Full Text Of Peter Obi's CNN Interview With Zane Asher

 

Zane Asher: Mr. Obi thank you so much for being with us. You're certainly the most popular presidential candidate among young people in Nigeria, there's so much momentum behind you. But here's the problem. Nigerians are used to being disappointed by their leaders, and what do you think about some of the problems that are facing the country right now, they are systemic. I'm talking about the corruption, I'm talking about oil theft, I'm talking about insecurity, I'm talking about the fiscal hole that Nigeria is in right now. Can all of that really be solved by one person? 

Peter Obi: Well, if you have a leader that is competent, has the capacity and commitment to start dealing with these challenges, you're not going to solve it overnight, but there will be a clear, visible, measurable attempt to deal with these. And there is nothing that is not solvable. Some issues just have to be dealt with decisively. But you need to have a capable leader such that when you look at his past records in office, you can say YES – He is capable. 

CNN Interview: It’s Now Bola Tinubu’s Turn!

 By Etim Etim 

Peter Obi’s 12-minute interview on CNN last Friday has triggered quite an interesting debate on many social media platforms. His supporters think that Obi gave a good account of himself and has stamped his authority as the nation’s leading presidential candidate. Coming just two days after the NOI poll put him as the front runner in the race, the interview was part of a well-planned sequence of events and positive media exposure for him. 

His trips across major cities in the US and Europe the weeks before have also received positive reviews. A day or so after Obi’s CNN appearance, a picture of Asiwaju Bola Tinubu dozing off at the palace of the Emir of Gombe as the Senate President was speaking turned up. The contrast between the two men couldn’t have been starker and the underlying message was unmistaken. Nigerians have been unsparing in their comments. Somebody wrote: “If this man is elected, his wife and children will be running the government, while he spends time in a foreign hospital’’. 

Nigeria: Oil Rich, Energy Poor

 By Jerry Uwah

A CNN report last week derisively tagged Nigeria as a country that is oil rich but energy poor. The global television news network was referring to Nigeria’s abysmal electric power supply situation. It lamented that even the oil wealth might be hampered by a recent decision of the leading world powers which rose from a gathering on climate change in Glasgow, Scotland in the United Kingdom of Great Britain with a firm resolve to drastically curtail investment in fossil fuel exploration and exploitation in a desperate bid to halt the millions of tons of carbon dioxide spewed into the air from the burning of fossil fuel.

Nigeria has a notoriety for abysmal electricity supply in the whole world. The World Bank recently celebrated Nigeria’s deplorable electricity supply situation by declaring it the country with the highest number of people without access to electricity.