OBI TO KWAKWANSO: NIGERIA'S PROBLEM IS THE ECONOMY — FULL INTERVIEW

[00:00:00] Speaker 1: after the romance between the labor party and the new nigeria people's party the rumored merger between both parties has stalled the candidate of the new nigeria party nnpp rabi kwakwanto over the weekend stated he can't be a running mate to the labor party candidate peter will be also saying that the southeast will miss a golden opportunity if peter will be refuses to be his running mate the nnpp candidate also added that the ebos are at the bottom in politics reacting to the remarks by the nnpp presidential candidate buba galadima highlighted that peter obi's best bet is to accept to be kwakwanto's running mate and that the labor party candidate is suited to be vice president because of his experience and economic issues joining us on the show this morning to discuss the alliance between both parties and his take on recent remarks from the presidential candidate of the nnpp is peter obi presidential candidate of the labor party good morning sir welcome to the morning show good morning and good morning for inviting me so let's start off with those comments from senator rabi kwakwanto presidential flag bearer of the nnpp he said several things including the fact that the north will not vote for you peter will be that they would rather vote for a northern candidate he also talked about the fact that the southeast has problems in quotes such that the north will not be voting from a person from the southeast what's your take on that well let me [00:01:37] Peter Obi: the comments from my respected elder brother is the reason why we have 100 million nigerians living in poverty the reason why we have 18 million nigerian children out of school it is the reason why we have over 55 percent of nigerians in under unemployment is the reason why we have all the problems why nigeria is insecure because rather than vote for competence we will choose to vote for incompetence based on a primitive consideration of ethnicity and religion tell me today you can't travel from abuja to kaduna by air by road by train is it because someone from the south is is in charge you can't travel from abuja to mina by road by road is it because someone from the south east is in charge yesterday we have we had an attack by bandits on the presidential convoy in kasuna is it because the president from south east is in charge show me where you can buy food cheaper you have uninterrupted electricity or people are prospering in the north because northerners are in power in the southwest because they're in power in the southeast what we've chosen to do in this country we will consistently hire vehicle drivers to fly the nigerian airplane instead of highly qualified pilots my commitment is let us campaign and they would issue of the problems of the country there's a lot of problems in this country if you don't know today this country will soon default in their death service now will be that's what should be preoccupying us now so our schools universities are shut down and we're talking about who will vote for let's deal with issues this election will not be based on my tongue it will not be based on ethnicity it will not be based on religion it will be based on the nigerian agenda to save this nigeria nigeria is in coma and you need a specialist and that is what i'm offering to save his life or he will die it is not about where whether this person am appealing to people to vote to save nigeria and to save nigeria is to hire the best i don't want people to vote for me because i'm from south south or i'm from south west or north west or north east or north central i want them to vote for p2b because it's a nigerian who is competent to start pulling nigeria [00:05:15] Speaker 3: out of the mess it is today he also said that you know the ebos are on the lower ladder of nigerian politics i mean we keep hearing that word in fact when we had the uh spokesperson of the nnpp someone that spoke that did speak about for the nmp uh yesterday uh i think a couple of days ago i if my memory serves me right that's a large book gladima he equally enunciated you know those views that no it must be the ebos that uh yeah it's on monday yeah thank you so much that that um the ebos should be the one to be vice presidential candidate so tell us about everything about this you know nmp partnership and everything is he still working or is he dead on arrival well i'm not going to talk about [00:06:03] Peter Obi: the the alliance because maybe some people are talking about that but i want to they look at their comments often a time is you see you work here often a time we tend to neglect those on the lower ladder there might be the solution there might be the solution and those comments are comments that should not be on the table today because we have a problem my candidacy is actually meant to solve those problems to stop referring those who are highlight because okay those who are highlighter have brought us where we are maybe we need those on the normal to be able to deal with it and that's what even his comment let me take about a large but one of them has comment which you said he said i'm competent to be the vice president because of my knowledge of the economy let me tell you nigerian problem is economy so why do you want somebody who has knowledge of what the problem is to be vice that is what i'm saying you want to use the the the people who should be on reserve bank to be the to study much when no he mentioned that i have the knowledge the nigerian problem is the economy it is the economy because because people don't have job because people don't have means of livelihood you push them into criminality into agitation those of problems we're facing today and that is what i'm saying that i have the knowledge to stop