S4 Ep. 252 Peter Obi and the Promise of a New Nigeria

Speaker 1: Hello there, welcome to the World Cafe podcast. This podcast has been designed with created content that centers on the power of words. Can we really do anything without speaking? Can we really do anything without the agency of words? Yes, that is what this podcast is all about, and I am your host , amakri Isuboye, your neighborhood word trader. I believe in the power of words , for it is the unit of creation . I trade in words to profit my world. You wonder why I did that? Right? You know, sometimes when you sit in front of the camera, looking direct into it, looking direct into it, it feels like I'm about to reveal something from within and it's like okay, how do I, you know, comport myself? And all of that? It is always exciting. Coming Good morning, good afternoon, good evening, good everything, wherever you are yes , wherever you are on the surface of the earth, seeing me and listening to me super exciting, I must tell you Honestly. Super exciting. Welcome to the World Cafe live show. This is the space where we come in to lean on one another's experience and forge a positive path, a path of positivity To provoke you in the right direction. It's been amazing this season Beautiful, beautiful, beautiful, amazing, as in so, much has been happening at the same time on the earth and I sit back to like observe it and it gives me so much joy. All right, then, what are we going to be doing today? What do I want to talk about? What exactly do I want to talk about? What brings me here today again , nigeria, yes, nigeria. I'm a Nigerian and I'm proud. I am never ashamed saying it, because it feels good. Don't be ashamed of where you are globally speaking, where you found yourself, but rather have that faith in yourself. So something happened to me once, you know, when I traveled out of this country For a business assignment, and somewhere in Angola, yeah, and in course of my dealings, somebody walked up to me a colleague actually, and was trying to like mix more talk and said ah, you look American. I said sorry, I am not. I'm not an American in any way, I'm a Nigerian. Why did you claim that? No, nigeria is beautiful. For all I care, the earth will be boring without Nigeria. Why we are unique, very unique, not minding the challenges we face. The subject of what I want to talk about, share with you, is Nigeria. There is a subset to it and before I do that, I'm going to read this and I'm going to draw an allegory from it, and I want you to follow, yep. I read from Isaiah, chapter 9, verse 6. It reads For unto us a child is born, to us a son is given, and the government will be on his shoulders. I will stop there. This prophecy was talking about Christ Jesus and I want to draw an allegory from it. Christ Jesus, that I want to draw an allegory from it is that the government shall be upon his shoulders, which presupposes governance is an, should I say, effect of an individual or a person or a group of people who have decided to take political actions. Somebody said what do you mean by that? Whenever we gather as a people, there's always decision-making to be made. There's always for us to share resources, for us to dream, for us to aspire, us to share resources, for us to dream, for us to aspire. So we look up to, as it were, an individual or a person for leadership. So the government. So governance is very spiritual , very, and a good number of us, as believers tend to forget this. We always look at it in the frame of social construct. It's more than that. And for the government to be upon his shoulders, it means anything that is anti-governance , will go after the shoulders, will fight. It would want to corrupt governance and bring a version of governance that is not, or bring something that is not governance that seemingly appears to be. And that's why, you see, over the different timelines, we've come to see, we see definitions or what I call it creations of men in terms of governance, and we come to hear things like democracy and what have you, but it boils down to the shoulders. That drives it. He said the government shall be upon his shoulders. So if the government is upon his shoulders, it means everything that is a product of governance will be on his shoulders or will be a result of governance. Give me a minute, please. Would be a result of governance . Follow my thoughts. My country, my beloved country, nigeria, is so unique. My country, my beloved country, nigeria, is so unique. It's a country that I have come to love, not minding our challenges, defenses and all of that Not minding. Yep, I've come to enjoy it, I've come to appreciate it. We have this challenge, no doubt about it. We're all looking for who will drive us out of the woods, who will take us out of the woods. So recently in our history there's this name. Yeah, I was having this conversation with a friend and we were talking about him. You know, there comes a time in the life of any community or society we look for a hero. Yeah, like a good writer, writing a story will always have a hero, a protagonist, antagonist. There must be a hero, that one who embodies the aspiration, hopes, dreams of the people and