Peter Obi pledges to engage in talks with separatist groups if he wins the presidency

Peter Obi

By Henry Umoru

Presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, NDC, Peter Obi, ahead of the 2027 polls, has promised to engage and listen to agitators across Nigeria as part of efforts to foster national unity and address the root causes of unrest if elected president.

In a statement on Saturday by the spokesman of the Peter Obi Media Reach (POMR), Ibrahim Umar, the media office said that Obi’s comments represented a broader strategy aimed at addressing the underlying causes of agitations across different regions of the country.

According to his media office, the former Anambra State governor made the remarks during an interaction with Nigerians in Washington, D.C., United States, where he was asked about his approach to unifying the country amid growing regional and political tensions.

Speaking on the issue, Obi said he would adopt a dialogue-driven approach to resolving grievances and strengthening national cohesion, adding, “To achieve the aim of unifying the country, I will listen to all agitators, harmonise them and make some sacrifices with a view to bringing the country together.”

The statement read, “Our principal, the Presidential Candidate of the National Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, while in Washington, USA, recently, before Nigerians seeking his view on unifying Nigerians, stated emphatically that if he becomes President, he will listen to every section. To achieve the aim of unifying the country, ‘I will listen to all agitators, harmonise them and make some sacrifices with a view to bringing the country together.’

“When Peter Obi stated that he would “listen to all agitators with a view to uniting Nigerians,” he offered a significant shift from the conventional, iron-fisted approach to state security and national cohesion. This philosophy positions dialogue, social justice, and inclusion as the primary mechanisms for healing Nigeria’s deep-seated geopolitical fractures. Unfortunately, his position has been misconstrued by some people who singled out Nnamdi Kanu as one of the agitators and ran with it just to attach Obi to their ethnic motives.

“For decades, Nigeria has leaned heavily on military and security interventions to suppress regional grievances, whether in the Southeast, the Niger Delta, the Middle Belt or the North. Obi’s proposal, being twisted by opponents, suggests that agitation is often a symptom, not the root cause.

“By shifting the strategy from active combat to active listening, Obi plans to treat agitators not just as security threats but as citizens with grievances — many of which stem from economic marginalisation, perceived injustice, and institutional neglect.

“True national unity cannot be coerced; it must be built. The core argument for Obi’s dialogue-first model rests on three main pillars: Many regional agitations are driven by poverty, high youth unemployment, and uneven development. Listening allows the government to identify the socio-economic disparities driving the anger.

“Agitation frequently flares up when a region feels entirely excluded from the federal power structure. A conversational approach signals that every region has a legitimate seat at the table. And democracy, which our principal plans to practise realistically, will encourage structured dialogue to restore faith in democratic institutions and to demonstrate that the state values civic engagement over intimidation.
“True peace is not merely the absence of tension; it is the presence of justice.

“This timeless principle underpins the concept of engaging aggrieved factions to find a common, workable middle ground for a fractured nation.

“Peter Obi’s Media Office, therefore, believes that his stance of listening to agitators is a pragmatic recognition that gun barrel diplomacy has its limits. For a multi-ethnic, multi-religious state like Nigeria, unity cannot be enforced by decree. It must be negotiated through shared prosperity, fairness, and mutual respect. A New Nigeria is Possible.”