Peter Obi, a former governor of Anambra state, says being
courageous enough to speak truth to power in Nigeria could be seen as an
offence.
Obi spoke on Monday in Abuja at the launch of ‘Made in Aba’,
a book written by Enyinnaya Abaribe, senate minority leader.
Obi, who was vice presidential candidate of the Peoples
Democratic Party (PDP) in the 2019 general election, said he knows what he goes
through when he speaks in public or grants interviews.
“He (Abaribe) revised what we should be in public office; always having the courage to speak against injustice, falsehood, and most importantly, speaking truth to all which is very difficult in our dear country, where being so could be seen as an offence — a great offence. I know that myself,” Obi said.
“I know what I go through when you speak in public or do any
sort of interview. You will see people asking you, ‘where did you get this
figure?’ ‘How did you come about this?’ It even happened to me just this
morning, where the NBS said if you have N137,430, you live above poverty.
“I said we cannot have our standard different from the
global standard. Global standard says what you need everyday is $1.90. If you
translate it to the real market, it is almost N10,000 a day.
“But our own is three hundred and something naira a day. I
said it won’t work; our standard will not be different. So, I know what
Enyinnaya Abaribe goes through and we need to encourage him.
“I look forward to reading this book and learning some
tricks of how to manage persecution whenever you speak truth to power.”
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