creates this high standard best possible for all to aspire to. When I looked at the story of South Africa and I read the book A Long Walk to Freedom years ago, written by the great Nelson Mandela, and the time he spent in prison for 27 years, he went through what I describe as the perfect cycle of sevens in prison, but when he came out he became this standard for all of us to rise to. He didn't preach violence, he didn't preach hatred. The day I mentioned that I was having a discussion with my children and I told them about Nelson Mandela, how he spent 27 years in prison, and they were like wow, daddy, 27 years, that's the better part of his life in prison. If he was 20, do the math. If he was 30, do the math. If he was 50, do the math. But he was 30, do the math. If he was 50, do the math. But he came out not bitter, he came out refined. He became the best of us that we all, politically speaking. He defined the tone that even until the next maybe 20 years, I don't think anyone in South Africa or even Africa would rise up to that standard. It would take a long walk, just like he said, a long one. So in our country, as a people, nigeria is very big. I've traveled not through the length and breadth of Nigeria but to certain key sports in the country. We're big. Our numbers, our diversity, ethnic groups. You know our differences, which we have come to reject and rather embrace our divisions. Mm-hmm, if you see clusters of people talking and all that. If you listen carefully, even on social media we push our differences aside and embrace our division. You now see for and against, throwing stones and all of that, throwing stones and all of that . Yet we have not come to see that. Listen, guys, there's something about us that when we embrace our differences and rally around the truth that makes governance what it should be, we're going nowhere. And the truth is a lot of people, a lot of destinies, a lot of lives are hinged on it. Yes, I guess you're waiting for me to call the name of the person I'm talking about or I'm referring to. His name is Peter Obi. I know I have sat down in my own quietness. I've looked at him. Yes, I have. I've looked at him. Yes, I have. I've looked at him carefully. I've looked at him again. He's not perfect not at all, but there's something about him that strikes a chord for me. He has set the bar, he has set the standard, he has created a nuance, he has created a frame that those who fear the truth don't want to aspire to it. No, don't want to aspire to it. No, don't want to aspire to it. So the day I was discussing with my friend, we're trying to analyze you know, look at him very well the way he dresses, the way he speaks, the way he presents himself, the way he goes about. I saw a video once about him settling a quarrel on a highway between a trailer driver and another. That would have resulted into anarchy, chaos, but he came and he settled the quarrel and the people moved on. Simplicity when you see him Simple, the way he dresses, the way he carries himself, the way he talks about the nation, his belief. A good number of us have lost faith in Nigeria, a good number. It's like saying can anything good come out from this place? But you see him always talk about the positivity, the sacrifices to be made to build a nation, not minding our ethno divisions or diversity, as we may want to call it. It is for us to like see it, yeah, see it. A nation, yeah, a nation can have various diversity. There is a nation. They are aspiring to something, they are working to something, and that is what we should do as a people, as a nation, as Nigerians. Yeah, somebody will say well, are you sure we can get there? Yes, we can. Yes, we can. Yes, we can. Why? Because heaven is invested in us. You know, you heard me. I said heaven is invested in us . And some of you say how do you know that? Okay, mentally, look at that, our numbers, look at that, our creativity, our resilience, our resourcefulness, what we stand for. You think it's ordinary? It isn't. Let me tell you something If there's nothing in a place, take my words for it there will be no fight Over that place. If there is something, If there is a treasure In a place, if there's value in a place or in a thing Watch closely there will be battle for it. If there's value in a place or in a thing, watch closely there will be battle for it. Now I've come to understand that life doesn't give to you what you deserve. It only gives to you what you negotiate for. I will explain and that is where we all need to rally around Truth, value, authenticity. You know, when Jesus came I'll use that story as an allegory and I want you to listen A lot of people complained about him the Pharisees, the Sadducees, how he was working with publicans eating, but nobody could lay a finger on him to say he did something wrong. Follow my thought when it was time to wrestle power from the thief who came to steal, to kill and to destroy, jesus went to hell. And to destroy, jesus went to hell. A close proximity fight, like you put two boxers in a ring. The ring is so small they're going nowhere. So Jesus went close, if not closer. He fought death and took the keys. So if you think Sylvie, nigeria will be