Nigerians flog Reno Omokri over ‘Obi built $50m brewery’ statement

Reno Omokri, a former aide to ex-president Goodluck Jonathan, has suffered criticism from Nigerians over his claims that Peter Obi prioritized the creation of breweries over schools during his reign as governor of Anambra State.

Reno Omokri was described among other things, as a “political jobber over his statement

Chronicle NG reports that Omokri, in a statement on his X page on Monday, berated Obi, the Labour Party candidate in the 2023 election, over claims that he spent $50 million on building breweries at the detriment of the educational sector.

The social media influencer also noted that local government chairmen in Lagos State built more schools than Obi.

Reacting to Omokri’s statement, Casmir Nwigwe, in a comment on X, described Omokri as “a political jobber.”

• Reno Omokri faults Obi for building a $50m brewery instead of schools

Nwigwe noted that during Obi’s reign as governor, he equipped the already established schools, which in turn resulted in Anambra becoming the “number one performing school in the nation.”

“Reno Omokri is just a political jobber. PO may not have built a school, but under his administration, Anambra became the number one performing school in the nation. He equipped the already existing schools, which I think makes more sense than building a new school,” Nwigwe wrote.

In his reaction, an X user identified as Inspired Castro advocated for people to get a professional job before venturing into politics.

He noted that they will easily fall back to their jobs when their political careers draw to an end.

Inspired Castro wrote, “I have advocated that people should get a hand job or have a known business before venturing into politics; otherwise, their entire lives might turn into mediocrity, and their daily calling in life will turn to drag @PeterObi and the likes of him, just as you see here.

“Look at someone like Alex Otti, who became governor after spending years in the banking sector and creating impacts; then look at @PeterObi, who is a business owner.

“Both men share a lot in common, and this will always differentiate them from political jobbers. Hence, it will even be more honorable if people know and identify with you as a professional mechanic before going into politics. There is a reason for that.

“Messages like this can only be relevant in Nigeria among impoverished, and uneducated individuals who thrive on religious fanaticism and tribalism without knowing that in 2022, the beer industry in Germany generated 8.4 billion euros in revenue and is expected to generate 26.6 billion dollars in 2024.”

“Reno is not important; he deserves no answer. He is a social media politician who is always aiming at one person or tribe in almost all his posts,” King Bryan argued in his response.

Akaya Stephen noted that the proliferation of schools “when previous ones are not optimized” would be detrimental to the Anambra education sector.

“I am not an Obi fan, but I have my disagreements with you on this one. What is the use of new schools when previous ones are not optimized? I think you are making unforced errors with some of these criticisms,” Stephen wrote.

“You are a constructive critic, but you missed this one, sir. Building new schools is not a yardstick for measuring the excellence of a governor,” he added.

Buttressing Stephen’s point, Adetayo Ayoade states, “Of what essence is the building of new schools when existing ones are in dilapidation? Reno, refurbishing existing schools and making them look beautiful and conducive to learning was a good move by Peter Obi. Everything is not supposed to be politics.”

Ewezuga Chukwu argues that “Peter Obi’s priority is not to build schools but for human development.

“From when Peter Obi took office to this very minute, Anambra has been rated highly in education performance in Nigeria. Recently, schools and students from Anambra have won several awards in that respect.”