The presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP) in the 2023 election Peter Obi says the country needs to tackle the devastating effects of poverty and insecurity in the northern part of Nigeria through agriculture and industrial revolution.
Obi stated this during a courtesy visit to the Emir of Zazzau in Kaduna State, Ambassador Nuhu Bamali, as part of his continuing tour of the North.
The LP leader bemoaned that the bulk of the enormous agricultural areas in the North are uncultivated, while most of the industries in the region have closed down owing to a lack of political will and contradictory government economic policies.
He did, however, highlight that the country’s current socioeconomic instability necessitates a concerted effort by all residents and leaders to determine how the situation may be improved.
“The way things are in our country today requires that all of us must get involved in one way or the other. Nigeria has nothing to do with poverty if those of us who are political leaders including my humble self had decided to serve the country Faithfully. Because if we do, Nigeria will have anything to do with poverty. I will always say this anytime I have the opportunity because Nigeria is one of the countries in the world that is blessed with everything that is required,” Obi, a former governor of Anambra State, said.
“God created us with a lot of resources, and if those resources are properly put in place, we will pull most poor people out of poverty. Looking at the North, we can make more money from agriculture than we are making from oil.
“We have vast uncultivated land in the North which can help pull people out of poverty provide food for Nigeria, provide raw materials for industrialisation, and support export. We need to invest in the North. Insecurity is driven by poverty, the more you pull people out of poverty, the more you reduce Insecurity”.