Peter Obi, CON, is a successful businessman, politician, public servant, and philanthropist, who is contesting to be the President of Nigeria in the 2023 election under the platform of the Labour Party.
Mr Obi served the people of Anambra State as their Executive Governor between 2006 and 2014. During his tenure, he demonstrated his core values of integrity, focus on human capital development, financial prudence, and an uncompromising commitment to public service, which has defined his globally recognised brand identity.
Early Life and Education
Born July 19, 1961, in the commercial city of Onitsha, Anambra State, Nigeria, Obi attended the renowned Christ the King College, Onitsha before proceeding to the University of Nigeria, Nsukka where he earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Philosophy in 1984. He embarked on his one-year mandatory National Youth Service Corps program.
Upon completion of his mandatory national service, Obi began his foray into business, building his way up while exemplifying the modest Christian values he had been raised. Bracing different challenges along the way, his business provided him with the privilege of meeting people of different tribes as he travelled the length and breadth of Nigeria, building strong relationships, many of which have gone on to last for decades.
Over the years, Obi established himself as an astute businessman, founding a retail business that has created thousands of jobs for young Nigerians, while investing in several other businesses across different sectors of the Nigerian economy, which are to date still helping to create valuable jobs for Nigerians. His experience and keen eye for spotting business opportunities led to him occupying various board seats in different organizations. They include the Board of Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) where he was Chairman, Guardian Express Mortgage Bank and Fidelity Bank, where he was also Board Chairman, and Guardian Express Bank Plc, Chams Nigeria Plc, Emerging Capital Ltd and Card Center Plc, in which he held positions as Director.
Public Service
In 2002, convinced that things could be better for the people of his home state, Obi campaigned for and won the seat of Governor of Anambra State. However, it took 3 years of legal wrangling for him to be pronounced winner after his major opponent was illegally declared the winner and sworn in as Governor. He took office in March 2006 and began the process of implementing his Anambra States Integrated Development Strategy (ANIDS), a localized version of the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), which was geared at reducing poverty, child mortality, hunger and a number of other prevailing social issues.
Obi’s innovative leadership had at its foundation the belief that every society can only prosper when its people are well and truly empowered to create wealth. To achieve this, he focused majorly on improving the education standards in the state, establishing critical health infrastructure, and implementing business-boosting policies while ensuring the security of lives and properties within the state.
Despite being wrongly challenged through impeachment twice, Obi’s visionary policies saw Anambra State move 16 places up in education rankings, to become the number one state in Nigeria. His administration invested heavily in clean water schemes, waste management, support for primary, secondary, and even tertiary healthcare centres, vocational skill acquisition, and much more.
By the time Obi was re-elected for a second term in 2010, he had already engrained full transparency in how the government’s business was run, maintaining a very prudent approach to the management of state resources in order to reduce fiscal waste and maximise delivery of important amenities to his people.
A key hallmark of Obi’s two terms in office was the effective collaboration between the public sector, private sector, development partners, and civil society organizations which ensured that most of the policies implemented were well monitored, evaluated and improved upon. Working closely with development partners such as UNDP, UNICEF, the World Bank, DFID and the European Union, Obi’s administration ensured global best practices were maintained in the quest to improve the quality of life within the state.
Under his leadership, Anambra State became the first state to establish a Sub-Sovereign Wealth Fund, the first of its kind in Sub-Saharan Africa, which had about $ 156 million in dollar-denominated bonds by the end of his tenure as governor. His administration built from scratch, the first state-owned Teaching Hospital, Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu Teaching Hospital, Awka, going further to obtain full accreditation for 12 other health institutions, none of which were accredited before he took office in 2006. His school administration policies have ensured that the standard of education in Anambra State has remained excellent to date.
As has been recurring in his life journey, where both peers and the public place great trust in his abilities to serve diligently, he was elected as the Vice-Chairman, of the Nigeria Governors’ Forum (2008-2014) and Chairman of, the South-East Governors’ Forum (2006-2014); despite being the only governor in the region belonging to a different party.
Preparation for Further Service
Before being Governor and since leaving office, Obi has kept abreast of evolving trends in human capital development, community development and poverty alleviation. He has attended numerous executive programs at some of the best institutions in the world including the Lagos Business School, Harvard Business School, the London School of Economics, Columbia Business School, New York, Institute for Management Development, Kellogg Graduate School of Management, Oxford University, INSEAD, and many more.
His focus has remained to understand the best ways – in policy and implementation – to create a Nigerian dream where every Nigerian is able to contribute meaningfully to the progress of the nation while living a productive life for themselves.
An Obidient Call To Serve His Nation
In the run-up to the 2023 General Elections in Nigeria, Obi has become the voice of hope for a better Nigeria, presenting himself as a Presidential Candidate under the Labour Party. His candidacy has rekindled a belief in the possibility of Nigeria toeing a new path, away from entrenched corruption that has held it back for years, especially due to his standing as a significant candidate unaffiliated with either of Nigeria’s two older parties.
Obi’s 2023 presidential campaign has received widespread support, notably among young Nigerians, who have self-organized and championed his cause while referring to themselves as Obi-dients. His supporters believe that his integrity, efficient resource management, business acumen, respect for the rule of law, security antecedents in Anambra and overall focus on developing human capital are what Nigeria requires to regain its pride of place in the world.
Obi, who is married to Margaret Brownson Obi (Nee Usen), has two children and has garnered various national and international honours, including Commander of the Order of Niger (CON), one of Nigeria’s national honours.
Continuous Contribution to Nation Building
Following the end of his tenure as the Governor of Anambra State, Obi was appointed the Honorary Special Adviser to the President on Finance, a position he held until May 2015, while also serving as a member of the Presidential Economic Management Team. Given his efficient management of state funds as governor, and his establishment of a healthy reserve for his successor, his contributions were thought to be invaluable to the nation, hence his additional national duties, which he fully executed until a new federal government was sworn-in.
Despite being out of government since 2015, Obi has become one of the most recognizable voices for a new Nigeria, one where character and competence are at the base of what it takes to lead the government and any of its agencies. Through various engagements and shared opinions, he has established the need for a more cost-sensitive and effective government where corruption is greatly reduced, and transparency of the process is commonplace.
In 2019, as Vice Presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party, he raised and drove the conversation for Nigeria and Nigerians to switch to a production mindset and economy and ensure that the nation’s resources were properly managed to yield the best results.
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