Former Anambra State Governor and Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has said leadership reform remains the most critical change Nigeria needs to achieve meaningful national development.
Obi stated this on Tuesday, after meeting with a group of young Nigerian professionals in Washington, D.C., comprising medical doctors and other healthcare workers, educators, lawyers, engineers, technology experts, entrepreneurs and business leaders.
According to him, the meeting provided an opportunity to discuss Nigeria’s challenges, good governance and the reforms required to move the country forward.
Obi said while economic, political and institutional reforms were important, Nigeria’s most urgent need was to reform the quality of leadership entrusted with managing the country.
He said, “No nation can rise above the character, competence, capacity, and commitment of those entrusted with its leadership.”
The former governor noted that Nigeria was endowed with abundant natural resources and talented citizens, but had suffered from a deficit of leadership that prioritised the welfare of the people and treated public resources as a sacred trust.
He called for leadership that would strengthen public institutions, invest in education and healthcare, support businesses and entrepreneurs, create jobs and expand opportunities for young Nigerians.
Obi also highlighted the contributions of Nigerians living abroad, saying the diaspora should not be viewed simply as citizens who had left the country but as important partners in Nigeria’s development.
He said Nigeria must create conditions that would enable young people to pursue their ambitions at home, while also encouraging Nigerians in the diaspora to return, invest and contribute to national development.
READ ALSO: Obi’s Credentials: NDC Fires Back As Arabambi Sues WAEC, UNN, NYSC
“Meeting these young Nigerians in Washington once again reminded me of the extraordinary talent our country has produced,” Obi said.
He added that Nigerians were making significant contributions globally in medicine, technology, engineering, law, education, business and other fields.
Obi maintained that a better Nigeria was achievable, but stressed that such transformation would require responsible leadership, stronger institutions, prudent management of public resources and citizens who remained committed to demanding accountability.
He said the country’s greatest resource was its people rather than the natural resources beneath its soil.
“If we get leadership right, we can get Nigeria right,” Obi declared, urging Nigerians to continue believing in the country and demanding a nation that works for everyone.
He concluded with a renewed call for collective action, saying, “A New Nigeria is possible.”
