By Ihechi Enyinnaya
Former Anambra State Governor and presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has lamented the decline of some of Nigeria’s once-thriving institutions, saying the country must learn from its history and rebuild what it has lost.
Obi stated this after attending the 100th anniversary celebration of the Daily Times Newspaper in Abuja, where he reflected on Nigeria’s development journey and the decline of several institutions that once demonstrated the country’s economic potential.
He recalled his childhood visits to a newspaper stand at 57 Old Market Road, Onitsha, opposite the General Post Office, where he would read newspaper front pages, particularly stories on governance, the economy and national development.
According to him, examining old editions of Daily Times at the anniversary exhibition was both fascinating and sobering, particularly the evidence of institutions Nigeria had successfully built in the past.
Obi cited the Nigerian Shipping Line, noting that it had six ships in 1959, eight in 1960 and 10 by 1961.
“Today, more than six decades later, the Nigerian Shipping Line has no ships,” he said.
He also recalled the growth of Nigerian Airways, which commenced operations in 1958 and had, by 1980, become one of Africa’s leading airlines, with more than 30 aircraft and direct flights to major international destinations including London, New York, Rome and Paris.
The former governor noted that Nigerian Airways at one point operated a Boeing 747, but eventually ceased operations in 2003.
Obi said the experience of Nigerian Airways was particularly instructive when compared with Emirates, which commenced operations in 1985 with only two leased aircraft.
“Today, Emirates operates a fleet of more than 250 aircraft, while the Nigerian national airline of that era no longer exists,” he said.
He described the decline of such institutions as more than stories from old newspapers, saying they represented evidence of what Nigeria had once achieved and what the country had failed to sustain.
According to him, Nigeria’s challenge is not a lack of human or material resources but the failure to sustain institutions because of poor leadership, mismanagement, corruption and weak accountability.
“The tragedy is not that these institutions belonged to a different era. The tragedy is that a country blessed with enormous human and material resources allowed many of its once-promising institutions to decline and disappear,” he said.
Obi also expressed concern that while many national institutions had weakened or disappeared, corruption appeared to have remained persistent.
He urged Nigerians to interrogate the reasons institutions that once worked eventually failed and why countries that started behind Nigeria had overtaken it in several areas of development.
He said the answers to such questions should guide present and future decisions on national development.
The former governor commended the chairman of Folio Communications, Fidelis Anosike, and his team for keeping the Daily Times legacy alive and preserving an important part of Nigeria’s history.
He stressed that nations that forget their history risk repeating their mistakes.
Obi argued that Nigeria could still rebuild its institutions, restore confidence in government, develop a productive economy and create globally competitive enterprises.
He called for leadership anchored on competence, accountability, prudence, integrity and service.
“We must stop celebrating what Nigeria used to be and start rebuilding what Nigeria can become,” he said, adding that the journey to rebuild the country “must begin now.”