In this new episode of Head to Head, airing 1 May 2015 at 20.00 GMT on Al Jazeera English, Oby, as she’s affectionately referred to in Nigeria, tells host Mehdi Hasan and an audience at the Oxford Union that, a year after over 200 schoolgirls were kidnapped in Chibok, northern Nigeria, by Boko Haram, the #BringBackOurGirls campaign was not a failure. “No, I wouldn’t say that we have failed. I would say that we have not been able to move the elephant.”
Oby
blamed the outgoing administration of President Goodluck Jonathan for
its inaction and failure to rescue the young hostages, and said she
thought it was still possible
to defeat Boko Haram.
Known
as “Madam Due Process” for her fierce anti-corruption drive, Oby
founded Transparency International in 1996, was an advisor to former
President Olusegun
Obasanjo, and served in two of his cabinets as Minister of Education
and Minister of Solid Minerals between 2003 and 2007. After leaving
government, Oby moved on to become vice president of the World Bank for
Africa, where she stayed until 2012. More recently
she coined the phrase “Bring Back Our Girls,” which turned into a
world-famous Twitter-hashtag campaign.
Questioned
by Hasan about endemic corruption in Nigeria, Oby said her country has a
“political class problem,” but refused to condemn her former boss and
mentor President Olusegun Obasanjo, who ruled between 1999 and 2007.
Under pressure by Hasan, she conceded Obasanjo was “aware
of the elements of corruption, and it was his responsibility to tackle” them, but categorically denied he was corrupt himself. “Of
course it [the government] was [corrupt]! [But] There was no way it
could have been more corrupt than the government of Abacha,” she said,
referring to the military dictatorship of Sani Abacha that preceded
Obasanjo’s rule.
Oby lamented that the government she was
part of was not able to “succeed fully” in tackling corruption, and
defended her own track record, saying she had not been “window dressing”
for a corrupt regime
and insisting - despite holding two ministerial positions in the
Nigerian government, being an advisor to presidents and holding high
office at the World Bank – that she was not a politician.
During
the interview, Ezekwesili and Hasan discussed whether widespread
poverty, inequality and corruption are at the root of the brutal Boko
Haram insurgency,
and debated whether World Bank policies have helped or hurt Africa’s
development.
Challenged
over the effects of Word Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF)
conditionalities for African countries, Oby told Hasan she would “define
an exit date” for both institutions. When pressed about setting the
exit date, she said she stuck to her 2008 suggestion of a 25 year
deadline by 2033.
Hasan
is joined by a panel of three experts: Priscilla Nwikpo, a
British-Nigerian broadcaster and commentator; Richard Itaman, a Nigerian
economist and
researcher at the University of London, School of Oriental and African
Studies; and Richard Dowden, executive director of the Royal African
Society in the UK and former correspondent for
The Economist.
In
each episode, Hasan goes head to head with a special guest, asking the
probing and hard-hitting questions few dare to ask on the big issues
such faith,
foreign intervention, the Middle East, US foreign policy, and the
economic crisis.
The interview with Ezekwesili is part of the fourth series of Head to Head,
which is Al Jazeera’s forum for ideas, hosted by Mehdi Hasan. The
fourth series saw Hasan
interview former NATO boss Anders Fogh Rasmussen, former head of
Pakistani Intelligence Agency ISI Gen. Asad Durrani, and Israeli
historian and anti-Semitism expert Robert S. Wistrich.
Nigeria: Failed state or African superpower?
with Obiageli Ezekwesili will be broadcast on 1 May 2015 at 20.00 GMT and will be repeated on 2 May at 12.00 GMT, 3 May at 01.00 GMT and 4 May at 06.00 GMT.
Watch and embed the promo at https://www.youtube.com/
For more information on series four of
Head to Head, visit http://www.aljazeera.
Follow
Head to Head on Twitter @AJHeadtoHead
113 comments:
Not so true ma'am
What does she know? Her opinion
Hmmmmm I see
Lib ugegbe
Madam Oby won't go n take care of her family, thought U ll let us rest from ur noise after U n ur party APC ve won the election. Now, U re talking nonsense abt our soldiers that ve been fighting BH. Madam, what do U really want or what's ur end game?
Ubanagum
Coming onye akpu obi.....oby the hercules...jee zuo ike biko
Dis OBJ daughter too like to dey news!see her face like her papa own
Haa! This is serious oo...
She is gradually crossing her boundaries! Some fin is seriously wrong wif her! Udi and zaki biam massacre under her lover boy OBJ, was not an abuse right? APC human rights. GMB barred AIT from covering his activities, she and her co bring bak our girls, had said nofin about it. Mtcheew
This woman is an idiot.
And now that her ties to Obasanjo is clearer than ever, I am proud to call her a certified idiot. Next!
