Our National Tragedies are Resources for National Transformation
I have received many calls and text messages from patriotic Nigerians who were annoyed that an Arise News anchor wanted me to answer questions about the 1966 coups, which were national tragedies. I reassured those patriots that, as a presidential candidate, I am ready and able to answer any questions about anything relating to Nigeria. I have a commitment to serve the people, not to hide from them.
As I travel across Nigeria and listen to Nigerians of all ethnic and religious identities, I have had opportunities to reflect on the many tragedies we have experienced in Nigeria, including the 1966 coups, the civil war, and the various mass violence that have plagued different parts of the country.
My view is that we could have avoided these tragedies if we had entrenched and implemented laws justly. These tragedies are the result of leadership failure. It is our responsibility to understand these failures and fix them.
The failure of leadership to guarantee all its citizens equal rights and freedoms, and to enforce the fundamental rights in the constitution without fear or favour.
We must focus on learning from our past. Mistakes in history are not fatal. They can become opportunities for transformation.
This happened in Japan. The Japanese miracle that took place between 1920 and 1970 was a product of patriotic leaders who used the Japanese trauma of colonial rule to drive miraculous economic development. South Korea followed Japan by weaponising cruel experiences under Japan to develop a policy framework of a developmental state, and became an economic giant under the inspiration of General Park from 1960. The same applies to China under Deng Xiaoping, who reinvented China from the tragedies of Chairman Mao’s Cultural Revolution and the many deaths of that ill-fated policy. Today, China is the second-largest economy in the world. What a transformation. That is our vision. That should also be our history.
For me, my responsibility as Nigerian President is to turn the pains and tragedies of the past into opportunities to make Nigeria united, stable, and prosperous.
We need a leadership that is not trapped in the past, a leadership that focuses on what binds us together rather than what divides us. At this point, we need a leader who believes in the destiny and future of Nigeria, a leader who publicly proclaims that all parts of Nigeria abound in human and natural resources, and that all parts of Nigeria can become productive and prosperous.
The difference in human history is having leaders who do not maximise those pasts for selfish ambition but leverage them to build a prosperous future for all.
Even in Africa, we can learn from Rwanda on how a recent terrible experience is being used to advance national unity and prosperity. We can do the same for Nigeria.
I am ready to speak about what the voters consider important. I am ready to comfort and console. I am ready to lead from the front as we work to turn away from the ugly past and into a future where no Nigerian will suffer on account of his or her ethnicity, religion, or social pedigree. Our past is important, but our past is not our destiny. Our future is what we do with our past. Our past is our resource for national transformation. We are ready to transform Nigeria.
A New Nigeria is POssible. -PO
I have been vindicated!
Economy is a 'living thing'. Maybe not literally!
We didn't project that it would get to this level but unfortunately, we are here. Nigeria's GDP size is now less than $260 billion. It is about half of where we were a decade ago.
Policies have prices and prizes. The performance of the policies will tell what we will get.
“This Loren Merchan, the judge’s daughter, has raised nearly $100 million for this criminal trial. She’s profiting from this thing..."
Judge’s Daughter Raised Over $100 Million Off Trump Prosecutions for Dem Election Campaigns: Report
https://t.co/4io35BOUaF
Any government worker who walks off the job to protest U.S. support for our ally Israel is ignoring their responsibility and abusing the trust of taxpayers. They deserve to be fired.
Oversight Chairman Comer and I will be working together to ensure that each federal agency initiates appropriate disciplinary proceedings against any person who walks out on their job.
Four White people just told 235,000 Black Coloradans that they couldn’t vote for Trump.
These are the new slaveowners.
Should I call them Justice or Massa?
I just read the Nigerian Academy of Science (NAS) news report announcing Professor Rufus Olusola Akinyemi, as the winner of the 2023 NAS Gold Medal Prize for Life Sciences for his research, over the last decade, on stroke, post-stroke vascular cognitive impairment, and
dementia (PSVCID), and stroke bio-banking. I join other Nigerians in congratulating Prof Akinyemi, a Professor of Geriatric Neurology and Translational Neuroscience at the University of Ibadan, for this well-deserved award. Through his painstaking research, he has not only added
knowledge to our education system but has by this feat contributed significantly to the development of the health sector. I have, over time, made a case for more governmental support and incentives to our teachers, especially those, whose assiduous research projects greatly aid
our growth and development, as a nation. The government must prioritize supporting them, for the crucial roles they play in advancing knowledge and finding solutions to our ever-complex and constantly changing society.
The New Nigeria we all strive to build will heavily fund research and development to generate innovative ideas that will not only aid our journey from consumption to production but will positively impact every aspect of our national existence.
This will result in improved healthcare, improved educational systems, and improved standard of living for Nigerians. It is possible. Congratulations, once again, to Prof Rufus Olusola Akinyemi.
I remain consistent in my belief in the possibility of a new Nigeria built on character competence, capacity, compassion, integrity, and respect for the rule of law based on justice and fairness.
God bless us all. God bless the Federal Republic of Nigeria.
From Courtrooms to National Conscience: Our Democracy is the Victim.
Remarks at a Press Conference by Mr. Peter Gregory Obi, CON Presidential Candidate of the Labour Party on The Supreme Court Judgment of 26th October, 2023 On the 2023 Nigeria Presidential Election Held
Late Chief Ejesieme was the father of my dear brother and member of my legal team, Barr Alex Ejesieme, SAN. Both men lived to the ripe old age of over 90 and raised children who are making positive contributions to society.
Former President of Ohanaeze Ndigbo Worldwide, and the Father of my dear brother, Pastor Agu Irukwu.
I was also very pleased to join in the solemn vigil mass for the repose of Late Chief Alexander Ejesieme today in Anambra State, Nigeria.
Yesterday (Wednesday) evening, at Jesus House Church, London, I joined other sympathizers in the Service of Songs for the Late Prof Joe Irukwu, SAN. Prof. Irukwu was an outstanding intellectual, Nigeria's first Professor of Insurance,