• Skip to main content
  • Skip to secondary menu
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • Skip to footer
AFRIPOL

AFRIPOL

en English
ar Arabiczh-CN Chinese (Simplified)nl Dutchen Englishfr Frenchde Germanit Italianpt Portugueseru Russianes Spanish
  • Home
  • About Us
  • Mission Statement
  • Articles
  • Book Review
  • Archive
  • Contact Us

Review: Peter Obi @ Chatham House – ‘I Am Coming To Dismantle the Structures of Corruption, Impunity, and Injustice’

January 16, 2023 by Emeka Chiakwelu Leave a Comment

Peter Obi is pragmatic; an intellectual and a visionary leader. These are the best adjectives to describe his performance at Chatham House in London.

Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party was invited by Chatham House, a global recognized think tank to speak and dialogue on his vision for policy and governance reforms in Nigeria, including the priorities for tackling deep-rooted insecurity and corruption, and measures to promote social and political mobility for Nigerian citizens.”

The symposium was well attended and people from different walks of life especially Nigerians were in attendance. The room could not contain the mammoth crowd, which extended to the outside of Chatham House premises.

First and foremost , after the procedural introductory obligations, Mr. Obi read his statement on his policy and governmental reforms for Nigeria for his presidency. Eventually, he took questions from the audience in the room, including those coming from the social media.

The Question and Answers session was where Obi displayed his masterly prowess  on the art of policy  analysis. His vivid understanding of the problems confronting Nigeria and the policy remedy cannot be over emphasized.

Obi displayed his understanding of policy with his comparative analysis and observation between Nigeria and South Africa, as he spoke on the electric power failure in Nigeria.

He said, “You have heard them say we don’t have structure, that structure is the one that has dismantled Nigeria. We will destroy that structure of criminality, I assure you of it.

“We’re going to turn around the power sector. Nigeria today generates 5,000 to 6,000 megawatts for 200 million people and South Africa, the second biggest in terms of economy on the continent, 60 million people, generates over 40,000 megawatts, yet, they have declared an emergency in the power sector.

“I have said that anyone can generate up to 100,000 megawatts without a licence.

“If a country with 60 million population generating over 40,000MW is declaring an emergency on power, what do you think somebody with two million people generating 5,000 to 6,000MW will do? War!

Speaking on the  wellbeing and health of a nation , he said“On the issue of health, yes we have a problem with health. We have under-invested because our government has not prioritised our development agenda,” 

“Everybody knows that the only measure of development acceptable globally today is the human development index. And this depends on three items –health being one of them.

“From 2015 to 2021, the Nigerian budget in health is under N2.5 trillion for 200 million people. It’s unacceptable. Even this year, our budget for health is about N1.5 trillion. Our budget for education is about N2 trillion.

“Two of them combined, the annual budget is about N3.5 trillion whereas your six months’ budget for subsidy which is a criminalised thing is N3.6 trillion. It is not acceptable.”  

One of Obi’s cardinal policies centered  on transforming Nigeria from a consumption to productive entity was buttressed when he was answering a question on borrowing.

He said, “There’s nothing wrong with borrowing. Borrowing is legitimate and every government I’ve studied in the world borrows, even Britain as we speak owes 70 per cent of their GDP. Every government I know, lives on borrowing.

“Norway, with $1.4 trillion sovereign wealth, is owing. The economies of the world, even the biggest economy in the world, America, is owing almost 100 per cent of their GDP. The second largest economy, China, is owing almost 70 per cent, while Japan is owing over 230 per cent of their GDP. But let me tell you the difference.

“Japan is owing 230 per cent of their GDP but they invested the money to save their economy and even with that, Japan is still the largest holder of the US treasuries, so there’s something they can fall back on. So borrowing is not wrong.

“But what has happened is that when you borrow for consumption, you have a crisis. Nigeria in 2015 had a per capita income of $2,500, we were owing about N15tn. Today, with the central bank’s ways and means, we are owing about N75tn, so we have grown that debt profile by over 400 per cent. That means that the money we borrowed was thrown away.”

He further said that he will fight corruption and then the “Investors will come back, those who left and those who are leaving will come back, we want to bring them back. Nigerians are prepared to come back if they can find that they have a country to go back too. This green passport, Nigerians must be proud to use it again.!”

