Peter Obi reveals to Northerners how to end insecurity in their region

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In order to fight poverty and insecurity in the region, Peter Obi, the Labour Party’s (LP) presidential candidate in the general elections of 2023, has advocated for more investment in northern Nigeria.

Speaking at a National Political Consultative Group (North) meeting in Abuja on Sunday, Obi claimed that because of its enormous agricultural and people potential, the North is the key to Nigeria’s change.

“I’ve always said the North can change Nigeria,” Obi declared. “The greatest asset of this country is the North. We can make more money from agriculture than we make from oil.”

He bemoaned the high rates of poverty in the northern states, attributing them to years of policy neglect and underinvestment. He claims that the absence of fundamental opportunities has made it easier for insecurity to flourish.

“And when you have poverty, you have humanity that you cannot control because when people don’t know where the next meal will come from, you can never control their actions,” he said.

“And they easily recruit,” Obi added, referring to how extremist groups and bandits prey on impoverished communities.

He maintained that bringing people out of poverty via agricultural and educational improvement would greatly lower insecurity.

“The more you pull people out of poverty, the more you solve insecurity. We need to invest in education,” he stated.

Obi also drew attention to the predicament of children who are not in school, especially the Almajiri community in the North. He underlined the necessity of mobile and inclusive educational methods.

“We can’t talk about free universal basic education when people are not going to school. Our children are not in school,” he said.

“I’ve taken time to go to the North and sat down with the Almajiri children; they are the most brilliant people God created. If they can’t go to school, take the school to them.”

Obi mentioned Nigeria’s low agricultural output using comparable data, using the production of rice as an example.

“This entire country produces less than six million tonnes of rice; that is less than 10 percent of what Bangladesh produces,” he said.

“Bangladesh is a country that lives on 148,600 square kilometres of land — that’s the size of just two northern states: Niger and Borno combined.”

Obi expressed hope that Nigeria, especially its northern area, can overcome its obstacles and take the lead in the continent’s growth if the proper policies, political will, and human capital are invested in it.

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