Our Reporter

Former Anambra State Governor Peter Obi has decried what he called a painful level of rot and decay in Nigeria’s political system.

He said a new Nigeria will emerge, if honest men joined the political space with the intention of causing positive change.

Obi, who spoke during his appearance on Nigeria Leadership Series, hosted by Pastor Ituah Ighodalo, said Nigerian elite were among the major challenges facing the nation.

The former governor said the elite and informed citizens at the forefront of change had refused to contribute positively to nation-building but were using various avenues to satisfy their selfish interests.

“What we see in Nigeria today is a situation where people are getting more greedy and becoming less caring about the less privileged. The learned and averagely comfortable ones in the country have little or no virtue of contentment. The less privileged ones, who need all the opportunity in life to become rich, now appear to be more honest than the elite,” he said.

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Obi hoped that Nigeria would become a better place, if men of integrity brought in honesty into Nigeria’s political landscape.

He noted that the current evils of “god-fatherism”, bribery and corruption, abuse of public office, among other vices, would reduce when people with the nation’s interest at heart joined politics.

Obi argued that politics would arguably remain dirty as long as people with selfish interests continued to parade the corridors of power.

The former governor noted that fear of criticism, verbal and physical attacks – and in some cases, death – had made many well-meaning Nigerians to stand aloof from the nation’s political process.

He urged them to live above their fears and understand that building Nigeria is a collective responsibility. He called on men of integrity to always speak out for the sake of the nation.

“Once you decide to stand on the path of truth in a country like ours, people are going to question you, attack you and even victimise you. But you need to keep examining yourself if you are saying and doing the right thing. Once you are convinced that you are on the path of truth, you have nothing to fear. We cannot remain docile while our nation sinks from one level of failure to another. Light will shine in darkness and darkness will not comprehend it.

“Every country that has progressed from failure to national success passed through the same phase. Men of vision, sincerity, uprightness, probity, honour and moral rectitude, always rise up to cause a wave of change that turns around a nation for the better. We have such men in Nigeria. This is the time for them to rise up and join hands to save our country,” Obi said.