As Obi insists bad leadership is the problem
Maduako Igbokwe I Friday, Nov.16, 2023
AWKA, Nigeria – The former president of Malawi Dr. Joyce Hilda Banda and the 2023 Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate Mr. Peter Obi on Thursday deferred on the causes of African problems.
Dr Joyce Hilda Banda had attributed African problems to colonisation ,while Peter Obi said that the problem of Africa was purely bad leadership and has nothing to do with colonialism.
The duo spoke at 12th annual Zik’s lecture series titled ” Reclaiming Zik’s World: Climate Justice and African Sustainable development” held at the Nnamdi Azikiwe University Awka Anambra state.
Banda further lamented that Africa is not completely free, given the fact that there is a monumental flight and exploitation of the continent’s natural resources by her former colonizers.
The former President of Malawi also called for a United States Of Africa, insisting that such homogeneous relationship is the answer to the current neo colonialism in the continent.
Banda who was a guest lecturer of the 12th Annual Zik Lecture Series in honour of the first President of Nigeria Late Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe noted that the theme of the lecture which is Reclaiming Ziks World ; Climate Justice And Africa’s Sustainable Development was a point of departure for the socioeconomic emancipation of the Continent.
“We in Africa are not completely free and these are facts that we cannot wish away and Africa has continued to be at the receiving end of the climatic change”
“This is occasioned by the looting of African resources which of course led to the climatic change and we African leaders have the responsibility to preserve our future and the future of our children”
“Those of us who are President and governors must tell ourselves that the natural resources at of our land belong to the people that we are leading and do not belong to our pockets”
“We must inform ourselves that the wealth of our nation is not ours and as leaders we are custodians of that wealth on behalf of the people that we lead.”
Banda however regretted that the administration of late Dr Nnamdi Azikiwe was cut short and should have been given more time to actualize the leadership of his dream, adding that a purposeful and united African leadership was what Azikiwe stood for which is not being practiced in the continent.
Speaking at the event Obi said colonialism has come and gone , noting that Africans should fix their leadership problems.
“My contribution is that the problems of Africa and Nigeria rest squarely on bad leadership and it is bad leadership that is the burden of Africa and it is not the colonizers”
“I give you example of our problem here in Nigeria; as a professor your salary of N400,000.00 and if they pay you, without spending your money for thirty years ,your salary will amount to N144 million which is not up to what we use to buy cars for our legislators in Nigeria”
“This University gets about N10 million from the federal government as subvention monthly and for one year it would be about N120 million”
“We have 500 professors 4,000 lecturers and 40,000 students and so five of our universities will get about N 600 million annually which converted to dollars is about $500,000.00 and that is what we use to go to meeting of United Nations for one week and that is our problem in Nigeria” he said.
The governor of Anambra state
Prof Charles Soludo said that it is a new dawn in the African continent, noting that Africa is going back to that route of Zikist ideology known as reminisce Africa which is one united livable and prosperous Africa.
“And I think that massage shall be in our minds to build and form one nation and with that we face the rest of the world”
“But it is important that we must forge one United Africa and Her Excellency when you leave, I want you take this massage as former President that we must come together and form a common peace.
“This is time to go back to that Zikist era with the slogan Africa Unite because without unity of Africa all that we are doing to make a change cannot be actualized”he said.
The Vice Chancellor of Nnamdi Azikiwe University Prof Charles Okechekwu Esimone said that the theme of this year’s Lecture Series was particularly significant, stating that the lecture brings the world view of late Azikiwe into an extant global phenomenon.
According to him, climatic change is causing grave concerns in the world.
“It connotes that the world had been lost or vitiated somewhere along the line and now needs to be reclaimed”
“The lecture captures the dilemma of Africa and its socioeconomic development aspirations that while the Industrialized world is seeking global action to curtail carbon emissions , the culprit for climatic change, resulting principally from Industries in the industrial world , Africa which is still struggling to industrialize and thus contributes minimally to carbon emissions, would bear the brunt of global action on carbon emissions” he said
