LABOUR Party (LP) presidential candidate Peter Obi has said he will govern through consensus and dialogue with separatist agitators in various parts of the country if elected president in 2023.
The former Anambra state governor made this known in an interview with Daily Trust, published on Thursday.
Citing Brazil as an example, Obi said political agitations like those by the Indigenous People of Biafra (IPOB) in the South-East and Ilana Omo Oodua Worldwide (IOO) in the South-West were not peculiar to Nigeria.
He also his economic policies, such as putting to use the large arable land in the North to use and pull people out of poverty, will held to reduce the separatist agitations.
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“I have said it times without number, Nigeria does not have more agitation than Brazil. If you want I will show you countries that have had agitations in the past, whether it is Brazil, Mexico,” Obi said.
“In our South-East, it is a simple thing, I will dialogue, I will discuss. It is a democracy, and in a democracy, you govern by consensus. If anybody says he is not happy, you call him and you sit him down and discuss with him.
“People agitate in my house; my wife, my children. If you say to me you have lived with your wife all through and you people have never quarrelled, then you are not married. You disagree and settle it – that is agitation.
“I will govern by listening to the people. I will visit every state in Nigeria.
“We have a huge land in the North that if properly invested and cultivated, will change Nigeria. The more I pull people out of poverty, the more I reduce agitation, the more I reduce criminality.”
According to him, the problems in the country arose from the cumulative effect of leadership failure over the years.
Obi stressed that he wants to be seen as the “man who changed this country called Nigeria”.
To bring healing to those that were allegedly maltreated during the 2020 #EndSARS protest, the LP presidential candidate said he would apologise to them and unite the country in love.
He added that he is contesting as a Nigerian and will want to be evaluated based on his character and competence rather than his tribe or religion.
“I don’t like the way people were treated during the #EndSARS, I will apologise. We must have a country of healing and love, that is what leadership in a democracy is.
“I am going to meet people in the North, I am going to meet people everywhere and say come, let’s be a family. I want Nigerians to be proud that they are Nigerians. What we have now is we have a country called Nigeria but we don’t have Nigerians. I want to bring back Nigerians.
“I am contesting as a Nigerian, I don’t want people to vote for me because I am an Igbo man or because I am from South-East because people don’t buy bread cheaper because they are from that zone,” he said.
“I don’t want anybody to vote for me because I am a Christian; I don’t want them to vote because it is my turn, it is not inheritance. It is the turn of Nigerians to take back their country. I want them to vote for me because of character and competence, I have the capacity, I have the commitment, I am qualified,” he said.
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