Former Anambra State Governor and 2023 Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has said Nigeria’s worsening security crisis can only be tackled by leaders who are willing to lead by example, not by titles or privileges.
Obi made the remark on Sunday while responding to questions from Nigerians during an interactive X Space session, where security, discipline and accountability dominated the discussion.
Speaking on how he would confront insecurity if given the opportunity, Obi shared a personal experience from his time as governor to underline his philosophy of leadership.
According to him, the incident occurred during a British Airways flight when he discovered that one of the aircraft toilets had been badly messed up.
He said a woman who worked with the Lagos State Government under former Governor Babatunde Fashola opened the toilet, saw its condition and walked away without using it.
Obi said he quietly stepped in and cleaned the toilet himself, without drawing attention or informing anyone.
“There was somebody who works for the Lagos State Government — for Fashola’s government. She works with a law firm,” Obi said.
“We were coming back on British Airways years back; I was a serving governor. The entire toilet was messed up. She opened that toilet to use it; it was messed up and she walked away.
“I went in there, and she came back. The entire place was cleaned. She didn’t even tell me, but she told a minister and somebody else where she works in the office.
”She said, ‘I can’t believe this’. The people called me; I said I cleaned it because maybe I would be the next person that would go back there to use it.
“When you see things that are wrong, clean them. I don’t have house help in my house; everybody knows that. Let us stop all this fake life.”
Obi stressed that leadership is about responsibility, humility and action, not status, adding that Nigeria’s challenges require leaders who are prepared to fix problems rather than pass blame.
He also said he remains better prepared to address Nigeria’s economic and security challenges if given another opportunity to serve.
