Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), says he would negotiate with bandits and other armed groups willing to abandon violence and embrace peace if elected president.
Obi stated this during an interview on BlackBox with Rufai Oseni when asked whether he would engage bandits through dialogue as part of efforts to address insecurity.
According to him, his administration would pursue national unity while opening discussions with individuals and groups ready to renounce violence and contribute to rebuilding the country.
“In uniting the country, anybody who wants peace, I will talk with him; I will negotiate with him,” Obi said.
“Anybody who wants war, we will go to war.”
Obi argued that people who have made mistakes in the past should be given an opportunity to reform if they demonstrate a genuine commitment to change.
To support his position, he recalled a visit to a university in the United States, where he said several members of the institution’s leadership had previously served prison terms.
“I once visited a university in America where the entire faculty are people who came out of prison,” he said.
“From the dean to the registrar, professors spent years in prison for one offence or the other.”
He added that Nigeria must be willing to offer people a path to rehabilitation if they are prepared to embrace peace.
“So, if you say you want to change and be part of this new Nigeria we are talking about, we have reached a point where we have to tell ourselves the truth,” he said.
The former Anambra State governor also said his approach to governance would focus on inclusion and ensuring that no region or ethnic group feels excluded from national development.
“I will unite the country and secure that nobody is left behind. No tribe is left behind; there would be inclusiveness,” Obi said.
“We will show love and care for everybody.”
