*From criminal, corrupt bandits holding it down
The presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, has reiterated that his desire for the presidency in 2027 is to rescue the country from the corrupt elements who have for years personalised it’s Commonwealth and pauparised the citizenry.
He also said a leader must empathize with the people and stand to protect them from imminent danger and poberty.
He equally urged Nigerians not to hold historical events, including the 1966 coup, against him, stressing that he was only a child when the events occurred.
Speaking during an exclusive interview on ARISE NEWS, Obi responded to concerns over historical grievances in Northern Nigeria and their potential impact on his presidential ambition.
“You cannot hold what happened when I was barely three, four years old against me,” Obi said.
Obi acknowledged that Nigeria had experienced several regrettable events in its history but said those events should not be allowed to prevent the country from pursuing unity.
“Well, what I’m asking them is that, yes, this happened, and there were other negligible things that happened. But we must build a future based on love, not on hatred,” he said.
“So we must not say, yes, things were not done properly. Those things were not done properly. I was not involved with it. So it is time to show love. It’s time to show unity.”
Obi said his presidential ambition was centred on bringing Nigerians together, stressing that national unity would be a central objective of his presidency.
“That’s why my presidency is about unity of the country. And it’s important that people understand that,” he said.
He further urged Nigerians to focus on the future rather than remain preoccupied with past events, citing the January and July 1966 coups and the Nigerian Civil War as episodes that had become part of the country’s history.
“What I said is the past. We’re sure there’s other things that happened subsequently. And everybody will say, OK, there was January. There was June. There was Civil War. There was everything,” Obi said.
“All these are part of our history, which we can only overcome by love.”
The NDC presidential candidate said Nigeria’s future should not be sacrificed because of historical grievances, urging citizens to concentrate on building a better country.
“You don’t dwell on yesterday. Don’t you dwell on yesterday and today. We miss tomorrow. Tomorrow is the only future we have. We need to build tomorrow,” he said.
Obi also expressed his commitment to the development of Northern Nigeria, particularly through agriculture, arguing that the region’s vast arable land offered significant economic opportunities.
“I’m only trying to explain to them that I’m committed to your future. I believe there’s a lot the North can offer Nigeria. I say it every day,” he said.
“We have huge, arable, uncultivated land. We can make more money as a country from agriculture than we make from oil.”
He emphasised that if elected, he will be a Commander-in-Chief who would only assign responsibilities without accepting tresponsibility.
He said to would lead the armed forces to the forests and criminal hideouts and smoke them out the way he flushed out criminal elements from a notorious forest in Onitsha when he was Governor of the state, making Anambra the safest state in the country.
He gave example of how technology could easily be deployed to quell the level of insecurity across the country, and lamented that the President Bola Tinubu administration has demonstrated poor capacity to lead the country and urged Nigerians to reject the All Progressives Congress (APC) in the 2027 general elections.
He also said it is an aberration that the current Nigerian leaders prioritize their private interests over national interest, stressing that he would utilize money used to buy private presidential jet to fix hospitals, renovate and equip schools and improve on the well-being and welfare of Nigerians.
On fuel subsidy, Obi explained that he would first critically analyse the actual cost, remove all corruption and shady costs associated with fuel production and determine whether or not there is any subsidy to remove or not, stressing that corruption had led to fuel subsidy and increasing cost of fuel in Nigeria.
He also blamed hunger and deprivation on the youths who prevented him from visiting Yelwata last Wednesday, stressing that his administration would ensure that Nigerian youths are profitably engaged so as to remove them from being used even against people who work to improve their well-being.
He reiterated that what Nigeria needs is to learn from the experiences of Ruwanda, Singapore, India and other countries which were hitherto facing similar challenges so as to learn what they did to turn around their country for the better.
He also wondered why candidates whose past are shrouded in mysteries of who had questionable academic records, should not feel ashamed to aspire to lead the country in 2027.
He insisted that a presidential candidate should have courage, empathy and capacity to lead the country, pointing out that his precedents as Governor of Anambra State are worthy testimonials that speaks about his quality and commitment to rescue Nigeria from the hands of criminal entrepreneurs ravaging it.
