Former President Olusegun Obasanjo visited with Rivers State Governor Nyesom Wike on Thursday.
Earlier, news outlets reported that Governor Wike hosted Obasanjo and former Ekiti State Governor Kayode Fayemi at his country residence in Rumuepirikom, Obio Akpor local government area.
Obasanjo was in the state to talk at the Dr Obi Wali International Conference Center in Port Harcourt for the 2023 Port Harcourt International Conference.
The conference was titled, “Deepening Democratic Culture And Institutions For Sustainable Development And Security in Nigeria”.
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While addressing at the event, the former president lambasted the nature of political campaigns in the country ahead of the 2023 general election, calling for a shift in focus.
While speaking to attendees at the occasion, Obasanjo lamented how Nigerians are lured into the aimless, pointless, and opportunistic personal or narrow goals of leaders.
He said, “Political campaigns are taken over by insults, lies, self and selfish interest and diversions, not on issues of national interest and progress. Party platforms are developed, launched with fanfare and promptly discarded.
“Critical issues are discarded as intellectuals and technocrats are sidelined while minions, gatekeepers and job hunters take over the campaign and build iron rings around candidates at all levels. Candidates are caged and milked opportunistically.”
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The former president stated that politics is not a filthy game, and that the norms and principles are all present and well understood by most performers.
He claims that when performers mix up the beginning and the finish of a scene or accept the famed Machiavellian adage that the end justifies the means, they are setting themselves up for a race without limits in which anything goes.
According to Obasanjo, politics and political rivalry are imprisoned because the actors develop new norms of engagement as they go along and want to outdo one another in non-beneficial matters to the average citizen.
In terms of governance, Obasanjo stated that each new government acts as if Nigeria is a newly discovered country.
He further stated, “During campaigns, some leaders sound as if they plan to reinvent Nigeria and create new Nigerians overnight. That is because they miss the aspect of democracy that emphasizes continuity, stability and predictability.”
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Obasanjo urged Nigeria to return to basics and reestablish its commitment to democratic practice.
He added, “We must take some time for introspection and ask if we have been doing the right things for ourselves and future generations. It is not rocket science to get back on the path of democracy and social justice. It begins with self-commitment, then leadership commitment.”
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