The Labour Party of Nigeria presidential flag bearer His Excellency Mr Peter Obi was recently in Washington DC as part of his Diaspora engagement initiative, during which he addressed the issues of inability of the Diaspora to vote and the attributes of the new Nigerian president. He said, โThe reason the Nigerian ruling class does not want Nigerian in Diaspora to vote is because they will not vote for them. An Obi/ Datti presidency will ensure that the 2023 Nigerian elections will be the last election that Nigerians in Diaspora will not vote in.โ On the attributes of the incoming president he said, The 2023 election will not be about religion, tribe, connection or โMy Turnโ. โThe 2023 election is going to be about character, competence, capacity and commitment to move Nigeria in the right direction.โ The Washington DC visit was his 7th stop on his recent overseas trip and was facilitated by the Mr Philip Njowusi-led Peter Obi Support Group (DC, Maryland, Virginia Area), the Professor Eddie Oparaoji-led Nigerian-American Coalition for Justice and Democracy (NACJD aka โthe Coalitionโ) among others.
During his speech Mr Obi discussed wide ranging issues bordering on solving Nigeriaโs woes including the following, stating that: โOur education sector has collapsed. UNESCO published figures on 9/1/2022 indicating that Nigeriaโs number of out of school children has now risen to about 20 millionโ
โIndians used to come to Nigeria to teach to earn money and send back home. Now Nigerians go to India to learnโ;
โMost Nigerians in the Diaspora were educated in Nigeria. Most left Nigeria when the Naira traded for about 0.68k to $1.00, N1.00 to $1.00, N10.00 to $1.00. We all know what the exchange rate is today. Everything is heading southโ
โWe were doing better in education than many of our peers like China, Vietnam, South Korea and Bangladesh, to mention but a fewโ
โNigeria was projected to overtake India in infant mortality in 2025 but that has happened 3 years earlierโ
โNigeria at some point, used to be a country of reference as there was time we did very significant things across the world like helping South Korea pay salaries, funding the IMF and helping many countries take care of their problemsโ
โThere was time when Nigeria had everything – in the 1970s and 1980s. Now poverty has taken over the country. With a population of 200 million, our poverty level is now greater than that of India and China combined, two countries whose population is about 2.8 billionโ
โOur unemployment rate has tanked, insecurity has gripped the entire country and crude oil theft has gone out of controlโ
โTime was when Nigerians in Diaspora used to look forward to going home. Not any more. No good news comes from Nigeria anymore. Things keep getting worseโ
โNigerians in the Diaspora appear to be worse off as they suffer a double whammy. While they have escaped the social problems back home they have ended up being the social welfare system for people back home. In addition to their hard work, they have ended up being ATM machines for folks back home. They are unable to enjoy their hard work. Of every 10 phone calls they receive from home, 11 are about trouble at homeโ
โNigeria is currently unable to meet its OPEC assigned production quota of crude oil due to crude oil theft, corruption and mismanagement. We currently under produce by about 717,000 barrel per dayโ
โThe question has been – How did we get here? What we are suffering from is a failure of leadership over the years. We have had a leadership that has failed to do the right thingsโ
โThe reason the Nigerian ruling class does not want Nigerian in Diaspora to vote is because they will not vote for them. An Obi/ Datti presidency will ensure that the 2023 Nigerian elections will be the last election that Nigerians in Diaspora will not vote inโ
โIn the energy sector, Nigeria is still unable to generate enough power to satisfy its energy needs. This is so because the ruling class benefits from the lack of powerโ
โNigeria has borrowed beyond itโs capacity and the borrowing is not receding. The economy has sustained serious damageโ
โThe 2023 election will not be about religion, tribe, connection or โMy Turnโ. The 2023 election is going to be about character, competence, capacity and commitment to move Nigeria in the right direction.โ
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Reacting to the speech, the Vice Chair of the Coalition Barr Mrs Helen Mbakwe, said, it is โan peoch making event, thatโs what Iโll term it, Indeed thatโs what everyone will call it- An epoch making event, unprecedented, unequalled , unparalleled and unmatchedโ. Also responding, the Nigeria Country Director for the Coalition Dr Jude Iheoma said, โhe was eloquent, means what he says, so yes I am very excited, very happy, Obidients and Yusfulโ
There were additional private dinner and breakfast sessions at the side lines of the townhall meeting, during which, Mr Peter Obi , Professor Pat Utomi, Mr Val Ozigbo and other members of the visiting team interacted with the event sponsors and other guests.
The NACJD is a Washington, DC, USA Research and Good Governance advocacy non-profit organization, that lobbies the US Government, the Congress, and the policy-making community to influence US policies on Nigeria.
