PORT HARCOURT — Former presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, has said Nigeria has all the human and natural resources needed to prosper, blaming the country’s persistent poverty and hunger on years of poor leadership, mismanagement and corruption.
Obi stated this in a statement posted on his X account on Tuesday, following his participation as a guest and panellist at the 66th Annual General Conference of the Nigerian Bar Association held at the Yakubu Gowon Stadium in Port Harcourt, Rivers State.
According to him, the discussion centred on how to rebuild Nigeria and make the country work for its citizens, particularly its resilient and hardworking population.
Obi said Nigeria’s vast resources made it unacceptable for the country to remain associated with extreme poverty, hunger and dependence on imported food.
“With our vast human and natural resources, Nigeria has no business being associated with extreme poverty and hunger. We have no business importing food when we possess enormous agricultural potential,” he said.
The former Anambra State governor identified agriculture as one of the sectors capable of driving Nigeria’s economic transformation if supported by appropriate policies, investment and political will.
He particularly highlighted the agricultural potential of Northern Nigeria, arguing that its vast farmland could be harnessed to increase food production, create millions of jobs and generate export revenue.
“If countries with fewer resources have transformed their agricultural sectors, Nigeria can feed itself, create millions of jobs, and export food to the world,” Obi said.
On the removal of the petrol subsidy, Obi reiterated his position that the subsidy regime was riddled with corruption, but said the process should have been preceded by efforts to eliminate the corruption and determine the actual cost of the subsidy.
He said the removal should then have been implemented gradually, with savings transparently invested in areas that would directly improve the lives of Nigerians.
“Savings from subsidy removal should have been transparently invested in clearly defined, measurable development priorities, especially agriculture, healthcare, education, poverty reduction, and security,” he said.
Obi maintained that Nigerians should be able to see tangible benefits from the savings generated by the policy, particularly as citizens continue to grapple with higher energy and living costs.
“I remain convinced that subsidy removal must deliver real benefits to Nigerians; citizens should not bear higher energy costs while the savings remain unaccounted for or fail to improve their lives,” he stated.
The presidential candidate said Nigeria should prioritise food security, healthcare, education, infrastructure, human capital development, national security and national unity as part of efforts to transform the country.
He argued that the major challenge confronting Nigeria was not a shortage of resources but the absence of leadership capable of putting the national interest above personal interests.
“Nigeria has all it needs to prosper. What remains is competent, honest, and purposeful leadership that puts the common good above personal interests,” Obi said.
He expressed optimism that the country could still achieve meaningful transformation, declaring that a better Nigeria was possible.
“A New Nigeria is possible, and Nigeria will be OK,” he added.
