Abuja, NIGERIA – Presidential Candidate of Labour Party in the February 25 general elections, Mr Peter Obi, says his ambition of leading Nigeria will materialise someday, insisting that he was more concerned about the process that brings leaders to office, and not who the leader is. Obi also said he would respect the decision of the court in the ongoing electoral dispute.
Speaking at the presentation of a book entitled: “Peter Obi: Many Voices, One Perspectives”, in Awka, Anambra State capital, on Friday, Obi said nothing can stop him from becoming the president.
Obi said he will continue to follow the legal path in expressing his grievances and reclaiming his mandate in court.
According to him, “Anyone who thinks I’m on transit is wasting his time. Let me tell you, I must be the president of this country. I’m sure of that. If it is not today, it must be tomorrow.”
“Other people who want to be, should come and tell us what they want to do, and how to do it. This is my country, I don’t have dual citizenship. If anyone thinks I am going to run away from Nigeria, they are lying.
“I have three engagements in Anambra and Lagos today. I will be speaking in Lagos tonight. We will not leave Nigeria. I am not in a hurry to become the president, but I know it must happen.”
Obi added that he was not struggling to free Nigeria from bad leadership for the elites alone, but for every Nigerian.
He stated, “For three years I was in court in Anambra to reclaim my governorship, just to challenge the process. Many people tried to discourage me, but I said even if the entire four-year tenure elapsed for us to prove a point and correct the process, I will be fulfilled.
“I was in an event yesterday in Abuja, and it was World Food Organisation. I listened to report that stated that Nigeria will face intense hunger in years to come.
“It is Nigeria that will face hunger, not Peter Obi. The report listed Borno, Adamawa and Yobe as the states that will be worse hit, but those three states put together are five times larger in land mass of Israel, yet Egypt exports food, but Nigeria cannot feed itself.
“So we must cultivate a habit of doing the right thing. If we don’t do the right thing, it will consume us some day.”
“I must be the president of this country; if not today, it will be next time. I’m not desperate; I’m not in a hurry. I’m committed to cause of better Nigeria,” he said.
“We are peaceful, we are not going to quarrel with any politician. Don’t be discourage about my apologies to people. As youth, we cannot fight our fathers, even when we are right.”
“We are not going to riot. I am in Nigeria; I don’t not have dual citizenship; I will not run away; we must be here to right the wrong in the country,” he stated.
The former governor said he was more concerned about the process that brings leaders to office, and not who the leader is.
Obi said, “My argument is that, let’s do what is right. I always tell everyone that I will not give people money to do the wrong thing. I have been the chairman of a committee; TETFUND committee, and Prof. Yakubu Mahmud was my member. We know ourselves, but when he became INEC chairman, I have never met him. I told him, you are an umpire, just do what is right.
“If you have the chance to do the right thing, and you insist on perpetuating anarchy, then, it will consume everybody one day. I insist that we must do the right thing.”
Also speaking, the chairman of the occasion and traditional ruler of Onitsha, Obi Alfred Nnaemeka Achebe, in his speech expressed hope that Obi will reclaim his presidential mandate.
Achebe said, “I was still a new traditional ruler many years ago, when I was invited to a meeting where some monarchs were trying to settle a matter between the then Anambra governor Chris Ngige and Obi over the governorship tussle.
“I was a new traditional ruler, so I was just listening to the conversations. Obi did not attend the meeting, but his representative said Obi sent a message that he is more interested about knowing the truth, and ensuring that the process is credible next time, and that he was not willing to back down, even if it meant remaining in court even after the tenure.
“It took him three years, but he was later restored. His representative then said, Obi only wants the truth to be known, and even if it happened after the expiration of his tenure. Also, when he was impeached, he told everyone that he would return, and he returned.
“Later, there was an election, and Andy Uba replaced Obi. He called me again and said that these people want to spoil our country. I had also heard that the judgment was to be delivered the next day, and that it may be against Peter. He (Obi) called me and he said he was confident that he would return as governor. I am saying this because this is a man I know very well. Someone called him man of the moment, but I choose to say that he is a man of destiny.”
By Chidi-Peters Okorie/Time Africa