All the hallmarks of a true leader were observed on his final outing to the Chatham House, before the February 2023 presidential election.  It appears that Peter Obi and his running mate, Dr. Ahmed Datti  are ready for the arduous task of a new Nigeria, 

Emeka Chiakwelu is a Strategist@ AFRIPOL

Filed Under: Articles, Strategic Research & Analysis

Reader Interactions

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Primary Sidebar

More to See

Diaspora Nigerians Sent $168bn – World Bank (video)

May 2, 2023 By AFRIPOL

PhotoNews: Peter Obi @ May Day Rally in Abuja

May 1, 2023 By AFRIPOL

RSS AllAfrica News: Latest

  • Africa: Sisi to AU Peace & Security Council - Sudan's Stability to Positively Affect Entire Region
    [Egypt Online] Sudan's stability and unity of lands as well as the coherence of its institutionswill have a positive effect not only on the Sudanese people, but also on the entire region, President Abdel Fattah El Sisi said.
  • Ethiopia: Injuries, Deaths Follow Police Crackdown Against Protest by Muslims in Addis Ababa
    [Addis Standard] Addis Abeba -- President of the Supreme Council of Islamic Affairs of Ethiopia, Sheikh Hajj Ibrahim Tufa, and the leaders of the Majlis visited injured victims at the Black Lion Hospital this morning.
  • Kenya: Kenya's GMO Plans Disrupted, but Ethiopia Pushes Forward With Testing
    [Reporter] The Kenyan government's move to import Genetically Modified Organisms (GMOs) for human consumption has faced a setback as the appellate court ruled the move is contrary to the public interest. The appellate court declined the government's appeal until the interests of the public are heard.
  • West Africa: Trafficking in the Sahel - Killer Cough Syrup and Fake Medicine
    [UN News] In the summer of 2022, 70 Gambian babies and young children died from kidney failure after ingesting cough syrup spooned out by their caregivers. The World Health Organization (WHO) issued a global alert that four tainted paediatric products had originated in India, as local health authorities continue to investigate how this tragedy unfolded.
  • Tunisia: Over Three Million Tunisians Face Food Insecurity Threat
    [Tunis Afrique Presse] Tunis -- Over 3 million Tunisians are faced with the threat of food insecurity, said President of the Tunisian Centre for Global Security Studies (French: CTESG) Ezzedine Zayani.
  • Kenya: Three Mombasa Startups Awarded U.S.$50,000 for Innovative Solutions in Plastic Pollution
    [Capital FM] Nairobi -- Three startups in Mombasa county have been awarded $50,000 (Sh7.2 million) for their unique innovations designed to curb plastic pollution in the coastal region.

Tags

Achebe Africa Anambra Boko Haram Buhari CBN Corona Virus Egypt Igbo IMF Inflation Jonathan Kenya Nigeria Okonjo Iweala Peter Obi Sanusi Senate Soludo South Africa Soyinka United States
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
  • YouTube

Archives

Footer

Africa Political and Economic Strategic Center, AFRIPOL is foremost a public policy center whose fundamental objective is to broaden the parameters of public policy debates in Africa. To advocate, promote and encourage free enterprise, democracy, sustainable green environment, human rights, conflict resolutions, transparency and probity in Africa.

Recent

  • “When I Landed in Africa, I Regretted Not Going a Decade Earlier” – Jack Ma (video)
  • Peter Obi to US: “We expect the United States to await the full resolution of the ongoing judicial processes before tacitly conferring legitimacy on any of the contending parties.”
  • Afrobeat singer Seun Kuti Arrested And Handcuffed @ Lagos Police Station for assaulting a police man
  • Afrobeat singer, Seun Kuti to be arrested for insulting a Police
  • Obioma Ugorji : Nigerian American used Igbo affirmation ‘Igbo Kwenu’ in delivering Valedictorian Speech @ Loyola Marymount University (video)

Search

Tags

Achebe Africa Anambra Boko Haram Buhari CBN Corona Virus Egypt Igbo IMF Inflation Jonathan Kenya Nigeria Okonjo Iweala Peter Obi Sanusi Senate Soludo South Africa Soyinka United States

Copyright © 2023 · AFRIPOL