I’ll dialogue with IPOB, other agitators – Peter Obi gives plan

Peter Obi, the Labour Party’s (LP) presidential candidate, has stated that if elected president on February 25, 2023, he will engage in dialogue with members of the outlawed Indigenous Peoples of Biafra (IPOB) and other agitators to restore peace in the nation.

Mr. Obi, the former governor of Anambra State, made this statement in response to inquiries about national security at the corporate office of the Media Trust Group (MTG), which operates Trust TV and owns Daily Trust titles.

The South-East and South-South regions of today’s Nigeria are primarily included in the old Eastern Region of the country, where the separatist IPOB organization claims its primary goal is to restore an independent state of Biafra.

As you are aware, Nnamdi Kanu, a British Nigerian well-known for supporting the current Biafran independence movement, founded IPOB in 2012.

The Nigerian Terrorism Act designated it as a terrorist organization in 2017, and as a result, Kanu was detained and charged with terrorism-related offenses.

The group was charged with murdering security personnel, politicians, traditional leaders, and familiar people. Among other symbols of authority, such as police stations and INEC offices, its members were also implicated in their destruction.

‘My approach will be different

In his visit to Media Trust, Peter Obi responded to questions by saying, “I have said it time and time again, Nigeria is not more agitated than Brazil. If you want, I will show you countries that have been agitated in the past, whether it be Brazil, Mexico, or this.

 “In our South East, it is a simple thing, I will dialogue, I will discuss, it is a democracy, and in a democracy, you govern by consensus. If anybody says he is not happy, you call him and you sit him down and discuss it with him.

“People agitate in my house, my wife, my children. If you say to me you have lived with your wife all through and you people have never quarreled, then you are not married. You disagree and settle it – that is agitation.”

If elected, Peter Obi promised to lead by consensus and take advice from everyone to ensure an efficient government.

 “I will govern by listening to the people. I will visit every state in Nigeria. We have a huge land in the North that if properly invested and cultivated, will change Nigeria. The more I pull people out of poverty, the more I reduce agitation, the more I reduce criminality. What you are seeing in Nigeria today is a cumulative effect of leadership failure over the years and all I want to do is to be seen to be that man who changed this country called Nigeria,” he said.

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When asked if he agreed with the federal government’s classification of IPOB as a terrorist group, he responded, “I don’t want to go into that place. As I previously stated, I am willing to speak with anyone; they are welcome to call, and I will meet with them to discuss anything.

“I don’t like the way people were treated during the EndSARS, I will apologize. We must have a country of healing and love; that is what leadership in a democracy is.

“I am going to meet people in the North, I am going to meet people everywhere and say come, let’s be a family. I want Nigerians to be proud that they are Nigerians. What we have now is we have a country called Nigeria but we don’t have Nigerians. I want to bring back Nigerians.”

‘I’m not an Igbo candidate’

While urging Nigerians to vote for him, he said he is not an Igbo candidate but the most qualified candidate among the 18 flagbearers.

“I am contesting as a Nigerian, I don’t want people to vote for me because I am an Igbo man or because I am from South East because people don’t buy bread cheaper because they are from that zone.

“I don’t want anybody to vote for me because I am a Christian; I don’t want them to vote because it is my turn, it is not inheritance. It is the turn of Nigerians to take back their country. I want them to vote for me because of character and competence, I have the capacity, I have the commitment, I am qualified,” he said.