Former Governor of Anambra State, Peter Obi says Nigeria will not make progress as long as bandits are regarded above intellectuals and political thugs earn more than professors.
Obi said this Wednesday during the public presentation of a book by popular female Mass Communication professor, Prof Chinyere Okunna in Awka, the Anambra state capital.
“Prof. Okunna (the author), who we are celebrating today; I can tell you earns less than a political thug. Nigeria prefers paying bandits and dialoguing with them paying or meeting with resourceful and hard-working intellectuals.
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“I never knew Okunna before I appointed her commissioner when I was governor, but I became interested in her when I saw her CV as a nominee.
“Many people protested her appointment because she was not a member of our political party but I remained resolute to appoint her because I needed the right team to do the job.
“People come to me to ask for advice on the kind of people they should give appointments to and I say to them, ‘take people who can tell you the truth no matter how painful’.
“If you listen to the people who tell you the sweet things all the time, then you’ll fail. If you have an exco where they do not argue and disagree with you, then you have a bunch of idiots and of course, we have a lot of idiots in Nigeria,” Obi said.