The presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, has called on Nigerians to turn the country’s past tragedies into opportunities for national transformation, unity and prosperity.
Obi said Nigeria’s history of coups, civil war and mass violence should not continue to define the country’s future, arguing that lessons from those experiences could be used to build a more stable and prosperous nation.
The former Anambra State governor stated this while reflecting on the 1966 coups and other national tragedies, following concerns raised by some Nigerians over his recent engagement on the issue during an interview with Arise News.
Obi said he was prepared to answer questions on Nigeria’s history and other issues affecting the country, stressing that his commitment was to serve Nigerians rather than avoid difficult national conversations.
“I have received many calls and text messages from patriotic Nigerians who were annoyed that an Arise News anchor wanted me to answer questions about the 1966 coups, which were national tragedies,” he said.
“I reassured those patriots that, as a presidential candidate, I am ready and able to answer any questions about anything relating to Nigeria. I have a commitment to serve the people, not to hide from them.”
According to Obi, his interactions with Nigerians across the country have given him opportunities to reflect on the various crises that have shaped the nation’s history.
“As I travel across Nigeria and listen to Nigerians of all ethnic and religious identities, I have had opportunities to reflect on the many tragedies we have experienced in Nigeria, including the 1966 coups, the civil war, and the various mass violence that have plagued different parts of the country,” he said.
He attributed the tragedies to failures in leadership and governance, arguing that the country could have avoided some of them if laws had been entrenched and implemented fairly.
“My view is that we could have avoided these tragedies if we had entrenched and implemented laws justly. These tragedies are the result of leadership failure. It is our responsibility to understand these failures and fix them,” Obi said.
He identified the failure to guarantee equal rights and freedoms to citizens, as well as the failure to enforce constitutional rights fairly, as issues that needed to be addressed.
He said Nigeria must learn from its history rather than remain trapped in it.
“We must focus on learning from our past. Mistakes in history are not fatal. They can become opportunities for transformation,” he said.
Obi cited Japan, South Korea and China as examples of countries that transformed difficult historical experiences into drivers of national development.
He said Japan’s economic transformation was linked to leaders who used the country’s experiences to drive development, while South Korea developed policies that helped transform its economy.
“The Japanese miracle that took place between 1920 and 1970 was a product of patriotic leaders who used the Japanese trauma of colonial rule to drive miraculous economic development,” he said.
“South Korea followed Japan by weaponising cruel experiences under Japan to develop a policy framework of a developmental state, and became an economic giant under the inspiration of General Park from 1960.”
Obi also pointed to China’s transformation under Deng Xiaoping, saying the country’s leadership was able to respond to the consequences of the Cultural Revolution with a different development direction.
“The same applies to China under Deng Xiaoping, who reinvented China from the tragedies of Chairman Mao’s Cultural Revolution and the many deaths of that ill-fated policy,” he said.
“Today, China is the second-largest economy in the world. What a transformation. That is our vision. That should also be our history.”
The NDC presidential candidate said his vision for Nigeria was to ensure that the painful experiences of the past became a foundation for a more united, stable and prosperous country.
“For me, my responsibility as Nigerian President is to turn the pains and tragedies of the past into opportunities to make Nigeria united, stable, and prosperous,” he said.
He called for leadership that would focus on issues that unite Nigerians rather than those that deepen divisions.
“We need a leadership that is not trapped in the past, a leadership that focuses on what binds us together rather than what divides us,” Obi said.
He also stressed the need for Nigerians to recognise the potential of every part of the country, arguing that the country’s regions possess human and natural resources that can support productive and prosperous communities.
“At this point, we need a leader who believes in the destiny and future of Nigeria, a leader who publicly proclaims that all parts of Nigeria abound in human and natural resources, and that all parts of Nigeria can become productive and prosperous,” he said.
Obi said the difference between countries that successfully overcome difficult histories and those that remain trapped in them often lies in the quality and purpose of leadership.
“The difference in human history is having leaders who do not maximise those pasts for selfish ambition but leverage them to build a prosperous future for all,” he said.
He also cited Rwanda as an African example of a country seeking to use the memory of a devastating past to promote national unity and development.
“Even in Africa, we can learn from Rwanda on how a recent terrible experience is being used to advance national unity and prosperity. We can do the same for Nigeria,” Obi said.
He further assured Nigerians that he would remain willing to discuss issues that matter to voters and engage with the country’s difficult past.
“I am ready to speak about what the voters consider important. I am ready to comfort and console. I am ready to lead from the front as we work to turn away from the ugly past and into a future where no Nigerian will suffer on account of his or her ethnicity, religion, or social pedigree,” he said.
Obi said while Nigeria’s history remains important, it should not determine the country’s future.
“Our past is important, but our past is not our destiny. Our future is what we do with our past. Our past is our resource for national transformation. We are ready to transform Nigeria,” he said.