Former presidential candidate Peter Obi has strongly condemned the sexual assault and harassment of women during the controversial ‘Alue-Do’ festival in Ozoro, describing the attacks as a reflection of misplaced national priorities.
In a statement released Saturday titled Channelling Our Women to Critical Areas of Development, Obi criticised the festival incident as a “triviality” that distracts from urgent development needs, particularly the empowerment of women, who make up over half of Nigeria’s population.
“While other nations invest in human capital and critical areas of development, we lag behind,” Obi said. “Instead of ensuring that our women are educated and integrated into leadership and management structures—where they have consistently contributed to development—we focus on events like the Ozoro festival.”
He highlighted examples from other countries, noting that women drive significant economic growth in places like Indonesia and Bangladesh, where they own SMEs and dominate workforce sectors critical to national revenue—outperforming what Nigeria earns annually from oil exports.
The statement followed widespread outrage over social media videos showing young women being chased, stripped, and molested in broad daylight on Thursday, March 19, during the festival.
Obi called the incidents a “profound misplacement of values” and urged Nigeria to redirect efforts toward meaningful development that empowers women and integrates them into the economic mainstream.
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The Delta State Police confirmed the arrest of several suspects connected to the festival, including community leader Omorede Sunday and four other organisers. NAPTIP also condemned the attacks as “barbaric” and pledged support for justice and preventive measures.
Obi concluded by emphasising that investing in women could transform the nation:
“If we redirect our priorities and harness the potential of our women in critical sectors, we can rebuild Nigeria on a foundation of productivity and inclusion—transforming from a now disgraced country into one of pride.”