from a distance, you're wrong, very wrong. You know, when you read scriptures and you see that he was nailed to the cross, those who have encountered the divinity of christ, when he shows them, they see the nail prints. Yes, immortality has nail prints. That's to tell you he was scarred, has nail prints that's to tell you he was scarred. So sometimes, if not all the time, when you want to fight for the truth, fight for value, you must be ready to pay the ultimate price. You'll be scarred. A lot of us are leaving the country. I don't have anything against you. A lot of us are running the country. I don't have anything against you. A lot of us are running to societies, egalitarian societies , civilizations that have been built. I don't have anything against you. But do you know what? Even those societies, at the time, they reject you. They say you're not part of them. There's no place like home. So our destiny as a people, collectively speaking, it is somehow being propagated, lifted by one man, or any man. It's not his fault, do you know ? It's not his fault. Do you know that it's not his fault? It's not like a football game. A whole nation sits and watching 11 men representing them and the pressure is weighing down on them and the whole nation is like you guys should win this game. And each goal they make, the whole nation vibrates. We're shouting excited. Can you imagine the pressure that was laid on those 11 or 22 elsewhere. Men, for the moment, think about it. That is what we are facing as a nation, as a people. Like I said, I didn't come here because P2B knows me as a person . No, I didn't come here because P2B knows me as a person. No, I didn't. But I have sat down in the quietness of my meditation, looking at the future and I see a future. Yeah, I do. Go and ask the younger generation. Go and ask those who are looking for Nigeria. Nigeria is not lost, but they are looking for Nigeria On their lips. You're going to hear Peter will be Even the unborn, unborn Nigerians. On their lips. You will hear it. So, guys, you're in diaspora as a Nigerian. Anywhere you are, there is home and there is hope. Yeah, somebody said hope is not a strategy. Well, it depends on how you look at it. But it's going to be a close proximity fight. Yeah, it means you have to take the bold step, you need to stand up, do the right thing, somebody will say. Has the right ever saved anybody? Well, we have a lot of story to tell. Check history books. I know, I know, I know, I know, I know your mind. Our minds cannot comprehend it, our minds cannot encompass it. It is like we've gone so far. Things have deteriorated to the point that we can't even think anymore. Relax, relax, there is hope. Yeah, there is hope. Relax, relax, there is hope. Yeah, there is hope. One man is showing us that. Is he the answer? No, but look at what he's doing . Is the answer? The answer is found, or will be found, in what he's saying, the actions he's taking, the life he's living, the steps he's taking. I dare you, as a man, I dare you , as a Nigerian, behave like Pito Ubi and see if Nigeria will not change. No, I dare you. I dare you. I dare you Behave like him, take the steps he's taking, speak like he's speaking, share like he's sharing, cry like he's crying, feel like he's feeling and see if you will not see what he's seeing. I know and this is what I came to do on the show today, just to encourage you, as I encourage myself, to take responsibility, to own it to look at the picture and see myself in it. Yes, like I will. I mean like I will say that selfishness, yeah For Nigeria. And you're walking it. I'll leave you with these words . I started with it and I'm going to end with it. Unto us. A child is born to us, a son is given. The government will be on his shoulders, his arms will be raised up. He will need that support. Who's with me? Who's ready? Yeah, yeah, this is a space where we come in to lean on one another's experience to forge a positive path. This is what we do on the show. Yeah, yeah, do follow us on all our social media handles. Uh-huh, facebook I forgot to mention that we're even on Spotify. Yes, tiktok. Linkedin we have a YouTube channel. Have you subscribed? Go ahead, let's build that community. Hit the notification button, subscribe and hit the notification button that whenever contents like this come , you'll be the first yeah, to drink from it. Thank you, you are part of the reason, if not the reason, why we are here. Till I come your way again. My name is Amakri. Amakri Soe. Bye for now. Awesome time it has been with you on the World Cafe Podcast today. Thank you for being there. You can catch me up on my social media handles Twitter, facebook, linkedin and Instagram all at Amakri Isoboye. Also, you can get copies of my books A Cocktail of Words, the Color of Words by HRO Notebook and Hocus Pocus on God on Amazon and Roving Heights online bookstores. You can also subscribe to my YouTube channel at the same address, at Amakri Issawe. I love to hear from you and how this podcast has impacted you. You can leave me a message at my email address, amakrigaribaldi at gmailcom. That is A-M-A-C-H-R-E-E-E-G-A-R-I-B-A-L-D-I . Yes, till I come your way again . Bye for now.