Presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 elections, Mr. Peter Obi has emphasised the need for Nigerian politicians to come together to shape the future of the country.
The former Anambra State Governor stated this on Thursday while fielding questions from journalists in Bauchi, shortly after his close-door meeting with the Bauchi State governor, Senator Bala Mohammed.
Obi explained that unless the well-meaning politicians puts their heads together and find solution for the challenges bedeviling Nigerians, the country would continue to retard economically, socially and politically.
The ex-LP’s presidential candidate said, “It is not for ourselves again, we are coming together for the future of our broad society where our children would live in.
“We have wastes a lot of time in this country, we now want to invest in critical areas of the country such as education, health, agriculture and to stem the tide poverty that has been killing our citizens”.
Speaking on the reason for the visit, Obi said he was in Bauchi to discuss the country with Governor Mohammed, and to consult him as the chairman of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) Governors’ Forum for the future of the country.
“So instead of a consultation, it’s a meeting that will continue to go on as we talk about the future of this country. All of you are aware where we are today, what is happening in our country and everything. And yet, we have to discuss that. You have to discuss the issues that are happening in the North. Like I have told the governor today, that the North is a critical component, if we are going to get it right in this country.
“There’s so much criminality in Nigeria, especially when people talk about it, and I say, no, there’s poverty in Nigeria. You have to deal with the issue of poverty. Until you solve poverty, you can’t talk about criminality. Because if people don’t know where the next meal will come from, nobody can know what they can do.
“We can see poverty in the North, but there’s also a future that is everywhere. We can make more money today. Nigeria can be rich today from agriculture that will make for more yields. And I can see vast areas of uncultivated land that have been turning the government off everywhere I go. I’ve been visiting everywhere in the world. I just came back from a visit to Indonesia, the highest Muslim country in the world,” he said.
According to Obi, Nigeria needed to invest in critical areas to put people out of poverty for reduction of nation criminality.
“We need education. We need to care about their health. But as you can see in the political space now, we are not discussing all this in the political space. What we are discussing in the political space are mundane things, whether it’s budget spending, whether it’s sexual harassment and people are hungry.
“We need to discuss hunger. We need to discuss poverty. We need to discuss education. We need to discuss health. What we are discussing should be the dignity of the political class. We are not in Hollywood,” Obi said.
For his part, the host, Governor Mohammed stressed the need for the politicians to come together, close ranks, and give good governance for the country, saying that he’s ready to work with Peter Obi for better Nigeria.
Mohammed also described Obi as a leader of opposition in Nigeria, for his position and pedigree.
“I want to say at this level, not to make some of those doubting Thomases and mischievous minds to preempt what we are doing, that myself as a person, I am ready to work with Peter Obi, and to make sure we come together, we close ranks and bring good governance to the country,” he said.
He further explained that their coming together would be geared towards rescuing and recovering the country from those he described as mediocre who were parading themselves as leaders.
“I think our coming together is a message. And the message is going to resonate, I believe, because all our colleagues, the governors, are behind this kind of journey, because it is a transcendental one, and I want to say that we are very grateful to Governor Peter Obi for coming here, and we will take it up and take it further in a manner that going forward you will see more of this outing between us and Governor Obi, PDP governors, and PDP as a party,” Bala said.
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