Talk talk talk! Why didn't you tell Obj he was corrupt while you were working with him? Or come out and tell the people of Nigeria he was corrupt
Bla bla bla
Pls tell this bastard and traitor of a whore to shout her trap and go and lick APC anus, stupid woman
O Pls oby or whatever u call your self Pls shut up. You are a shame to woman hood. Do u really have respect for yourself or u are bent on doing the bid of your father obasanjo. Shame on you. Loose woman
Seriously
#Commenting thru Glo 4G LTE
Your mates oby use their resources to build a nation but u are pulling down us. Fine what have u really contribute to benefit nigerians when u were a minister and in the world Bank. Your likes can only make noise in Nigeria because it's a zoological republic. Enough Pls. Respect yourself
Linda pls confirm: 293 women and girls rescued from Sambisa forest. Are the Chibok girls amongst them?.
Jesus take control
This woman ain't afraid of anybody.
You can see it thru her words.
Oby do u have respect for your husband or u have turned him to a goat. A woman of value watches her tongue
Obasanjo fucked the sense out of this ugly woman and left a fool of her. She's always talking rubbish, OBJ ran one of the most corrupt administration in Nigeria,yet this fool said OBJ is not corrupt. This woman needs to see a psychiatrist. Yeye de smell!!
Oby you are a shame to woman hood. Don't worry your sins will catch up with u
Bad woman with evil intention. You look so ugly like your father obasanjo. Shame same shame
Bad woman with evil intention. You look so ugly like your father obasanjo. Shame same shame
Bad woman with evil intention. You look so ugly like your father obasanjo. Shame same shame
You oby will pay for all your deeds. Amen. Nwananuu akulakula
You oby will pay for all your deeds. Amen. Nwananuu akulakula
Nwanyi akulakula. Are u not tired of sleeping around. Shame shame shame shame
Ofcourse she will blame jonathan rather than Shakau the devil himself.. Biased woman, you want to pay him back cos he removed you from bn minister of edu...now you av bn appointed the ministerial post you wanted, hope u can go get the girls urself ma'am?... Terrorist attacked kenyan students, the citizens joined hands together and try to fight the beasts, they neva faulted their president...bt my country hmmmm
We will see wat ur saviour buhari will do
I see a desperado, wanting to be relevant. She has stopped protesting since GMB won. She has had the opportunity to make changes in the education sector, what does her report card say? U were part of a govt that failed let other ppl try.
Peper body...wats ur own madam?
IN AS MUCH AS I HAVE SOME RESPECT FOR EZEKWESILI, I THINK THIS IS REALLY PUSHING THE BOUNDARIES OF CRITICISM. WHAT HUMAN RIGHTS ABUSES? LET HER FIRST GO AND STAY IN THE FRONTLINE FOR JUST ONE WEEK THEN LET HER COME AND CRITICISE. PEOPLE SHOULD JUST TALK BECAUSE THEY CAN. DID BOKO HARAM CONSIDER HUMAN RIGHTS WHEN THEY WERE KILLING, MAIMING, RAPING, AND PLUNDERING? IN DEFENCE WHY SHOULD THE GOVT BE BOUND BY HUMAN RIGHTS?
"Madam due process"
She says it the way
it is.........
She Can now Take a Sit. CrapBag!
Hian! Madam Oby welu ya nwayo. Linda take note!
Your people don win election, wetin U dey find again???
Madam, stop trying hard to exonerate yourself from crimes you were verymuch involved in. You were part of the government that failed the people. Stop painting yourself a saint you know you are not.
Busy Fingers.
watching
DISCOVER THE SECRET OF LOOSING WEIGHT AND BURNING STURBORN BELLY FAT CLICK HERE
Oby's views are so biased that it is really shameful at times to hear her talk. You condemn past leaders and yet leave out obj because of "God knows what reason?" . Nigeria has degenerated to such a level now because of so many people with personal ambitions and vested interests. I feel very bad for GEJ at times because he is a gentle man. I wish he could respond to some of these accusations and i pray that the Niger Delta people get their "self determination" that they are crying out for now.
Sometimes such abuses are necessary , Oby should wear a uniform , carry a gun and see if it's as easy as she thinks , all those in support of bringing boko haram members before a court etc should be shot if you ask me , they deserve no mercy and should be killed in the most brutal manner possible , human rights violations my left testicle
Abeg I don't have the strength to read this.
Hmmm
Can this woman just shutUp.....since GMB won and she was penciled down as Minister of Education, her BBOG campaign against the Govt has stopped. Lousy woman, she can never be NOI #Hypocrite.
Stupid woman, sycophant.
