused Vice-President Kashim Shettima of exhibiting a “denial mindset” over Nigeria’s economic challenges following his criticism of former Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi’s comparison of Nigeria with Bangladesh.
Obaze argued that Shettima’s description of Obi as “the master of bourgeois statistics” demonstrated an apparent misunderstanding of comparative politics and the importance of measuring a country’s economic performance against those of comparable nations.
In a statement posted on his X handle on Thursday, Obaze defended Obi’s use of Bangladesh as a benchmark for assessing Nigeria’s economic performance, insisting that the Asian country, alongside Malaysia and Indonesia, offered more appropriate comparisons for Nigeria than advanced economies such as the United States, Canada, Germany and China.
He said comparing Nigeria with highly developed economies could have exposed Obi to accusations of making unrealistic assessments, adding that comparisons between countries with similar characteristics provided a more credible basis for evaluating national performance.
“VP Shettima has exhibited the denial mindset that has unceasingly hobbled the ruling APC government,” Obaze said.
The former Anambra government official further suggested that oil-rich Venezuela might provide a more suitable comparison for Nigeria under the All Progressives Congress-led administration.
According to him, both countries share troubling characteristics, including dependence on oil, insecurity, multidimensional poverty, poor leadership and corruption.
Obaze said the economic and political difficulties confronting Venezuela could offer lessons for Nigeria, particularly if the ruling party considered comparisons with Bangladesh inappropriate.
“Given the doldrums, which the APC government has successfully foisted on Nigeria, perhaps, VP Shettima will sleep better, if PO compared oil-rich Nigeria to oil-rich Venezuela, as the fate that has befallen Venezuela seems to be the model APC wants transplanted to Nigeria,” he stated.
He also alluded to what he described as an “extant exit strategy for rogue and corrupt leaders,” suggesting that Nigeria could draw lessons from Venezuela’s political experience.
Obaze’s remarks followed Shettima’s criticism of Obi’s economic comparisons, reigniting debate over the appropriate benchmarks for assessing Nigeria’s economic performance and the effectiveness of the Federal Government’s policies.
He concluded by challenging the notion that Bangladesh was an inappropriate reference point, arguing that comparative economic analysis should be based on relevant similarities between countries rather than dismissing comparisons that expose domestic shortcomings.
