By Enitan Abdultawab
Former Minister of Education, Oby Ezekwesili, has reaffirmed her support for former Anambra State Governor Peter Obi ahead of the 2027 presidential election.
Ezekwesili said her position remained unchanged because Obi would still rank higher than other leading candidates based on the leadership criteria she used during the 2023 presidential election.
The former World Bank Vice President for Africa stated this during an appearance on Arise TV’s Prime Time programme on Monday.
She explained that she had assessed the presidential candidates in 2023 based on their capacity to govern effectively and would still arrive at the same conclusion today.
“In 2023, I made it very clear that, using the criteria on which I see leadership either fail or succeed to govern well, the other two candidates score considerably lower than what you would assign to former Governor Obi, and so I was going to stand with Governor Obi.
“I don’t think that anything has really significantly changed,” she said.
However, Ezekwesili cautioned against reducing the conversation about Nigeria’s future to Obi or any other individual politician.
“Don’t make this about Peter Obi. I don’t want us to personalise. I’m interested in the construct,” she said.
The former minister also criticised what she described as the declining value placed on human life and dignity in Nigeria, arguing that the country’s current political and governance structure had failed citizens.
According to her, Nigerians must reject the belief that the country’s current condition is inevitable and demand a fundamental change in how it is governed.
“The greatest tragedy of the country is this resignation—that this is our destiny. I say no, this is by design. It is not our destiny; this is by design,” she said.
Ezekwesili added that Nigerians should actively participate in choosing leaders who would represent their interests.
“I am challenging that and saying that Nigerians should at least vote for themselves. If no one votes for you in terms of the leaders you’re choosing, vote for yourselves,” she said.
She urged competent Nigerians to enter politics and contest elections at the local, state and federal levels, stressing that changing the country’s trajectory would require citizens to take greater responsibility for the leadership they choose.
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