***Says the Key to Solving Nigeria’s Problems Lies in the North
Presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 general elections, Peter Obi, has declared that the North holds the key to unlocking Nigeria’s most pressing challenges. He called on leaders from the region to take bold and visionary steps to drive national transformation.
Speaking at a high-level strategic engagement with Northern political stakeholders under the National Political Consultative Group, Obi emphasized that the North should not be viewed as a problem but rather as “Nigeria’s greatest untapped asset.”
The remarks were contained in a statement issued by Ibrahim Umar, spokesperson for the Peter Obi Media Reach (POMR), and made available to The Guardian on Sunday evening.
Addressing a distinguished audience that included former Vice President Atiku Abubakar, Obi said the region’s struggles with insecurity and rising criminality were not due to religion or cultural practices but stemmed from deep-seated poverty and structural neglect.
“You cannot fight poverty without education. And you cannot fight insecurity without addressing hunger and hopelessness,” Obi stated.
He urged Northern voters to look beyond ethnic and religious sentiments in future elections and instead prioritize competence, character, and a shared national vision.
Reflecting on his years in the banking sector, Obi recalled the economic vibrancy of Kano, once a leading industrial and financial hub.
“Kano used to be where we went for cash flow. Today, its industries are silent, and its youth unemployed. This decline is not destiny—it is the result of poor leadership and misplaced priorities,” he lamented.
Obi challenged Northern leaders to break away from politics-as-usual and champion a new agenda built on education, agriculture, and enterprise. He cited nations like Bangladesh and the Netherlands—with fewer resources than Northern Nigeria—that have attained food security and economic growth through visionary leadership and smart governance.
“We have more land, more people, and more potential than many agrarian nations. What we lack is leadership with vision, empathy, and courage,” he concluded.
In his keynote remarks, former Attorney General of the Federation and Minister of Justice, Abubakar Malami, reinforced Obi’s position. He decried the worsening security situation across the North and called for a unified effort to pull the region back from the brink.
“The time for talk is over. It’s time for action. The North must rise—not just for itself, but for the future of Nigeria,” Malami asserted.
The consultative meeting ended with a renewed commitment by stakeholders to build a broad-based, pan-Nigerian coalition grounded in trust, competence, and a common national purpose.