I’m more qualified than Tinubu — Peter Obi

It was an accidental encounter, but it was worthwhile. Dr. Peter Gregory Onwubuasi Obi, often known as Peter Obi, is the Labour Party’s (LP) Presidential candidate.

You can’t even start talking about Obi in terms of schooling without getting bored.

Is it the University of Nigeria, Nsukka; Lagos Business School; Harvard Business School, Boston, USA; London School of Economics; Columbia Business School, New York, United States of America; Institute for Management Development, Switzerland; Kellogg Graduate School of Management, United States of America; Oxford University, Said Business School; Cambridge University, George Business School? Where should you begin?

Obi pontificates a lot on knowledge, and it sometimes borders on exuberant sanctimony. Some Nigerians are not happy about it, but he is moving.

He can be excused, however, for having served on the Federal Government or National Economic Council Committee on Minimum Wage; Subsidy Negotiation with Labor; Committee on Mass Transit; Committee on Natural Resources; Committee on Power Sector Reform; Committee on Sharing of MDG Funds; Committee on Accurate Data on Nigeria’s Oil Import and Export; Agricultural Transformation Implementation Council; Sub-Committee on Needs Analysis of Public Universities in Niger. His membership in those panels implies that he is knowledgeable about the topics. However, in today’s presidential election, being intelligent is no longer enough.

Obi discusses the alliance to reclaim Nigeria in this interview. He covers a wide range of topics in the limited time we had.

Excerpts:
You have always asserted that education is the foundation of growth. Let us now look at the ASUU situation. According to reports, the President assigned his Education Minister a two-week deadline to fix the situation. What are your thoughts?

We are dealing with a scenario that necessitates presidential action. The minister who has been given an ultimatum is not only in charge of the education sector. It’s not like he was merely drafted to perform the job. This is a task that has not been completed to provide a good consequence, so issuing an ultimatum to your minister equivalent to telling them to keep talking as they have been?

President Buhari is the one who has the last say. He should meet with ASUU to discuss and address this issue. If he can get an agreement with party leaders over presidential primaries, he should reach an agreement with ASUU to stop the strike.

Then, please, take this subject seriously among our political leaders.

It is not good to have local government councillors, chairmen, and assembly members earning significantly more than professors. Education is essential. The President should assume command. The same is true for the impending food crisis. Our President should use the next nine or 10 months to take personal responsibility.