Former Education Minister Oby Ezekwesili says Nigerians must stop treating the country’s worsening condition as inevitable and instead challenge the political and institutional structures she believes have produced it.
Ezekwesili, who has again declared her support for former Anambra State Governor Peter Obi ahead of the 2027 presidential election, said Nigerians should make electoral choices based on character, competence and capacity rather than ethnicity, religion or other identity-based considerations.
She made the remarks during an exclusive interview with ARISE NEWS on Monday, where she discussed Nigeria’s democracy, political system and the reforms she believes are necessary beyond another election cycle.
Ezekwesili is the founder and chairperson of the School of Politics, Policy and Governance (SPPG) and founder and CEO of Human Capital Africa. She is also a co-founder of Transparency International and the Bring Back Our Girls movement.
‘This is not our destiny’
For Ezekwesili, one of Nigeria’s most damaging problems is not simply poor governance but citizens becoming accustomed to it.
She argued that repeated exposure to insecurity, economic hardship and declining public services had contributed to what she described as an erosion of the value placed on human life.
The former minister questioned the assumption that holding elections alone would automatically correct the country’s deeper problems.
Her message to voters was direct: make political choices that serve citizens themselves.
She argued that Nigerians should refuse to accept national decline as an unavoidable outcome.
“It is not our destiny, this is by design. This design needs to be challenged.”
Ezekwesili believes the challenge therefore goes beyond choosing one individual over another. In her view, Nigerians must examine the structures that determine how political power is acquired and exercised.
Nigeria needs a new national conversation
The former minister also called for a renewed conversation about what Nigeria should stand for as a country.
She argued that independence did not produce the kind of sustained national dialogue needed to establish a strong sense of shared identity, common values and mutual obligations among citizens.
According to Ezekwesili, Nigeria has struggled to evolve from a collection of groups within one territory into a cohesive nation with a widely accepted social contract.
She described the existing national arrangement as effectively “orphaned” by the absence of sufficient social cohesion and social capital.
Her proposed answer is a fundamental redesign of the country’s political and institutional framework.
“The design that we run right now has not worked for us, we do need to design again.”
Can Nigerians break with incumbency in 2027?
With the 2027 presidential election approaching, Ezekwesili said she would not dismiss the possibility of voters breaking from established political patterns.
She acknowledged that incumbents and established political parties typically possess significant financial resources, organisational structures and political influence.
But she argued that voters can reach a point where economic and social pressures become so severe that they decide to demand a different direction.
There is, however, a major obstacle.
Economic hardship can shape political choices
Ezekwesili acknowledged that people struggling to provide food, shelter and other basic necessities may prioritise immediate financial relief when making electoral decisions.
She pointed to research associated with FixPolitics and SPPG, which she said demonstrates the relationship between low productivity, household income and political behaviour.
In such circumstances, she argued, long-term promises of institutional reform can compete with immediate material needs.
Still, she believes there can be moments when voters collectively conclude that the existing trajectory has become too damaging to continue.
Why Ezekwesili still backs Peter Obi
Ezekwesili reaffirmed her support for Peter Obi ahead of 2027.
She said her position was based on three leadership tests:
- Character
- Competence
- Capacity
She said those criteria, rather than ethnicity, religion or other identity considerations, informed her support for Obi during the 2023 presidential election.
According to Ezekwesili, her assessment of the candidates has not changed significantly since then.
But she strongly resisted attempts to make the wider political argument solely about Obi.
‘Don’t make this about Peter Obi’
Ezekwesili said the emphasis should be on the quality of leadership Nigeria produces, not on building political conversations around individual personalities.
Her argument is that Nigerians should apply the same standards to candidates contesting elections at every level—from local government councils to state and federal offices.
She wants more people with strong ethical character, competence and the capacity to govern to enter politics.
For her, changing the occupants of political offices without changing the system that produces them would leave Nigeria facing the same problems under different personalities.
Her disagreements with Atiku
Ezekwesili also reflected on her previous experience in government and her disagreements with former Vice President Atiku Abubakar.
She said those differences were not driven by personal hostility but by disagreements over reforms she considered necessary for Nigeria’s development.
She recalled the country’s debt pressures and efforts to create greater fiscal room for investment in areas such as healthcare and education.
She also discussed reforms in public procurement, saying concerns about how Nigeria managed public resources strengthened her determination to demonstrate that government could obtain better value from public spending.
The experience, she said, reinforced a broader lesson: Nigeria’s problems cannot be solved simply by replacing one political personality with another.
The bigger issue is the system
Ezekwesili’s argument ultimately extends beyond the 2027 presidential contest.
Her support for Obi remains clear, but she says the more important question is whether Nigeria can build institutions and political incentives that consistently produce leaders who put public interest ahead of private gain.
That, in her view, requires citizens to become more demanding voters, political parties to recruit stronger candidates and institutions to become more accountable.
The central challenge, therefore, is not simply who wins the next election.
It is whether Nigerians can use the political process to change the system that determines what happens after the votes are counted.