Peter Obi: To survive, Nigeria needs serious prayers

Peter Obi, former governor of Anambra state, says Nigeria needs serious prayers to survive the current challenges.

He said this while speaking at the 9th diocesan women conference of Ebenezer Anglican Church, Anambra.

Obi said there is need to pray for the country to withstand the “impending collapse staring her dangerously in the face.”

He added that the recent agitations coming from different sections of the country were as a result of joblessness which he attributed to “accumulated leadership failure” in the country.

“Our dear country is the only country in the world that has as many as 11 million children out of school. Between 70 and 80% of this scary figure do not have jobs,” he said.

“So, why won’t there be agitations all over the place? Be it Biafra, Arewa, Niger Delta; it’s just because of one thing – accumulated leadership failure all through the years since independence.

“But it’s not just the situation we find ourselves today that is the headache. The real scary problem is that it will even get worse as we move into the future. When all these people without jobs get to retirement age and there’s nothing to fall back on, then the real danger comes in the open.”

Obi said he had approved 80 million naira for the construction of the diocesan hospital as well as the School of Nursing in partnership between the state government and the church.

He, however, regretted that he could not complete the project before leaving office as a result of his “plan for a smooth continuity” for his successor.