Peter Obi, the Labour Party’s 2023 presidential candidate, has described northern Nigeria as the country’s biggest untapped wealth base, pointing to its huge farming land and strong human resources.
In an interview on Prime Time, a programme on Arise Television on Monday, he said the large stretch of uncultivated land in the region could change Nigeria’s economy if properly used.
“Our greatest asset is in the north. The vast uncultivated land in the north is our future. We can make more money as a country from agriculture than we make from oil, and we must begin to do that immediately,” he said.
The former Anambra State governor insisted that farming has the power to earn Nigeria more than crude oil, stressing that urgent investment is needed to unlock that potential.
He also said he is open to working with key northern political leaders, including Nasir el-Rufai and Rabiu Kwankwaso, to push development in the region.
“I will work with them, but I can tell you that nobody can build what I intend to build in the north,” he added.
On insecurity, Obi linked the crisis in the north to poverty, weak leadership, and long years of neglect, saying real peace will only come when government focuses on key sectors that improve lives.
“If we want to secure the north today, we need to start investing in critical areas of agriculture, pull people out of poverty, and invest in education and health. That is what we must do,” he said.
He further argued that today’s security problems are the result of long-term leadership failures and the gradual collapse of governance systems and shared values.
“Insecurity we see today is caused by erosion of governance, erosion of values, and abandoning the youths. It is the cumulative effect of leadership failure over the years,” Obi stated.
He added that Nigeria must take a firmer and more decisive approach in dealing with insecurity going forward.
