Labour Party Presidential Candidate, Peter Obi, and multiple award winner and writer, Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie have raised a banner of hope for the younger generation of Nigerians. They both spoke at the opening ceremony of the 2022 Nigerian Bar Association’s Annual General Conference held in Lagos.

Both acknowledged that there are challenges but they insist that if Nigerians deliberately choose good and merit over incompetence, religion and ethnicity, the country will be pulled out of the present quagmire.

Obi who was a panellist listed key things that must be done to grow the Nigerian economy and put it on a good footing.

Obi said investment in intangible assets such as education and power are critical for economic renaissance.

“What we need to do is the two most intangible assets: security; and law and order, provide conducive environment to attract investors, then education and power, the economy is driven by these intangible assets,” he said at the opening ceremony  of the 2022 Nigerian Bar Association’s Annual General Conference held in Lagos.

Obi who drew a loud ovation from the crowd of lawyers said a new Nigeria is possible if in 2023, Nigerians will vote not according to ethnicity or religion but for competence, capacity and vision.

Award-winning novelist, Chimamanda Adichie, who gave a keynote address at the event, painted the picture of a nation without heroes, making it impossible for young people to look up to no one.

She said, “We are starved of heroes. Our young people do not find people to look up to anymore.”

She said it was important for everyone to speak out against injustice and tyranny even if they were called troublemakers.

Modelling her keynote after the theme of the conference, she said, a bold transition must embrace audacity and innovation. They have called me troublesome. Although, it is never enjoyable to be called troublesome. I never set out to provoke for its sake. But I refuse to silence myself for the fear of what I might inadvertently provoke. It has always been important to me to say what I believe, to call out injustice.

“Federal and state security dragging journalists to prison is tyranny. A journalist ill-treating his domestic staff is tyranny. The rape of young boys and girls is also tyranny. It is tyranny when state governments do not pay pensioners until they slump and die as broken people. The physical harassment of lawyers and some some judges is tyranny. The use of the law by some people to oppress the poor people is tyranny.

“As long as we refuse to untangle the knot of injustice, peace cannot thrive. If we don’t talk about it, we fail to hold leaders accountable and we turn what should be transparent systems into ugly opaque cults.

“My exprience made me think there’s something dead in us, in our society; a death of self-awareness and ability for self-criticism.

“There’s need for resurrection. We cannot avoid self-criticism but criticise the government. We cannot hide our own institutional failure while demanding transparency from the government,” she said.