A former Anambra State Governor Peter Obi has blamed the crises rocking the country on political leaders, who he accused of selfishness and refusal to use public funds for the public good.
Mr. Obi said if the leaders had invested in key areas of national development, such as small businesses and jobs creation, Nigeria would have been a better and safer place.
He believes their desire for self-aggrandisement and lack of commitment to progress was behind some of the challenges facing the country.
Obi spoke at the Third Session of the Fifth Synod of Ogbaru Diocese, Anglican Communion, at St James Anglican Church, Iyiowa-Odekpe in Onitsha.
To him, political leaders and elite are the major causes of the problems Nigerians face.
He said: “You cannot have an army of world’s poorest people and expect to go in and sleep peacefully at night.
“Millions of idle people in Nigeria do not know where their next meal will come from, because they are unemployed.
“We have, today, over 15 million out of school children roaming the streets. Each of these is a ready instrument of crisis in a nation. The political leaders have failed to do the right thing.
“That is why we have all sorts of crime and uprising in different parts of the country,” Obi said.
The former governor noted that there may be no end in sight to all the crises unless the leaders shun corruption and sincerely use public funds for the good of society.
He called on Nigerians to continue to pray for God’s intervention in the affairs of the nation so that God may touch the hearts of the leaders to have the interest of the people at heart.
Appreciating Obi for his gracious presence at the Synod, generous support to the church and unyielding commitment to a better society, the Bishop of Ogbaru Diocese, Anglican Communion, The Rt Rev’d Prosper A. Amah, prayed God to bless Obi and take him to higher levels where he will touch more lives.
Obi was accompanied by the former Anambra Commissioner for Budgeting and Economic Planning Prof Stella Chinyere Okunna and the former Commissioner for Housing and Urban Development Dr Patrick Nky Obi.