pulling these people out of poverty my candidacy and the team i want to assemble young sharp people will start mitigating the dangers we're facing today i will start dealing with cutting costs in order to be able to pull nigerians out of poverty to be able to reduce go and look at the world so it is actually what is telling you what buba gladima said i would say is peter b is qualified to be vice president everybody have said it's not just but what is the problem of nigerian economic problem right so i know you are raring to get to the issues [00:08:26] Speaker 1: but unfortunately identity politics is still an issue in this country so i do also have to raise comments made by alaji madi she who chairman of the dialogue group on another show on the arise news network where he said that during your time as governor of anambra you wanted northerners working in anambra to wear a badge of identification frankly that sounds like something out of nazi germany where jews had to wear a yellow badge and that it was only until the intervention of senator rabbi quackran so that you then back down from that idea he also raised this issue that was trending on social media an allegation that your son was the person pictured who was dressed in biafran attire standing on the nigerian flag i'd like [00:09:13] Peter Obi: you to address those two issues well i would even add a dimension issue of my sponsoring ipo b let me tell you i've said it one go and check the records and check his facts i've never been involved in sponsoring any agitation beat ipo b or no one i've never in 2017 which i'm sure you referred i made a comment i said i i pop and all other agitations as a result of leadership failure over the years that failed to address [00:09:56] Speaker ?: that failed to address [00:09:59] Peter Obi: the critical areas of development so it was a christian we're a christian government and i can say today that if i'm in power i would deal decisively with all agitations through dialogue and during to proper leadership and when i finish that is the remnants of criminal detainees i deal with it decisively that's what is happening everywhere a full load issue of agitations globally i do things with studies and it can be dealt with an issue of badge and identification is a lie it never happened and let me tell you throughout the time i was governor guacquasso never visited me i can't remember if i i probably haven't met guacquasso until maybe i don't know there are people i met maybe after i became governor or not close to him you know he's somebody that i see as a senior product respect me but he never visited me as a governor or intervened on anything and to tell you why it's like all the commissioners that sat with me throughout the time i was in office are from the north i never had the privilege of having any commission from southwest south south they are all from the north can show you six of them from john haruna to nazara most of them if i told him i'm from canu my adc mohammed is from canu so who will i give the order will i give them one order to go and deal with their own people no every other person calls his brother his sister his mother listen to be his agency my adc is from canu and we remain close to you today very very close you can go ask him i'm not somebody who asked that on issue of my son it is not my son my son is a professional who is consumed by his yeah let me tell you i just came back from london i can't even see my son he's he's consumed by her work he would tell me that listen dad i like oh how are you guys politicize your campaign i like what you're doing do you know i can exchange my messages with my son my son will tell you listen dad i don't have time for this i did this i said in a week in new york i could not see my son because he was busy doing what he's doing so he doesn't have time for that that thing happened in janney my son doesn't live in january he lives in the uk okay and he consumed by his work and i want a large i can tell him i'll bet any amount for anybody to prove or say that is my son he's shorter he's listening you know so okay so let's go to some key issues social media was a [00:12:59] Speaker 3: gorgeous day that you had a vice presidential candidate already you know yusuf dati baba med i mean what's your take on that what's your take on vice presidential candidates and also i'd like to ask you since you're speaking about the issues you were in morocco at some point you were in egypt you see you're going to study the past a lot of people are saying why don't you talk to the stakeholders here that shows that you're not prepared for this job while you're going around to [00:13:21] Peter Obi: study okay well two two things the issue of vice presidential candidates um we're talking to quite a number of people and you know that is a dimension is very qualified i wish he's the one you know because what am i trying to do it's people like him that actually would like to work with one i wish i can work with a somebody who is much younger because we need to start learning the the the this barriers of this and bring people younger people with fresh ideas which have something to offer then just keep recycling this um access and claiming we have been there too for several times or with our thorn or is that we need to start dealing with so that we're talking to and we will announce it that's nice we're ready and which will be very soon on issue are you confirming you're confirming that [00:14:28] Speaker 3: you're speaking to dati and other aspirants there's some there's quite a number of people where's that he might be the person because he's like look at what i said i said i said i wish is the [00:14:37] Peter Obi: one it's qualified okay you wish is the one so you have a soft spot for him yeah of course and if you're that you