Nigerians are refugees when country not at war – Peter Obi

 

Maureen Aguta

 

The presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 election, Peter Obi, has lamented that Nigerians have been turned into refugees in their own country even when it is not at war.

He also called on members of the Obidient Movement to keep faith and hope alive despite the outcome of the 2023 general election, assur­ing that the Independent National Electoral Com­mission (INEC) must count and declare votes as cast in 2027 — other­wise, they (members of the elections organising body) will be counted.

Obi further main­tained that the people occupying political po­sitions do not care about the people they lead but rather feed fat on them and from the system, reports Daily Independent.

Obi made the remarks yesterday in Abuja during the launch of a 250-page book titled, ‘Obi: The Political Change Agent, the Inevitability of a New Nigeria’, au­thored by veteran jour­nalist, Ike Abonyi.

Assuring citizens that votes will count in 2027, he said, “This time around, we will make sure that we are every­where. We will vote, the votes will count and those who think they will not count will be counted.”

The former governor of Anambra State em­phasised that until the “criminal enterprise” managing the affairs of the country is disman­tled, the country will not make progress.

He said that the leaders of the country are more interested in primitive acquisition of wealth and will keep exploiting the country and the already downtrodden people until the country collapses.

He said that leaders of today only care about wealth celebration and acquiring estates while the country and people sink.

Citing an example with the film, Titanic, a ship that was sinking while the affluent on the upper deck were celebrating, he continued, “When it was sinking, some people were in the upper deck celebrating. They didn’t know that it was going down, till everybody sank. So when it comes, it will consume every­body, nobody will be safe, whether you’re very rich.

“I’ve been to Beirut, Afghanistan, where they have lovely buildings, and you see all of them destroyed. So when peo­ple are now acquiring what they don’t need, in­stead of making sacrific­es to have peace, by hav­ing one or two buildings, they think they can have 100 buildings. But when it happens, everybody will end up being in a refugee camp.

“Today in Nigeria, we’re not at war. Nigeri­ans are in a refugee camp in their own country. Ni­gerians are refugees in Cameroon, and we are not at war. The only rea­son is that we don’t have a people-centric govern­ment. People are being killed daily. Nobody goes to see them, nobody visits them, nobody cares. All you get in Nigeria is that some people are so rich so they can afford to cel­ebrate endlessly.

“They make you pres­ident, all you want to do is to renovate houses at the expense of other peo­ple, renovate conference centres in a place where women are dying.

“The latest report is that Nigeria is the worst place to give birth. People are dying every minute, yet we have all the sophis­ticated buildings, all the mansions. That is what we want to dismantle so that it will be good for everybody. We must gang up to remove this because it’s not sustainable,” he said.

He begged members of the Obidient Movement to continue to make sac­rifices, assuring that it will not be in vain.

He urged Obidient members to go back to their villages and en­lighten citizens on the need for a change that will birth a new Nigeria.

Former Secretary of Anambra State, Oseloka Obaze, who was the book reviewer, described the Obidient Movement as a group that came to dis­rupt the existing political system.

“Obi represents an anomaly in Nigeria’s po­litical landscape. He is a politician who genuinely desires to work for the betterment of society; a politician unlike any oth­er in Nigeria.”

He said that the book looked at the 2023 cam­paign, the organic growth of the Obidient Move­ment, and how Obi’s can­didacy has rewritten the manual for future aspi­rants to public office.

He said that the book is about an enigmatic per­sonality.

Also in her remarks, National Caretaker Com­mittee (NCC) chairman of the party, Sen. Nena­di Usman, said that the story of Obi is one of ac­countability, responsible governance and empathy.

“In every generation, there arises a voice that does not merely echo the frustrations of the people but dares to chart a new path for them. Mr. Peter Obi, whose life and polit­ical saga we unveil today, has become such a voice. This book, meticulously authored and boldly ti­tled, tells a story far be­yond politics.

“It is the story of ac­countability against im­punity, simplicity against flamboyance, principle against expediency, and prudence against finan­cial recklessness.”

The event was attend­ed by former chairman of Nigeria Electricity Regulatory Commission (NERC), Dr. Sam Amadi; former chairman of Inter Party Advisory Council, Chief Peter Ameh; Obi supporters, and members of the Obidient family.