Peter Obi: Leadership failure taking a huge toll on Nigeria

Peter Obi, former governor of Anambra, says Nigeria needs to ensure that the right people are in leadership positions for the country to experience true development.

He said this on Wednesday while delivering an address to participants of course 4 of the strategic management and policy course at the Nigerian Army Resource Centre in Abuja.

According to him, there is also a need to address waste in the public service sector.

Obi, who was a vice-presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2019 elections, said the country also needs to address the high cost of governance at all levels, while developing policies to create public wealth.

“Public wealth enriches everybody, but private wealth impoverishes the people and the nation,” he said.

“Whether we agree or not, failure of leadership is taking a huge toll on us as a nation and it could be worse if we do not put the right and committed people in charge of the affairs of critical sectors.

“Education, health and provision of basic infrastructure were my main goals and I was able to record success because we planned our programmes using a  universally certified development formula.”

He added that persons in positions of power need to make commitment to ensuring good governance and responsible management of public resources in the interest of the public good.

Speaking on pensioners being owed, he said “owing people at the most difficult times when the opportunities are less is the worst thing to do to them”.

He also commented on Nigeria’s debt profile, adding that while there is nothing bad about the idea of borrowing, it has to be for production and not consumption.

Obi, who recently declared his interest in contesting the presidency in 2023, urged governments at all levels to improve on efforts to generate revenue.