Presidential Candidate of Labour Party in the February 25 2023 election, Peter Obi, has said Nigeria needs political office holders who have genuine identity and authentic, verifiable credentials.
Obi, who spoke at Princeton University, United States at the backdrop of the ongoing case on President Bola Ahmed Tinubu’s academic record.
Former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, who contested the Presidential election under the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), is digging for the academic and personal records of Tinubu, from Chicago State University (CSU).
A court ruled in favour of Atiku, ordering CSU to release Tinubu’s record, but the Nigerian President filed a suit against this, saying that releasing them would cause “severe and irreparable damage” to him.
Obi, speaking at the Chinua Achebe Symposium at Princeton University on Friday, said Nigerians must start working towards a country driven by competence and commitment to fighting corruption.
He submitted that leaders in Africa’s biggest economy must be committed to the rule of law.
“We must have leadership that is committed to the rule of law… that has an identity and credentials that can be verified. We can start thinking of a new Nigeria with competence, and capacity that is committed to fighting corruption. Is it possible to fight corruption? The answer is yes!
” I am Peter Obi. People know where I am from, my parents the schools I attended. I don’t need injunction to stop anyone from getting my transcripts or documents from (University Of Nigeria) Nsukka. All these matters. We have to show leadership by example. ‘You can Go and Verify.’
“The trouble with Nigeria is self-inflicted. If Achebe was alive, he would have taken back the book. When he wrote it, there was no trouble. Now, there is real trouble in Nigeria.Rascality has become a measure of success in Nigeria. That must change.”
Obi is one of those who filed an appeal at the Supreme Court to challenge the tribunal’s ruling that upheld Tinubu’s victory.