The candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 presidential election, Peter Obi, has described as “failed” the democratic system of government practised in Nigeria.
Obi stated this at a colloquium held at the Abuja Intercontinental Hotel to mark the 60th birthday celebration of former Governor of Imo State, Emeka Ihedioha, which was chaired by former President Olusegun Obasanjo.
Also in attendance were former Commonwealth Secretary-General, Emeka Anyaoku; former Vice-President Atiku Abubakar; former Sokoto State Governor Aminu Tambuwal; and the immediate past Governor of Katsina, Aminu Masari.
In his keynote address, Obi lamented over the “undemocratic” impeachment of elected representatives and the influence of political leaders on the judiciary.
Arguing that “nothing works” in the country, the former governor of Anambra State lamented that the struggles of past Nigerian leaders to grow democracy in the country are being undermined by many political leaders.
According to him, many progressive-minded leaders from 1999 have been striving to raise the bar of the country’s democracy to an enviable height.
“They started in 1999 and laid the foundation. Some people came and took it to the decking while others were trying to raise it to the first floor. And then, some people came and knocked everything down.
“That is the situation we are now. Everything has been knocked down. Nothing works. I am somebody who can say this exemplarily. I became a governor through the court when President Olusegun Obasanjo and Vice President Atiku Abubakar were in government.
“I did not pay the court one naira. I was sitting in my office, and the court declared me the winner when the governor was hosting them. It can’t happen in Nigeria today,” he bemoaned.
To buttress how low Nigeria had gone, Obi recalled the incident that transpired during his impeachment as Anambra governor, saying he was surprised to see the emissaries former President Obasanjo sent to intervene on his behalf.
He noted that the likes of Ken Nnamani, a former Senate President, came pleading profusely with the state House of Assembly members not to impeach him.
Obi said, “Today, the president will impeach the person. So, it has collapsed and failed. These people were begging the House of Assembly not to impeach me. They were in PDP, and I was in APGA. President Obasanjo was calling me, asking, ‘Peter, are you okay?’ Even when I was impeached, Obasanjo called me and said, ‘Are you safe?’
“When the court eventually declared me the winner, President ’Yar’Adua called me while I was in London and said, ‘Congratulations.’ I said, ‘Mr President, I can’t come back. He said, ‘Tell me the flight you are coming back with.’ I told him. When I came back, the military came to receive me at the airport. I couldn’t believe it.
“They took me straight to him (’Yar’Adua). Now, the president would ask me not to come back here again. So, democracy has failed. Let’s talk about how to rebuild it because it is collapsing.”
