Former presidential candidate Peter Obi has issued a stinging remark on Nigeria’s political leadership, accusing the ruling class of a “systematic assault” on democracy while millions of citizens slide into deep poverty. Defending democracy in a post shared on Facebook on Saturday, Obi explained his defection from ADC to NDC as a matter of principle rather than mere politics.
He quoted Winston Churchill to illustrate his stance:
“Some men change their party for the sake of their principles; others change their principles for the sake of their party.”
He addressed what he terms “alarming failures” in governance and the “destruction of democracy” by the current political class.
Obi did not hold back in his assessment of the nation’s current trajectory. He argued that Nigeria is drifting without direction and facing a crisis of institutional decay.
“Today, the most painful aspect of our political existence is that many who once benefited from democratic governance have now become willing accessories to the destruction of democracy itself,” Obi stated.
He further claimed that those who previously advocated justice are now defending “coercion, manipulation, intimidation, and outright political gangsterism.”
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On economic and social decline, Obi pointed to staggering statistics. He noted that over 140 million Nigerians live in poverty, while inflation and insecurity continue to devastate families.
He said, “Our present tragedy is not accidental. It is the direct consequence of years of deliberate sabotage by a political class that prospers by dividing the people and weakening the nation. Nigeria is not a poor country; rather, we are being looted into poverty.”
Despite the grim outlook, Obi called for national unity over ethnic or religious divisions.
He proposed a strategic focus on unlocking the agricultural potential of Northern Nigeria to drive industrial production across the federation.
“We must move decisively from a nation of consumption to a nation of production,” he stated.
Obi insists that a new nation remains possible through competent and compassionate leadership.