Selfish woman only good at town crying and bringing down institutions without any concrete suggestion for way forward. Busy demoralizing our military with her frequent shout of bring back our girls. She never sees anything gud only doom. Akpuobi the ugliest.
This woman get wahala oh, do u think its easy for anyone to go into combat? You sit on ur high horse and think warfare is exactly as u read in d novels or Hollywood movies. Madam, go there and u will see that u either kill someone or be killed. So until u try firing a jericho pistol withiut screaming, shut the hell up
"Madam due process"
Obj is not corrupt & GEJ`s inactions are responsible for the non-return of chibok girls.....(l hear).
Ur aggressive stance against GEJ`s administration and d way u fail 2 address ur "boss`s" administration failures are really questionable!
I admired her courage initially until she became irritating with her ozodingba face seeking attention from every corner
The truth is better, well said mam,kill dem wit no trigger! Jona government are so dame incompetent! GMB government have lot of work to do $ God will b their strength.
I hear you madam o. Please slitting the throats of innocent Nigerian citizens by BH, IS THAT ANIMAL RIGHTS VIOLATIONS! What suggestions have you so far given to help bring back those girls. YOU CAN'T BE IN RULING CABINET ALL THE TIME!
The truth is better, well said mam,kill dem wit no trigger! Jona government are so dame incompetent! GMB government have lot of work to do $ God will b their strength.
This woman is a drama queen with nuisance value
This woman is a drama queen with nuisance value
foolish woman, trying to gain cheap popularity. She should go nd take care of her husband, enemy of Nigeria
I beg mr man shut up, sorry woman.
Dis woman should go and sit down biko...over sabi dey worry am..too self righteous
Dis woman has to b mentally ill, can't find any other reason for dis kinda foolish statement.
Madam close ur mouth
Lots of fish pepper soup brain on this platform. Jonothing has reduced our once vibrant military boys scout through corruption. If not for Obi, the Chibok girls would have been forgotten. Some miscreants should have their medula obloongata examined for insulting her. Awon Omo ale
FOOLISH TALK
For goodness sake Obasanjo should shut up this his garrulous, loquacious, cantankerous and maliciously ugly illegitimate daughter.
Come this dinosaur has not stopped talking... how weird..
You are just so pathetic. All this woman does is complain.rubbish let her sign up to join the army. All she does is put down people, no word of encouragement leaves her mouth
Sick of her abeg
This woman is somtin else though. Heish!
If the army violated human rights what did boko haram do? Or should the army fold their arms and watch while people are being massacred? Since she is such an advocate of human rights why didn't you stage a protest against the attacks in South Africa? Or is the xenophobic attack not a good cause for you to fight.
Only if you were married with children you wouldn't have the time for this rubbish talks. Attention seeking baby.
Oby, na u want make Nigerians abuse u...Carry on.
Easy sir! *whew*
So this woman is still stupid?
Madam e don do abeg. APC will reward you with a cabinet position for your propaganda job.
Very useless woman, I wonder if her husband cannot caution her, so OBJ is not corrupt right? cos you are not in GEJ's cabinet that makes his administration the worst you have seen, you are a hypocrite that even the public knows better with this interview, you are talking rubbish woman....shame on you!!!
Nwanyi ukwu
Madam talk crap, speaks again. so obj is innocent and a saint and boko haram are freedom fighters while the Nigerian army is guilty of genocide. madam u should be ashamed of urself. pls where is ur husband, cant he shut you up for once?
Oby ezekwesili you are a fool
Shut up Bitch Oby!!! You have been bought! Cheaply Whore!
ATTENTION SEEKER!!
I support APC but please this woman retire! Talk is cheap
Inasmuch as she's hiding under the umbrella of a good cause, I think this woman has a big mouth and only cried foul to get back at GEJ. The sorts in which she moves all have the same agenda, when money or power is given to them, they go silent. Yes, I'm calling out all her social media idiots, the one that celebrated his 30th birthday recently. Shey chudi or something ( can't be bothered with his name) and the one that gave GMB a makeover etc
*** mynameisSkelewu
Fighting hard to be relevant! She should enter Nollywood. Bloody irritant.
Oby d stupid whore accusing our galant military, maybe her son or husband should be killed by Bh then she would know how it feels.. disgrace to womanhood
It is becoming clearer on daily basis that the likes of this woman orchestrated the fall of Jonathan's administration! They caused him more than he could handle and at the same time broadcast his areas of his shortcomings! They made our Nigeria turbulent for us all because they want to make our president irrelevant and also instigated the ruled against their ruler and, at the same time, butter-minted majority's mouth with series of slogans to the crumbling of GEJ's administration! Slogans like "we want change!" and "bring back our girls!" No wonder Buhari himself confessed "Boko Haram is a FRAUD!" One thing that is sure is that God rules! He will neither pay them less nor compromises His judgement on them all! We shall all be witnesses!
