Former Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi has declared that Nigeria’s democracy is under systematic assault, accusing political elites of enabling injustice, coercion, and intimidation while millions of Nigerians sink deeper into poverty and insecurity.
Speaking on Friday at the first national convention of the Nigeria Democratic Congress in Abuja, Obi said the country was drifting dangerously without direction and warned that the nation’s democratic foundations were rapidly eroding.
Quoting former British Prime Minister Winston Churchill, Obi said: “Some men change their party for the sake of their principles; others change their principles for the sake of their party.”
He described the convention as a reflection of Nigerians’ “resilience for change” and thanked the NDC leadership, headed by former Bayelsa governor Henry Seriake Dickson, for accommodating him and his allies at what he called a critical moment in the nation’s history.
Obi also expressed gratitude to the African Democratic Congress and its interim leadership led by former Senate President David Mark for providing a democratic platform after ongoing litigation forced his group out of the Labour Party and the New Nigeria Peoples Party.
According to him, many politicians who once fought for justice and democracy had now become willing accessories to the destruction of democratic values.
“Those who once spoke against impunity now defend coercion, manipulation, intimidation, and outright political gangsterism, especially against opposition voices,” Obi said.
He painted a grim picture of the country’s condition, citing widespread poverty, unemployment, inflation, insecurity, and institutional collapse as evidence of failed leadership.
“Over 140 million Nigerians now live in multidimensional poverty. Businesses are shutting down, farmers can no longer safely access their farms, and communities are living in fear,” he stated.
Obi lamented the rising wave of killings, kidnappings, and economic hardship across the country, questioning who speaks for struggling families and young Nigerians whose dreams have been destroyed by corruption and bad governance.
He blamed Nigeria’s woes on years of deliberate sabotage by a political class that thrives on division and personal gain, insisting that the country’s abundant resources had been squandered by self-serving leadership.
Obi maintained that Nigeria could still recover through unity, competent leadership, and economic reforms focused on agriculture, manufacturing, youth empowerment, and inclusive governance.
“We must move decisively from a nation of consumption to a nation of production,” he declared, emphasizing that Northern Nigeria’s vast agricultural potential must be strategically linked to industrial development across the federation.
The former Anambra governor urged Nigerians to rise above ethnic, religious, and political divisions to rescue the country and rebuild it on the foundations of justice, equity, competence, and productivity.
“I remain convinced that a new Nigeria is possible, a Nigeria that is united, secure, productive, inclusive, and governed by justice and fairness,” Obi said.
