Following his consultations for the 2023 presidential election, Mr. Peter Obi, former Governor of Anambra State, has proposed a new Nigeria in which production, rather than sharing formula, would be the new song, insisting that there was nothing to share again in Nigeria. Obi made this call while speaking to Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) stakeholders in Calabar and Ilorin on Friday.
Obi stated that the country’s problem was overdependence on oil, which he described as depleting assets, while ignoring other areas, such as agriculture, which, if well harnessed, could earn more money than oil. Using the United States as an example, Obi stated that California, the country’s largest economy, exported knowledge and agricultural produce and was richer than Texas, which had oil.
On the potential of agriculture to change a country’s fortunes, Obi lamented that Norway, with a landmass less than half that of some Nigerian states like Niger, exports more than $100 billion in agricultural products annually, compared to less than $20 billion in oil exports by Nigeria.
Glorifying Singapore’s achievements in the service industry, Obi stated that the country’s diversification was a gift and that in a prosperous Nigeria, a state like Calabar, like Singapore, should do well in the service industry, positioning herself as the epicenter of tourism in the country.
The Chairman, Chief Venatus Ikem, thanked Obi for his visit on behalf of Cross River delegates. He described Obi as a movement, saying he arrived at the right time when the youth were looking for a capable Nigerian to use as an arrowhead for them to reclaim their country.