Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), says electing leaders in Nigeria base on religious beliefs and ethnicity has hindered the country’s development.
Speaking on Friday in an interview with CNN, Obi said Nigerians need to be intentional and deliberate about electing good and competent leaders.
He added that Nigeria is in a mess and underdeveloped because of politics of “my turn”, nothing that politicians who promote ethnicity and religion are keeping Nigeria “underdeveloped”.
“That is what it was yesterday. And that is our problem, because we have been able to elect people based on ethnicity, religion, ‘my turn’, connection, or one form of bias or the other, which brought us to where we are — or structure, which I always say is structure of criminality,” he said.
“That is what we want to dismantle now and ensure that the next election is based on character, capacity, competence, commitment to do the right thing.
“Nigeria is not just in a physical mess; it is at the last stage to collapsing. The people in the north don’t have a secured place; they don’t have good roads; they don’t buy bread cheaper than people in the south. So [it is with] people in the south.
“All you hear about ethnicity, religion, connection, ‘my turn’ is elite conspiracy to keep Nigeria underdeveloped. But now, we have reached the edge. We can no longer continue this way.”
Although Obi did not mention any politician in particular, his comment appears to be a swipe at Bola Tinubu, presidential candidate of the All Progressives Congress (APC), who had said it is his turn to be president.
“You have not heard this from me before. This is the first place I am saying this. It’s my time now. If not for me that led the battlefront, Buhari wouldn’t have won. He contested first, second and third time, but lost. He even said on television that he won’t contest again,” Tinubu had said, while addressing his supporters in June.