know i want somebody who is competent you you need to we need to i want i said i'm building a team okay we fire and building a team that didn't have to be a team that is formidable a team that cannot take even from me as president anything i want to assemble the type of team i had in an umbrella state where and i said to them from day one if you agree with me in three meetings you go that means you don't have your own idea i want those who can look at my face and say mr president you're wrong you're wrong and you're wrong because i don't know everything i want to learn for you that you should that's about yes of course if i want people that can come in there and say to me i don't know you're wrong you can't do this because that's what we need we need to save this country i can only do that with the team on issue of my traveling let me tell you leadership and learning is is inseparable if they tell you somebody is doing something well you go and learn what are they doing what are they not doing and that has taken me from the time i've started this experiment or getting involved in politics i've been to 31 countries learning it is important it's critical you asked specifically i was in morocco why did i go to morocco morocco just to show you morocco is about 36 million the export last year was over 50 billion dollars in our own with oil included is under 30 billion and we are 200 million morocco didn't export any oil but if the natural resources was small it was mainly manufactured goods you vehicle alone was almost 10 billion in morocco morocco runs the best airport uh support in africa doing twice the tonnage cargo tonnage of that all nigerian post together morocco so i have to go there morocco is doing so well that today morocco issues bond euro bond at two three percent nobody can today in nigeria people are skeptical about buying nigerian bond even at 14 15 percent so a differential of about 10 to 13 percent morocco had to go and see what they're doing i drove from rabat the capital to the port in three and a half hours no police no straight road got to the port you wouldn't even know you think there's nothing happening in the port i was there as they viewed the people and everything that's why i went there do you know what they're doing that will not do you learn i went to egypt egypt vietnam india the plot the highest fastest electricity in the past five years and i said let me start with egypt i'm going to go to the world europeans egypt moved their power generation distribution from less than 20 000 in 2015 to today those were asking to know whatever that's what they did you need to go and see what they were able to do today egypt power requirements is 30 000 megawatts their generation and distribution is 58 000. i want to study who did the plant where are the contractors how did they get the funding have been able to ascertain have you said the plants went to the company that built it met with the ceos not the ceos of the companies that are involved went to the power holding company of egypt met the top people in government who are involved in this you know talked a bit with the finances in egypt i've also gone europe to meet the finances we'll fight what you're hearing what you see here that people go into government and start giving excuses what i saw when i came in what was it i want to see everything now calculate the sources of which i'm going to solve it so when i go there i hit the ground running nothing i did in another person [00:19:36] Speaker 3: people are saying i have you talking about the power sector based on what they told me is why i'm [00:19:46] Peter Obi: studying this that's why i'm going to i don't want to come there and they said to find i don't want to go there and start giving excuses the job of a leader is not to give excuses is to solve a problem i don't want to be one of those who will be hired and when i go there i start reminding them of where they're coming from when you are hired you're hired because the person there is not doing well so [00:20:11] Speaker 3: your job is talking to the local people here that's when you went to egypt to look completely completely [00:20:16] Peter Obi: and the local people here didn't provide any solutions no no no they have there you have to blend all these ideas they have to they've done their own and everything let me give you an issue of security i was with the idea of police the other day i don't ask him this but i was asking because you won't solve this thing there's a lot of people i'm going to talk to minister final means of planning you have to know this is before you get in there not when you're going to say what you saw you must [00:20:43] Speaker 1: see everything before you get there so i want to take you back to how you talk to the local people here tell us why because in egypt they have the same agreement don't they with siemens as we have here siemens presidential initiative in three phases upgrade of our transmission grids discos new power stations it simply has not worked here thus far why because because we're not serious you know in this particular [00:21:10] Peter Obi: way let me tell you in egypt to conceive a power plant from beginning to end to say we're going to you are rascomb you are simmons we're going to combine you're going to build this power plant all the things they need to do last step for the five days in egypt they put power security of life and property education health and power at the national security issue very because they found out that one of the things that cost contributed to riots of 2011-2012 when they did harass rings was power small businesses did not have power so they collapsed and they contributed to that and people were unemployed and that was a problem so they looked at the education that children people education all