Rita Enemuru, Reporting
WASHINGTON — The presidential candidate of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, has declared that if elected president, he will listen to every section of the country and make necessary sacrifices to achieve national unity.
Speaking to Nigerians in Washington, USA, Mr Obi said: “I will listen to all agitators, harmonise them and make some sacrifices with a view to bringing the country together.”
According to a statement issued by his campaign spokesman, Ibrahim Umar, the former governor of Anambra State is proposing a significant departure from the conventional iron-fisted approach to state security and national cohesion. His philosophy positions dialogue, social justice and inclusion as the primary mechanisms for healing Nigeria’s deep-seated geopolitical fractures.
However, the statement noted that his position has been misconstrued by some individuals who singled out Nnamdi Kanu as one of the agitators and used that to attach Mr Obi to their own ethnic motives.
For decades, Nigeria has leaned heavily on military and security interventions to suppress regional grievances in the Southeast, Niger Delta, Middle Belt and North. Mr Obi’s proposal, which his team says is being twisted by opponents, suggests that agitation is often a symptom rather than the root cause of instability.
By shifting the strategy from active combat to active listening, Mr Obi plans to treat agitators not merely as security threats but as citizens with legitimate grievances, many of which stem from economic marginalisation, perceived injustice and institutional neglect.
The statement argued that true national unity cannot be coerced; it must be built. The dialogue-first model rests on three main pillars:
Many regional agitations are driven by poverty, high youth unemployment and uneven development. Listening allows the government to identify the socioeconomic disparities fuelling the anger. Agitation also frequently flares up when a region feels entirely excluded from the federal power structure. A conversational approach signals that every region has a legitimate seat at the table. Democracy, which Mr Obi plans to practise realistically, encourages structured dialogue to restore faith in democratic institutions and demonstrate that the state values civic engagement over intimidation.
“True peace is not merely the absence of tension; it is the presence of justice,” the statement said, adding that this principle underpins the concept of engaging aggrieved factions to find a common, workable middle ground for a fractured nation.
Mr Obi’s media office believes his stance of listening to agitators is a pragmatic recognition that gun barrel diplomacy has its limits. For a multi-ethnic, multi-religious state like Nigeria, unity cannot be enforced by decree.
“It must be negotiated through shared prosperity, fairness, and mutual respect,” the statement concluded. “A New Nigeria is Possible.”
