By DADA AYOKHAI
The Labour Party Presidential candidate and the former Governor of Anambra State, Mr. Peter Gregory Obi (CON), was recently at the Palace of the otaru of Auchi kingdom, HRH Alhaji H A Momoh, Ikelebe 111, as part of his campaign trail of Edo state.
In his remarks while welcoming the presidential candidate to Auchi, the royal father charged those seeking to govern the country in the next dispensation to make sure that they put the people first and also work towards ridding the society of the twin evils of maladministration and corruption which forms a cankerworm to development.
The Otaru pointedly told his visitor that Nigeria has what it takes to bounce back and reclaim its lost glory if those in authority are able to purge themselves of “corruption and ineptitude”, which he identified as the “major bane” to Nigeria’s advancement despite the abundant human and natural resources God had placed in its bowels.
The revered monarch made a most passionate appeal to the political class and urged them to jettison corrupt practices in order to save the country from total collapse.
He also admonished the voters to ensure they voted wisely in the forthcoming election, saying all hands must be on deck to rescue Nigeria from the clutches of those who derive immense pleasure from seeing the majority suffer.
He said, “If we must succeed as a human race, we must shun, first of all, corruption otherwise we may continue to punish ourselves”.
Referring to the deluge of malaise confronting the country, ranging from the perennial flooding of the South to unemployment, poverty, insurgency and other criminal tendencies which are ravaging the country thus making the populace to lose hope in a prosperous future, the Otaru said he is one of the few incurable optimists who believe Nigeria can attain global power status given its endowments, adding it is high time the country transits from a consumption to a production economy in order to meet the hopes and expectations of the people.
The Otaru further stated that for the country to overcome her present challenges, it is incumbent upon every citizen to be ready to make the necessary sacrifices to get the country working again, noting the 2023 general election presents another chance to the people to make the “deliberate and intentional” decisions which will ultimately “free them from internal bondage”.