those issues were handled and they put that national and they're dealing with it decisively so if you go to egyptian and see what they're doing in education in health in security and everything give you the issue of the power this thing if you go to the power power holding company on the wall of the co chairman of power holding company you see all the generations all the all of it all the distribution utilization the deal was there the entire utilization was 27.8 thousand megawatts total generation was 52 000 so they have almost double that amount they're not utilizing if you go to the same thing the minister the same thing there's organization so here we don't have that it's all stories they've told me meetings upon meetings as i said i must learn why is this not happen let me know whether we are cost are with the cost that's what i want to do and that's what i'm [00:23:24] Speaker 1: studying everywhere tell me what i didn't be told you have to actually see it there observe it experience [00:23:30] Peter Obi: it and completely that's why i went to the port why would borocco with 36 million people have a a a tonnage to have a better part than we have with 200 million people let's okay okay let's talk [00:23:49] Speaker 3: about this in the last 10 years subsidies has got over 40 billion it's a sinking pipe what would you do about subsidies would you remove subsidies what's the definitive answer well you you thank you i was [00:24:03] Peter Obi: going to mention that is we have spent over 40 billion dollars in subsidy to five our total education expenditure in the past 10 years total education expenditure in the past if our 12 years is about 8 trillion so about 8 trillion so about 10 in 10 years about 8 trillion 8 trillion is about 20 let me use 400 is about 20 billion dollars tell me we find which country of the world the most too critical too critical engine of development is health and education and education in health and education in the past 10 years is about 20 billion dollars go and check the records and you spend 40 in subsidy 40 billion dollars 40 billion so it's fine to even add this is 50 of it if we have spent the next 20 billion in power we would have been [00:25:25] Speaker 3: generating and distributing today 20 000 megawatts of electricity 16 billion or 16 trillion there about in the opportunities they keep using that 16 billion for me for me for me yeah i don't want to deal with [00:25:39] Peter Obi: issue of the past that's what they said was adjustment but i'm saying in the past thing is and i'm talking about 2010 or 2012 to 2022 within this period this is what we have spent in subsidy alone that means subsidy alone would have solved a lot of issues in education in health and in power if we have 20 000 megawatts of electricity today i can assure you that we'll be growing at more than four percent i would have added over 100 billion dollars in our gdp so what it is is that this is just subsidy within the same period as you know we borrowed 90 billion dollars so subsidy of 40 you borrowed about 90 billion dollars which your service need we put the debt service in you could see a total mismanagement of resources that would have changed the entire north that vast land would have been a huge farmland but but sorry to [00:26:57] Speaker 3: cut you the argument has always been over the years it is labor that has been stopping the government for removing something you remember 2012 occupying nigeria protest labor and now you are in the party set up by the labor party and you're a free market capitalist in the party called labor party so labor has also played a role in stopping the removal of subsidy all this one that's another argument no no let me [00:27:17] Peter Obi: tell you the argument let me tell you the argument let me tell you is people it is not entirely so labor [00:27:22] Speaker 3: has never been against stopping of subsidy can you convince labor no let me tell you we will do it [00:27:29] Peter Obi: properly because we'll find if you audit what we are important and consuming there's no way it will be this amount and you have to convince people let me tell you why people are against the move of subsidy people against removal of anything because whenever it's been done they did not see the benefit with the privatization we didn't see the benefit what we did is that we privatized profits socialized losses we did everything we've done we did other things here that have been done everywhere if you say you're going to remove this what are we getting here the problem you have in nigeria is that they've removed this nobody got anything here so we are going to do it in such a way that you'll be transparent this is the amount we of our importation this is the one we're going to spend and if we reduce it or do this this is what you're going to get and you deliver that people will believe you i've been able to return schools in anampras state or do things that when i was doing people say no you cannot do it have you go and watch what my former head of service wrote stinginess as a strategy of development he showed how i cut the cost of everything and showed what i used it to do you must not come and say we're going to remove this what are we going to get as a remove because of mistrust because the whole thing has been embedded in transaction and stealing of you know so people are not don't want to hear it but you cannot spend that amount of subsidy when your health education and pulling people out of poverty suffering so you remove subsidy well like i said everything has to be if this is going to happen this is the result would you remove subsidy we have to look at it critically would you yes remember what i said yes and no we have to study i will remove it but i have to offer them what would be equivalent of what we are removing [00:29:46] Speaker 3: so you're outside subsidies yes and yes yes would you have subsidy yes but because yes and because [00:29:52] Peter Obi: i'm going to use the resources to do something that will benefit but if i'm not going to do that i'm not going to remove it okay you must be able to offer something in replacement of what you're trying to do i cannot spend 40 billion dollars on subsidy and spend 50 of that in education and health even in security where our security budget have not been up to that are you saying that subsidy is more important than security of life and property these are things you must do you must be able to say if we'll keep this we will not get this if we'll keep this we'll not get this but because of mistrust i will say that subsidies that scam and i said maintain it so we have to look at it how much are we are important who is consuming it why are we going to keep this and there's so many scams all over the place including the cost of governance we're going to look at it it's not going to be a business as you i'm going and that is why people are telling you oh it's good at the economy it's not good at this it's not that good because they know that if i'm at the number one position i'll be able to say no you can't continue with this so they want the situation where it will continue but let peter be be yes even qualified to be vice president i'm qualified to be president okay on that note we'll take a short [00:31:20] Speaker 1: break please stay with us we'll be back with more with peter obi welcome back to the morning show here on arise news still with us is presidential candidate of the labor party mr peter obi thank you for staying with us mr obi so before the break we were talking about your field trips is how i'll call them because that's an integral part of education you don't just get education in the classroom you go on field trips so you went to egypt you went to morocco and you were talking about what you observed there you mentioned the ports how will what you studied over there impact us here should you emerge as nigeria's president we have underutilized the blue economy quite clearly how will you address issues of bottlenecks at the ports bottlenecks on the roads infrastructure around the ports cargo turn around issues like that well you know from i've been a businessman [00:32:15] Peter Obi: i remain a business businessman so i know the enormous cost on businesses and trades because of the bottlenecks and the ports and i can tell you this will be decisively addressed not only just to to remove the bottlenecks but to make ports to become what it should be nigeria have what it takes for a post to contribute at least three four times what is contributing today to our revenue because of our size and we can have both for turnaround for transshipments important the deepest part of the ocean is protocol area and it's at the tip that can use for transshipments there's a lot you can do with the ports after what is singapore that we we pride ourselves and talk about every day living on is the ports that port today is doing business and generating and have managing over 200 billion dollars in assets that's what we need to do we need to you know open up the economy of the place make it productive like i said the vast land in the north should be farmlands where canoe and kaduna should be a processing center where we're moving goods for export this is what i've done it that's what i'm going to do if you drive from rabbit to the seaport in tengene morocco all you see is farmland if you're in the air landed on anywhere all you see is farmland in nigeria you see vast land and people who are looking for food these people can be moved from year to year by supporting them by having critical policies that will help if you generate power you wouldn't know what power can do to an economy is immeasurable you have small businesses spring up all over small production that can help when we talk about all these countries who are doing well now go and see msn is that contributing 60 70 percent of both the economy and employment everywhere in the world except here because they're collapsed nobody's supporting them they don't have the power even the big corporations they're having problems and with issue of power so we're not doing anything we're not exporting enough because of it today we don't have foreign exchange even to service our debts there's no reason why nigeria should not be exporting at least at least 300 billion worth of exports not under 30 billion i said it before vietnam with a quarter of our land three hundred thirty thousand square kilometers of land half of our population hundred million people their total export last year was 312 billion dollars and all manufactured goods electronics is something billion clothing which we're doing in a band everywhere that is 32 billion footwear 23 billion and we're ending 15 16 billion from oil footwear that you can do everywhere you know in china buying canu canu canu used to be a manufacturing center all the manufacturers in canu are complaining i visited the biggest rice farm processing plant in canu last year user because i had to support it and that's what i'm talking about when people are talking about east or west or this obviously doing that we are supporting him financially and he's doing the right thing that's what we should be talking about not talking about who is from a lower ladder or upper ladder if the man from lower ladder will do the job let's bring him to do the job so we can solve these problems and that's what i need we need we've been having the port problem we've [00:36:34] Speaker 3: not been able to solve it what specifically would you do to make turnaround time in port about 24 hours they just put in an app called a2 we can't still solve the problem specifically