Nigerians must abandon emotional, tribal, and religious biases at the ballot box as sentimental voting has kept the country trapped in a cycle of poor leadership and underdevelopment, former Governor of Anambra State Peter Obi has indicated
In a statement posted on X (formerly Twitter), the former presidential candidate said the real crisis facing Nigeria is not lack of resources, but failure of leadership — a failure that continues to deepen the country’s woes. “Until we confront it head-on,” he said, “the country cannot move in the right direction.”
Obi referenced a recent U.S. diplomatic statement on Nigeria’s governance failings — amplified by The Africa Report — as further proof that the rot at the top has become globally visible. He emphasized that leaders must be chosen based on competence, character, capacity, and compassion, not on identity or empty promises.
“You cannot ask the people to keep fasting while you feast every day,” Obi said, lamenting a political culture where the needs of the masses are ignored while a few profit from the system.
He also criticized what he called the “hijackers of our country,” who, instead of engaging with substance, deploy media proxies to insult and distract. But now, he noted, even foreign observers have begun voicing similar concerns.
Obi urged Nigerians to “dismantle the system of criminality” by rejecting waste, looting, and reckless borrowing, and embracing a leadership rooted in production and accountability. “Let us vote not from our hearts, but from our heads — a New Nigeria is POssible,” he concluded.