Mr. Peter Obi, the former Governor of Anambra State, has derided Nigerian leaders for concentrating more on re-election than offering quality governance, thus portraying them as acting Nollywood when the concentration would have been how to grow the economy and stop too much shedding of blood in the country.
Obi, who was speaking Monday at Cyprian Ekwensi Arts and Cultural Centre, Area 10, Abuja during the 40th anniversary celebration of the Radio, Television, and Arts Workers Union of Nigeria (RATTAWU), said such things are manifested in careless acts and divisive statements of the leaders, saying that to build a better Nigeria requires all hands to be on deck.
While admtiting 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 are 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 rest room 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 realized 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 own remarks, Mallam Abubakar Jijiwa, the Chairman of the occasion and the former Director General of Voice of Nigeria (VON) and Chairman, Broadcasting Organisations of Nigeria (BON), called on the media to use journalism as an instrument of development by centering their practices around the people than governments.