the first three steps and secondly when are we going to see your manifesto let me tell you let me start with the issue of my [00:36:51] Peter Obi: manifesto we're going to see it refi refi pretend to do the oppressed or written constitution get all this grossly simple rights let's look at the man who is saying this and who is writing all this i can hire professors and invest and they write something that i don't even believe that doesn't even make meaning to me i'm saying go and look at my records whatever i've told you i've experimented in private sector in public sector so there's a reference to what i'm saying i will do when it comes to the issue of posts that you said i said i'm a trader i know the enormous cost if you borrow money today refine and say you're going to do importation from uk to nigeria you borrow money say okay nigeria you borrow money at 20 percent if you're very lucky let's say you borrow 10 million naira so you're going to pay 2 million at the end of one year you start to be in protection first is that you will not find the dollar if you find it you import goods you pay for it and then from uk it takes two weeks to come to nigeria it takes you three months to clear nigerian port so what will you do to change it so you are paying interest for three months on your two million for nothing you can't change it you clear goods in cotton in two days i'm just putting it even do it in one day even in ghana you didn't have recourse i've been involved with the ports i've actually been a part of probing the port i've actually traveled because of the port to singapore and everything i've studied what works so what would [00:38:46] Speaker 3: you do to make it like ghana and kotonou specifically very simple yes it's a human factor okay and you [00:38:52] Peter Obi: deal with it it's a human factor what meanwhile he has nothing what they do there is not different from what we do here all we need to do is a human i tell people what we did in education in an umbrella and why do i want to use this example we moved from 26 to 21 we didn't change the teachers it was the same teachers we didn't no we didn't hire new people we didn't do anything it was the same people but when they saw the body language of this leader what he wants and people were being asked to go if you don't deliver it they delivered it everything you're seeing in nigeria has not worked whether it's the scanning whether it's human factor you deal with it decisive people say it might be easy in a number [00:39:42] Speaker 3: but it might be easy as nigeria as a whole because it's a bigger country it would be dissenting exactly [00:39:46] Peter Obi: dissenting called me anywhere i've been involved in the banking industry go and check we took the smallest bank and became 25 billion bank i was a chairman go and check the record i've been a social businessman in an umbrella state let me tell you an umbrella is very difficult it's the most difficult state to govern in this country if you don't know so it is we will back people we'll plead with people we'll dialogue with people we're not going to shoot them we're not going to do this and my well acts you could see me every day begging appealing and then we'll do it but we'll be decisive because it must work we want this to become a engine of production what has changed countries is production go and check even europe the spanish people were enjoying and selling their goals when netherland was busy investing in production today spain is a problem netherland is doing well a country with 33 000 square kilometers of land and far less population total export last year was 650 billion dollars [00:41:03] Speaker 1: and we'll get this place to work so what i'm hearing here the recurring theme is that a lot of our failings so far are due to human behavior whether it's political will or just generally how we conduct ourselves which leads me to my question about some of your supporters who attack vilify people who don't agree with you or support you how do you address that more militant end of your supporters that obviously have contributed to what's been described as a p2b phenomenon but some people find it off-putting [00:41:37] Peter Obi: well let me tell you i don't then agree entirely some of those people you're hearing or who i find people are not my supporters that people who have been paid by my opponents to infiltrate my supporters and do wrong and then they say speak to be supporters i'm telling you some of them and today people are being paid in fact what they say and do to me is far more than what they do to any people are being paid to source of things about to be labeling me is incompetent whatever it is it's just like it's a show of issue of my son my son for example like i said is a hard-working young man since he left university never asked me for one pound he would tell you i'll end the money i've always cared about nigeria he will always tell me say listen if i tell my son now i'm going to buy you this he said listen sir listen daddy you have a lot of people you're supporting in nigeria i can support myself support them i'm that if you say this thing you allow a lot of my friends let me tell you in my last discussion with my son he said a lot of my friends wants to go back to nigeria but they have fear about this this is it is there any way if you have opportunity you can make it better for all of us to come back we want to come back he was born raised in the uk went to school he's working and he feels for the nigerian child every day as you know my daughter had to even come back and start teaching in a secondary school yeah so that's where they feel they feel what can we do to help if i say to any of them i'm going to say take the money you have people you're paying for why don't you support the school why don't you