2023: Nigeria’s problems must be fixed with competent leadership — Peter Obi
…Meets PDP BoT members to consolidate presidential aspiration
By Abimbola Abatta
Former Governor of Anambra State, Peter Obi, has declared that the threats to Nigeria’s development must be fixed with competent leadership in the 2023 general elections.
The 2023 presidential aspirant added that the forthcoming presidential election is an avenue for Nigerians to rebuild the country and save it from the fringes of collapse.
He disclosed the above recently in his address to the Board of Trustees (BoT) members of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) in furtherance of his consultations ahead of his presidential aspiration.
It should be recalled that last month, the ex-Anambra Governor declared his intention to contest for the President of Nigeria in 2023.
Addressing the BoT members of the PDP, he commended them for their contributions to the growth of the party and, by extension, the country.
“I thank you sincerely for what you are doing for the party and the country. Most of you have been involved in this party since its inception and have done wonderful work for the country, and I thank you for that,” he said.
The first ingredient of a failing state, according to him, is a government’s loss of control over its territory.
However, to get the country to work as well as create a better future for the coming generations, he advocated for the election of capable and competent leaders.
He drew attention to some of the problems bedevilling Nigeria across all sectors, while pleading that efforts must be geared towards fixing them.
He said, “I want to plead with all of you. The country you used to know, the country you were part of building is no longer there. 2023 is to enable Nigerians to start rebuilding Nigeria, especially where we have gotten it wrong.
“Today, Nigeria is on the top of the list of fragile filling stations. In the list of nations affected by terrorism, Nigeria is number three. We are now ranked the same place as Afghanistan and Yemen.
“Today, we are the capital of poverty. We have been since 2019, but what is worse is that, Nigeria has more people living in poverty than the two biggest countries of the world combined. The population of China and India combined is 2.8 billion while that of Nigeria is 200 million. Our population is not even two out of ten of these two countries combined, yet we have more people living in poverty than both countries.
On education, he said, “We have 50 million children out of school, and 60 to 70 per cent of them have never been to school at all.
“In terms of stress level, this country is now the most stressful place for people to live in.
“We also have the highest unemployment rate because we have been comparing with South Africa, but South Africa’s unemployment rate is lesser than ours. We have thirty-three per cent unemployment, but if you include underemployment, you have fifty-five percent out of which sixty per cent of these are young people in their productive age doing nothing.
“At the age they are supposed to be the engine of production, they are not doing anything after they have left school. Some of them didn’t go to school, but they have nothing to do. So, there are millions of them all over the place.
Speaking on the country’s worsening debt profile, he averred that “no country can survive with that level of debt”.
Obi, who opined that Nigeria’s revenue problem can be tackled with an increase in the production level, said every country borrows but what they do with the borrowings is what makes the difference.
In his words, “The debt level is totally unacceptable. All the loans approved by has put us in a mess. Today, we are using 98 per cent of our revenue to service debt, and I can tell you by the end of this year, it will be over one hundred per cent of our revenue.
“This year, our budget is N17 trillion, and the government plans to borrow. In the end, they will not generate up to 50 per cent of that, and we are going to service all of these debts. There is no way a country can survive with that level of debt. We don’t have a borrowing problem but a revenue problem. Revenue comes from production. This country is not productive.
“If we have millions of unemployed people, how can you generate revenue? People in the villages cannot pay tax because they are not doing anything. You need them to do something to be able to generate revenue. Every country in the world borrows, but how you use the money is what makes a difference. In 1990, China had 98 per cent of people living under poverty, today China has less than two percent living under poverty. Every country is pulling their people out of poverty.”
He went further to explain that the phase preceding the 2023 election should not be a time for rascality or careless talk.
On the kind of leader who can change the narrative of the country, he said, “We want somebody who understands how to build intangible and tangible assets of a nation, who has connection globally, and can stand and speak to colleagues and plead with them to save Nigeria.”
Calling for a scrutinisation of presidential aspirants, he said, “Let us check all those that are going to talk to our party. Let us check their background.
“Where are they coming from? What have they done in their lives? Who are they?” he added.
He further declared that he has the capacity to turn the country around, considering his expertise and experience both in the world of business and politics.
“I am a business man who has done a private business in Nigeria. I understand how to solve the problem that will make private sector drive the process today. I know how the country can start turning around by creating revenue and ensuring that small businesses get money in order to do business and create jobs. I know how much I have to direct the banks to do the right thing,” he stated.
