The former governor of Anambra State, Mr. Peter Obi, Friday, said that he is preoccupied with the thought of a better Nigeria, not how to win political elections in 2023.

Obi, said that he wants to see a Nigerian society where all the sectors of the economy are functioning effectively to liberate the people from the shackles of underdevelopment and poverty sending most Nigerians to their early graves.

He spoke as a special guest of honour during the 80th birthday celebration of the father of African Philosophy, Prof. Uzodinma Nwala, at the Princess Alexandra Auditorium, University of Nigeria, Nsukka, UNN.

He said that Prof. Nwala’s scholarly prowess should be emulated and celebrated in order to position the country on the path of knowledge-based economy for rapid development.

He equally pledged to help the Department of Philosophy, UNN, where he graduated from establish a research centre on African Philosophy.

“Nigerians are always preoccupied by elections, I am not that type of politician. Politics for me is not about winning elections and being in office. For me, it is about building a better society. We are in a society where people don’t know where the next meal will come from but we are not discussing that. We are in a society today where poor businesses cannot get diesel to do their businesses, unfortunately, nobody is discussing that. We are in a society where our universities have been shut down for months, nobody is discussing that. These are the things I want to discuss, not 2023 elections.

“Elections can come when we have dealt with the issues that are bewildering us. I want to see our universities functional and our children back to classrooms. I want to see food on the tables of poor people in the villages. I want to see steady power supply so that our businesses can thrive,” he said.

While talking about Prof. Nwala, he also said “Prof. Nwala, remains one of those scholars that should be celebrated and emulated in Nigeria, unfortunately, we live in a country where people don’t celebrate knowledge, ideas, scholarship. This is the bane of the country because the world is driven by knowledge. We are in a knowledge economy and development. Nigeria does not appreciate knowledge, that is why we are not investing in education. That’s why we are not doing well.

“For me as a student who passed through the tutelage of Prof. Nwala, I remain his son and I celebrate him everyday,” he said.

In his address, the Vice Chancellor of UNN, Prof. Charles Igwe, while lauding the academic ingenuity of Prof. Nwala, who he said took African Philosophy to the global stage, he regretted the loss of academic contents which the generation of the octogenarian bequeathed to the academic world.

The Vice Chancellor who was represented by the Dean, Faculty of Social Sciences, Prof. Aloysius-Michaels Okolie, also said that Prof. Nwala’s great idea helped to position Nigeria, and the world at large for greatness, adding that his presence in UNN has ignited the spirit of scholarship and ideology amongst the academia.

In his address, the Acting Head of Department of Philosophy, UNN, Dr. Chugozie Anyaehie, said Prof. Nwala, was the first to globally develop African Philosophy as a teaching course in the university and projected the Department into the global academic history as a young lecturer.

While saying that he was the first graduate of the Department and a one-man-class graduate of the Department in 1967, he said that the Department aspires to sustain and institutionalize his leadership positions on African Philosophy.

He added that Prof. Nwala stood for the integrity of both his colleagues and students in the Department. He also said that the aspiration of the Department to institutionalize his leadership positions on African Philosophy would be enhanced by dedication of a research centre on the discipline in UNN as a place where African Philosophy was birthed.

Prof. Nwala, an ideologist, international scholar and politician was the first Philosophy graduate to be produced by any Nigerian university in 1967. He equally founded the State Volunteer Service Corps, SVSC, to initiate programmes for the reconstruction, rehabilitation and reconciliation of Nigeria after the civil war.

He became an Executive General Secretary of ASUU in 1980 and equally contributed immensely to the 1994-5 National Conference.

https://www.vanguardngr.com/2022/03/im-preoccupied-with-thought-of-a-better-nigeria-not-2023-elections-peter-obi/

Okwute Ndi Igbo, not like one man on piss-as-you-go plan

Pictures from the event

Cutting the birthday cake at the event

Peter Obi stop hiding and grow a pair

Obi addressing the Congregation at the 80th birthday celebration of Prof Nwala in Nsukka

Okwute!
These are people committed in ensuring an economically viable Nigeria

Not some desperate ones who are ready to fight dirty to become president

Obi abeg start camping oh! Why wait naw this obi self just commot money start campaign all this noise will not do anything oh abeg somebody should reason him this package oh forget south eastern states and south south our brothers focus more on North, 4get south west them no just like good thing oh North na our sure banger biko

Coward looking for politician to hide under his pant .

You don't care about election but you want to change Nigeria

Baba just say u are stingy to bring out the looted money like ur counterparts to buy 40 million naira presidential form.. stop forming what u are not biko

Smart man, intelligent man

Obi , my man, I trust him

Better

Him tu deh lie

Baba wey dey simp for Bianca yesterday

I don't trust politicians going back to their vomit

.

This man is a good leader, this is how a good leader thinks not some idiot drug addict that says he wants to be president just because it's his lifelong ambition.

princdebola201:
Coward looking for politician to hide under his pant .

You don't care about election but you want to change Nigeria

Real legit people can't waste their money on Nigeria election.

Infact. Nigeria Politics is not for honest men

samista:
This man is a good leader, this is how a good leader thinks not some idiot drug addict that says he wants to be president just because it's his lifelong ambition.

Oya, tell us how Atiku is thinking

Eish

When politician are talking especially the one that looking for public validation and sympathy they sounding sober and ridiculously. I'm pretty sure that Atiku has called this man to join his ticket.

A man like Peter Obi is the kind of president Nigeria needs now.

Coward of the east.

One of the few leaders in Nigeria that has something reasonable to offer, that's Peter Gregory Obi

Nigeria has all it is praying for one person but Nigerians will rather choose a to service their stomach instead of sorting out and reclaiming their future from men of underworld politics

They will still come back and wail on how the government failed them

We love to eat out cake and have it

I'm definitely voting for this man if he decides to contest

BSsniffer:
Coping mechanisms of a real coward looser who is scared of competing. How do you plan on fixing Nigeria as a politician and not think about elections.... stupidity of nyamiris

Don't mind the miserable Chinese scammer

This man yarnings smooth die.
Reminds me of Obama (although I Don't agree with his later policies).

Obi for presidency 2023!!!.

Obi, I respect you a lot, but I know very well that you're not different from other politicians we have in Nigeria. All of you are the same. People are already having very high hopes on Soludo, they will be disappointed, he will not do anything significantly different from his predecessors. Tinubu has been fiercely pursuing his presidential ambition as if he has any plan to make any difference. In the end he won't be different from Buhari.

For those that will say that Peter obi is this or that, ask yourselves, how many problems did his government solve for eight years as a governor? Since 1960 no government has solved a single tangible problem.

In 2022 we are still talking about power generation, education sector is almost dead, transport sector is getting worse every day, security, tourism, entertainment etc... So for me to rate any government, such government must have implemented a wholistic solution to a particular problem such that successive government will no longer talk about it. Unfortunately no government has done that till now. Next government will still be talking about road construction etc

Simple things as designing a realistic and problem solving curriculum for our education system is like a rocket science... we'll keep on borrowing foreign curriculums that are utterly useless to us...

Good man

Lori iro

The country needs a vibrant leader with vision not a vision-less fellow that just wants to add the title of President to his CV.

Love the way the new Anambra Governor has started off. Hope he keeps the momentum going.