Obi: Building Better Nigeria Requires All Efforts

The former governor of Anambra State, Mr. Peter Obi, has said that building a better Nigeria required all hands to be on deck.
Obi was spoke yesterday at Cyprian Ekwensi Arts and Cultural Centre, Area 10, Abuja, during the 40th anniversary of the Radio, Television, and Arts Workers Union of Nigeria (RATTAWU).

Obi, who decried what is going on in Nigeria today, especially what he called too much concentration on re-election than normal, quality governance, said such things, as manifested in careless acts and divisive statements, portrayed Nigerian leaders as more interested in acting Nollywood when the concentration would have been how to grow the economy and stop too much shedding of blood in the country.

Insisting that Nigerian followers also share in the blame for bad governance, he said that rather than question the leaders and what they do, the followers were more interested in what would be of benefit to them than the country.

For Nigeria to build a better country, Obi said they must start as St. Theresa of the Child Jesus said, by doing little things well. Using his experience as an example, he said: “Even this morning, when I came in here, I requested to use the restroom and was asked to wait for the key to use the VIP section. I insisted I would use the popular section. When I entered, I realised why they did not want me to use that one. It is bad for our country to be said that facilities work only in VIP sections, we must strive to do a lot of repairs in this country.”

Decrying what he called “insane complacency” among Nigerians, he said the time Trade Unions only sought the interest of their members were gone, that they should start seeking the interest of the country by asking relevant questions and raising objections.

In his remarks, the Chairman of the occasion and the former Director General of Voice of Nigeria (VON) and Chairman, Broadcasting Organisations of Nigeria (BON), Mallam Abubakar Jijiwa, called on the media to use journalism as an instrument of development by centering their practices around the people than governments.