do this why don't you do this i saw you giving computers to school keep doing that and everything here they are so passionate about why don't we do good why don't we do this so for me i don't have people and that's why most of times you will see me and you know apologizing and doing this if they will say to me you have to stop apologizing this is me i want to show people love when they show hatred when you say people in the north for example will not vote for me they are voting for me is that i'm going to solve their problem i want people in the east to vote for people based on their competence not vote for peter because it's from the east okay real quickly so i got a couple of questions here [00:44:35] Speaker 3: while you were speaking and we'll just go through some of them yeah a lot of people say you keep talking about anambra but did you hold local government elections where you were in anambra how do you hold the local government money they're also asking that why are you not in onshul now campaigning for the candidates of your party in national states and they are also saying we should ask you that would you restructure nigeria yes or no those three questions okay fine local government election go [00:45:00] Peter Obi: i'm giving you a mandate go to anambra state and see why local government election was not held when i was there those who went to court against that those who are asking you this question two who have asked how their money was managed it's simple just i'm going to bring journalists investigative journalists who will go and if they say tell you that there's anywhere p2b was managing local government funds and everything yeah in fact it was most one of the most efficient managed funds when i was there because that's how we cleared that the five billion dollar naira what of pension and gratuities being owed to them my commission for local government was as okay well ask anybody it was one is one of the toughest women woman who can work with on surface of the earth when she says no you can't even that i know that no and this is my senior will even tell me please please please my young brother please please i don't want to see you in this i'm in charge here and she's not a politician i met her as the head of local government office i had meeting with local government people over a period of time when my first uh commissioner was to pay my birthday with a friend and brother who did the right work this woman i met her whenever i go to a meeting she's one i said madam come and do this job and that's how i met people my commission for health was because doctors went on strike i went to a hospital i saw a doctor walking and i said he said i can't leave my patients never doctors are not supposed to go outside i said you'll be the commissioner i said it will never be i went back and announced his name so what that's okay anymore i didn't bring people so go and verify that's whatever i tell people i say go and verify where peter was it so that was the issue the last issue you mentioned why am i not in notion when is it local when is the state election you are invited yesterday i came back yesterday i spoke to the lepo chairman who told me we'll be not sure i won't tell you that because of this security risk but we're going to be in our company and i'm in contact with it we're in contact with thank you when you talk about the issue of restructure when i get there i said it nigeria as it is structured today cannot work but it's not something where people say we will restructure let's get there there's issues for example let me take issue of security why won't the state be in charge of their security that's not a problem this people are doing so you bring in state police once you get there if you get that the governor should be in charge of the security so even if a police commissioner is posted there the corner is in charge and can remove him i removed six police commissioners right from the time of your passenger my course commissioner was removed under passenger went to bus and just say mr president i have a security issue i want you to i want this police commissioner here to be removed he called the den ig i said so who do you want i said i want the deputy to be the commissioner he said no he cannot i said unless you'll be acting i say call him anything but let him be in charge that's how john haruna took over so that's federalism so you promote that of course yes because it will help you do it in in security in education why wouldn't i hold the governor customer responsible for the security one is that our police personnel level is unacceptable we should have at least today to wise what they are today yes 800 000 no we today we are 320 000 so that's about 600 600 egypt with one million with 100 million people have over one million i've studied it in morocco everywhere so you don't have and out of this 320 i can tell you about 70 000 [00:49:27] Speaker 1: are following uh people all over the place i want to raise another issue from the interview yesterday on a rise interview with maddie sheehu he raised this issue of former president olukhsegur abbasanjo selling your candidacy to the north and also mentioned an alliance with um angle abdulai of the northern elders [00:49:49] Peter Obi: forum is there any truth to this i don't know about that but what is wrong in abbasanjo selling my candidacy they're even selling my own candidacy i've said it mpp spokesperson as both the presidential candidate and the spokesperson my senior brother baba grandima all said in pdp the niger chief servant and saturday do you know none of them have said peter is not qualified they are saying that peter is competent to deal with the economy but i'm saying we have an economic problem so you don't need to somebody to be on top of me when i can solve the