Omg can't stop laughing, she is a stupid woman sha..
For goodness sake this woman again!!
Yes she is annoying but leave her looks alone. That is too low
Woman shut up or go to the frontline of the battle.
I don't know why people are complaining about this woman. In every government you need an opposition, otherwise where would the checks and balance come from? She's not even really opposition, when innocent people are being killed, you speak up.
she has a point. OBJ wont like this interview btw
I am tired of the endless criticisms o. Glad they will be in power soon.
You can talk rubbish about politicians but don't ever talk trash about gallant soldiers who lay their lives each day to protect you bloody fool...
Nice read, nice watch. Her loyalty to OBJ is unwavering.
Yeah they are wrong to insult her and she has good work to her credit .She also needs to make accusations based on the terrain she is dealing with .Would she rather they bring back these girls by begging Boko Haram? We are in a war with people who use children as human bombs while they sit protected and watch . GEJ isn't at the front lines, the soldiers are.How about commending the recent rescues and providing encouragement rather than telling soldiers how to fight . If she wants to deal with the human right violations ,the Nigerian police does it everyday , she can start there.
Madam, i like the general but with all due respect, shutup.
I beg make una tell Obi to go Sidon for dorty!!! Na only she get mouth to talk rubbish, one day she go cry foul say dem neva see the girls, another day she go say government kill people, mumu woman.
i dislike this woman for so many reason . If you are so upright, why was the government of obasanjo which she was a part of still corrupt. What did she do to reform the educational system in Nigeria, that is still messed up till date. What visible impact has she on her country Nigeria aside shout on twitter everyday BRING BACK OUR GIRLS. if she loves them so much , she should ve volunteered to go to sambisa forest to bring them back . Rather than go around on social media and news house criticizing your country, Think of something positive to do that would help change a Nigerian life.
Madam Oby is the most un patriotic Nigerian i have ever met, seen or heard about in my life time. Always so judgmental about her country. She sees nothing good in this nation and is quick to tell the whole world how rotten her country is, yet she served as a minister in this same country and had nothing to offer us. the educational system is no better, she should please shut her dirty mouth and face her family.
@karlson its about winning elections its about fighting for the voiceless....Visits my blog on www.mohzeecliq.com
This woman na winch o..heavy one..and also corrupt.. very corrupt!.
But she is afraid to say that Obasanjo is corrupt.
This woman!! Pls u are no saint what did u do in ur time all u do is make noise and try to uplift ursef with dis unfortunate act. She is corrupt and what has she done apart frm talking and making noise these are d kind of people staged to just pull down other people na wa!
Always talking rubbish
Fellow Nigerians remember that the person in question is somebody's mother, let mind what we say all in the name of posting comment on linda's blogg, she could be ur mother, ur wife or ur sister lets respect our elders and our nation, lets respect our selves.
Ugly woman
this woman likes attention. i stopped liking her long ago. attention whore
So she should behave like someone's mother and stop doing selfish things to better he personal ambitions. How can she be so selective in her criticism. It speeks volumes of her intentions. God will judge all of the one by one. Those who overlook the interest of the people because of their personal ambitions.
This madam Oby is a very vindictive woman with a dark soul. Anyway, what do you expect from an ugly woman?
@ anos 10:30 oby welcome we know its u. Afta dis useless interview biase mind. Wicked witch. Obj girlfriend. We know u more dan u could ever imagine. Shameless woman. Am sure ur kids and husband are ashamed of u. Always wants to b relevant. Sorry ma we know u are a FOOL. That utters rubbish from ur dirty mouth. Wicked woman so u are happy bh are killing innocent pple, including children. Heartless woman who support d kidnap and killing of children. Imagine ur kids were also kidnap. U are a disgrace to this generation. Anofia
Can dis woman pls shout up?wch madam due process is she? We demand to know why she ran out of Nigeria during d failed bank tribunal of d Abacha govt?why is her period stay in a finance firm as MD yanked out her CV? Where is d money her Hubby borrowed frm dat same firm and where is d business he claimed d money was invested in?Oby is a sick lady dat should jst go and sit down
Are d men and women of Nigerian Military not someone's somebody too? Why is she big mouthed? Oby should be ashamed of herself. What a mistake and apology she is
This woman self
I would tell my mother, wife or sister to give it a rest. I. Suggest you my friend do the same.
So one should allow our elders to talk nonsense on behalf of our nation. Forget it
Because she's talking trash about our soldiers who risk their lives fighting bh
u guys shld jst liv her. lets kip watching how things wil unfold
Why does this woman scare me? Not even her look. Just her vibe. I sense no positive energy
Post a Comment