The Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate in the 2023 elections, Peter Obi has reiterated his passion for a better Nigeria, saying his ambition is not driven by personal desperation.
Obi, who spoke at the fourth convocation ceremony of Nexford University, a United States-based online institution, on Sunday lamented the current state of leadership in Nigeria. describing it as an imposition that fails to serve the people effectively.
He urged the graduating students to embrace servant leadership, stressing that true change begins with humility and a commitment to the greater good.
“All of these that we are saying is for you to use it and ignite that change and support. It is not for you to start saying, ‘I want to be in charge. I want to do this. I want to do that,’” he said.
“When people say I am desperate, I say, ‘No. I am not desperate to be Nigeria’s president. I am desperate to see Nigeria work because it can work.’”
Drawing on insights from global economists, Obi highlighted the painful irony of Nigeria’s leadership crisis. He referenced James Robinson, a Nobel laureate in economics, who remarked that Nigeria is a nation that knows what it must do to prosper but stubbornly refuses to take action.
“How can you allow drivers who have already reached their destinations to keep driving you? You will lose,” Obi said, likening many of the country’s leaders to those who have overstayed their relevance. “They have passed their destinations. They have passed their time.”
Obi called on the graduating students and Nigerian youths at large to take charge of their future by prioritizing the leadership the country desperately needs.
“You are a victim of Nigeria,” he said, addressing the younger generation. “Because our age and the one before refused to do what is right, and now we are all suffering for it.”
Obi urged the students to use their education, skills, and resources to challenge the status quo and contribute to societal change. “Do not go and be part of this [broken system],” he added.