problem and that is what i'm offering that's why i said i'm contesting to be the president of nigeria i might be coming from a section of the country but i want to solve the problem of nigeria i want to start building a new nigeria where nigerians can be proud of their country believe in their country and everything a young man approached me yesterday i came back from the uk yesterday he would shock you a young man approached me said i saw everybody taking picture with you and i asked him who are you he said you are the president yeah you're going to be the president i said yes he said let me tell you i'm 20 years old my mother is from nigeria my father is from jamaica my mother is so nice to me i want to come to nigeria i want to be able to set up a business employ people i help but just like what my son will tell me so many of my friends don't want to come because they feel he's not this i said that's what we're trying to do when we arrived at the airport here i saw that young same young man being interrogated by immigration this one this one this one if you know no matter trying to and i'm trying to i called them i said let me tell you this young man he's coming to this country for the first time he believes in this country that's why he's coming by the time we'll finish with him here he will go out he will not come back so they left him he came and hugged me and gave me and says i know i can't vote for you but i don't know what i'm going to do to help you can i collect your number i gave him my number he gave me his number he said because of me he he must we need to do things that will bring people hope we need nigerians to be proud that they are part of this country we need to go to sports and complete as the nigerians people are not proud to say we are nigerians are hiring nigerians every other countries are hiring them they are not asking them whether you're from the east or west they listen when you go to a doctor i've been to one i said it i've never been sick one time they said i would remove a procedure in the uk i went to st mary's and elizabeth hospital as i enter that theater two people appear they are black one is from ondo the other one is from south east they are doctors i didn't have to say you can't you can't operate me because of this so many prominent nigerians i've seen the same thing nigerians from the south east are all working in in saudi arabia nobody's asking them where are they from even dubai will go to celebrate it's a muslim country we all want to go there if you go there the only college church say mary's college is built by the emir of dubai is written there i met him there once he goes there three times during christmas during is that okay so why are we here basing issues on it's religion is ethnicity is my tongue we want to remove all this okay i want it to be ton of nigerians okay ton of the nigerian children ton of nigerian youth to take back their country okay and i'll help them to [00:53:49] Speaker 3: rebuild it you went to see governor wiki before he traveled what did you discuss with him was it politics was there another alliance and you just came back from the uk was what was the trip like [00:54:00] Peter Obi: what did you go i went to see governor miki because he's a governor of a state that is strategic and important to the future of what i say and i'm happy to assume the ports the post important court can help to the congested the port in lagos and help to what i want to do with the ports we must share it appropriate revenue that represents today and i want to see him i didn't go to see him to digital politics to be another gang or pause association and everything i'm going on wiki uh notwithstanding anything i've been very close very cordial and everything everything i've invited him don't forget this year i went to commission things for him and everything i have it so many things that are with my friends in one of all those we've supported me when i was governor he gave me the idea the ministry of education when he was there i had issues with teachers with this because of my position he came he supported me with you back money with everything so i'm going to visit every governor in nigeria to plead with them to understand we must build a better nigeria nigeria is at the break now like i said in a short while we will not be able to service our debts that's what we should be discussing when we don't service our debts in the next range we would the risk to junk status we'll be finished you'll see our dollar now give you every day no dollar anywhere except the ones they're sharing which it won't stop if i also asked about your trip to london well my all my trips these days you can ask i came back with with battle tommy can actually the type of people i'm meeting we'll find this is time for me to meet all those that can help not when i'm going to office and i start looking for them i'm talking to people that can help us to find the funding find the support to be able to turn around the situation we're in like i said i gave reference of people you somebody you can call who have an idea the type of people i'm talking and it's just and you can see how my trip is this one one day i was in london only a monday i arrived on sunday finished my meeting on monday left same monday night so it was a business meeting talking to people i have a lot of other people i'm going to see in europe and everywhere talking how are you going to help us so when i have the opportunity to assemble this team of new nigeria a nigerian movement that everybody will be proud of it will can start [00:56:55] Speaker 3: okay all right thank you so much uh it'll be for your time and for detailing what you want to do for nigerians and i'm sure a lot of nigerians have watched it out there and they've taken note of all you you have said today