By Tgnews
Peter Obi, former Governor of Anambra State and a prominent Nigerian political figure, has lamented the drastic decline in the country’s political and judicial systems, drawing a stark contrast between his own experience and the current state of governance.
Speaking candidly, Obi recounted how he became governor through a court ruling without paying a bribe, a feat he claims is impossible in today’s Nigeria, while emphasizing the erosion of institutional integrity since the early 2000s.
“I became a governor through the courts,” Obi said, recalling his emergence as Anambra State governor in 2006 after a legal battle overturned the initial election results.
When President Obasanjo and Atiku were in government, I did not pay the court one naira
“When President Obasanjo and Atiku were in government, I did not pay the court one naira. I was sitting in my house, in an office, and the court declared me winner. When a governor is so simple. It can’t happen in Nigeria today.”
Obi, who ran under the All Progressives Grand Alliance (APGA) while his state House of Assembly was dominated by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), highlighted the intervention of then-President Olusegun Obasanjo and Vice President Atiku Abubakar during his turbulent tenure.
When I was being impeached, the president sent people to come and intervene on my behalf
“When I was being impeached, the president sent people to come and intervene on my behalf. He came begging house people not to impeach me,” Obi said. “They were all PDP. I was in APGA. And the President were begging them. President was calling me and said, ‘Peter, are you okay?’”
This stands in sharp contrast to the present, where Obi alleges that the dynamics have reversed. “Today the president impeaches the governor. Now that is insane.
Today the president impeaches the governor
Obi painted a vivid picture of Nigeria’s political trajectory since 1999, when the country returned to civilian rule. “They started in 1999, laid the foundation. Some people came and took it to a darken. And some people were trying to raise it to the first floor. And some people came and knocked everything down. That’s the situation we are in now.
Everything has been knocked down. Nothing works,” he said, describing a nation where progress has been systematically dismantled.
Obi’s remarks underscore his belief that Nigeria’s political and judicial systems have regressed to a point of dysfunction. “Let’s not talk about [the past]. Let’s talk about how we are going to rebuild it. It’s collapsing,” he urged, shifting focus to the need for reconstruction rather than dwelling on the decay.
As Nigeria grapples with ongoing challenges, Obi’s reflections serve as both a critique of the present and a call to action, rooted in his own experience as a governor who once benefited from a system he now deems irreparable.
