Nigeria desperately needs a new kind of leadership
Peter Obi offers the best hope of it
Nigeria has been cursed with bad rulers. A military regime gave way to democracy in 1999, but since then elections have offered voters an ugly selection of the ancient, the incompetent and, most recently, a former military dictator. Parties have stoked ethnic divisions, intimidated their opponents and bought votes. Many candidates—federal, state and local—seek power to grab a share of the country’s oil wealth. Successive governments have been deeply corrupt. Turnout has steadily fallen. But as Nigerians go to the polls on February 25th, Peter Obi, a third-party presidential candidate, offers a measure of hope.
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This article appeared in the Leaders section of the print edition under the headline “A chance for change”
Leaders February 18th 2023
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- Nicola Sturgeon’s resignation is part of Britain’s great moderation
- Israel’s proposed legal reforms are a dreadful answer to a real problem
- The world won’t decarbonise fast enough unless renewables make real money
- Nigeria desperately needs a new kind of leadership
From the February 18th 2023 edition
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