Peter Obi is a native of Agulu, in Anaocha Local Government Area of Anambra State. He was born on July 19, 1961 in Onitsha, Anambra State, where his parents were resident.
Obi had his secondary education at a popular Catholic school called Christ the King College, Onitsha. He thereafter proceeded to the University of Nigeria Nsukka for his university education, where he graduated with Bachelor’s degree in philosophy in 1984.In furtherance of his education, Peter Obi later attended Lagos Business School, where he engaged in the Chief Executive Program. He then proceeded to Harvard Business School, the London School of Economics, Columbia Business School, the Kellogg School of Management of Northwestern University, Business School of Oxford University, the Judge Business School of Cambridge University, and the International Institute for Management Development, where he further engaged in different programs and received certificates in the Senior Executive and the Chief Executive Officer programs.
Over the years, Obi established himself as an astute businessman, founding a retail business that has created thousands of jobs for young Nigerians, while investing in several other businesses across different sectors of the Nigerian economy, which are to date still helping to create valuable jobs for Nigerians. His experience and keen eye for spotting business opportunities led him to occupying various board seats in different organizations. They include the Board of Securities and Exchange Commission, where he was Chairman, Guardian Express Mortgage Bank and Fidelity Bank, where he was also Board Chairman, and Guardian Express Bank Plc, Chams Nigeria Plc, Emerging Capital Limited and Card Center Plc, in which he held positions as Director.
In 2002, convinced that things could be better for the people of his home state, Obi campaigned for and won the seat of Governor of Anambra State. However, it took 3 years of legal wrangling for him to be pronounced winner after his major opponent was illegally declared winner and sworn in as Governor. He took office in March 2006 and began the process of implementing his Anambra States Integrated Development Strategy, a localized version of the United Nations’ Millennium Development Goals, which was geared at reducing poverty, child mortality, hunger and a number of other prevailing social issues. Obi’s innovative leadership had at its foundation the belief that every society can only prosper when its people are well and truly empowered to create wealth. To achieve this, he focused majorly on improving the education standards in the state, establishing critical health infrastructure, implementing business boosting policies while ensuring the security of lives and properties within the state. A key hallmark of Obi’s two terms in office was the effective collaboration between the public sector, private sector, development partners, and civil society organizations which ensured that most of the policies implemented were well monitored, evaluated and improved upon.
Working closely with development partners such as UNDP, UNICEF, the World Bank, DFID and the European Union, Obi’s administration ensured global best practices were maintained in the quest to improve the quality of life within the state.
Under Peter Obi’s leadership, Anambra State became the first state to establish a Sub-Sovereign Wealth Fund, the first of its kind in Sub-Saharan Africa, which had about $156 million in dollar-denominated bonds by the end of his tenure as governor. His administration built from scratch, the first state-owned Teaching Hospital, Chukwuemeka Odumegwu-Ojukwu Teaching Hospital, Awka, going further to obtain full accreditation for 12 other health institutions, none of which were accredited before he took office in 2006.
Obi’s school administration policies have ensured that the standard of education in Anambra State has remained excellent till date.
As for his private life, Peter Obi is the husband to Margaret Brownson Obi, whom he wedded in 1992. They have two children together – a male and a female named Oseloka and Gabriella respectively. Obi practices Christianity of Catholic denomination.
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