The 2023 presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Peter Obi, has emphasized on the urgency of addressing the dire consequences of poverty and insecurity in northern Nigeria by through agricultural and industrial advancements.
Obi said this when he paid a courtesy visit to the Emir of Zazzau – in Kaduna State – Ambassador Nuhu Bamali as part of his ongoing tour of the North.
The LP chieftain lamented that the majority of the vast arable lands in the North are uncultivated while most of the industries in the region have shut down due to lack of political will and inconsistent government economic policies.
He, however, noted that the current socioeconomic instability in the country requires that all citizens and leaders come together and see how the situation could be salvaged.
“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 on Monday.
“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”.
