Mr Peter Obi sayd Nigeria’s transformation must begin from Northern Nigeria, which he described as the country’s “greatest asset.”
He stressed that solving poverty in the North would significantly reduce insecurity nationwide.
“The North can change Nigeria. The greatest asset of this country is the North. If we pull people out of poverty, we’ll solve insecurity,” Obi stated.
Obi said poor investment in education and agriculture was crippling the region. Drawing comparisons with agrarian countries like Bangladesh, he noted that Nigeria produces less than six million tonnes of rice annually—less than 10 per cent of Bangladesh’s output—despite the North’s vast landmass and potential.
He called for immediate redirection of resources, questioning the federal government’s N15 trillion coastal highway project while insecurity and poverty persist in the North. “Why not invest N1.5 trillion into tackling insecurity in the North? Why not capitalise the Agricultural Bank with N1 trillion?” he asked.
Obi urged northern leaders to move beyond ethnic and religious politics, and vote for competence and capacity. “We’ve tried voting religion and tribe. Let’s vote for what works. Let’s vote for capacity,” he said.