North holds key to national transformation — Peter Obi

By Kunle Sanni

Former Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi has declared that Nigeria’s northern region holds the key to the country’s economic and social transformation, citing its vast potential in agriculture and human capital.

Speaking at the National Political Consultative Group (North) meeting held in Abuja on Sunday, Obi lamented the deepening poverty and insecurity in the region, blaming decades of underinvestment and government neglect.

“The greatest asset of this country is the North,” Obi said. “I’ve always maintained that the region has the capacity to change Nigeria. We can make more money from agriculture than from oil,” he was quoted as saying in a report by The Cable newspaper.

Using rice production as an example, Obi noted that Nigeria, despite its vast landmass, produces less than six million tonnes of rice annually—less than 10 percent of what Bangladesh, a much smaller country, produces.

“Bangladesh, with just 148,600 square kilometres — about the size of Niger and Borno states combined — produces far more than we do. This should not be the case,” he said.

Obi warned that extreme poverty in the region is not only a development challenge but also a security threat.

“When people don’t know where their next meal will come from, you cannot control their actions. That’s how insecurity festers. That’s how bandits recruit,” he explained. “It is the government’s responsibility to address this.”

The former Anambra State governor argued that solving poverty and investing in education would go a long way in addressing insecurity in the region and the country at large.