The Nigeria Democratic Congress presidential candidate Peter Obi said on Thursday that Nigeria faces its problems because leaders failed the people and could not turn the country’s resources into better lives and shared wealth.
He spoke in his Independence Day message as the nation marked 66 years since independence.
Obi said the anniversary should bring celebration and thanks and also a clear look at whether Nigeria has moved toward the future its founding fathers wanted. He said every serious country must keep asking where it stands today, where it wants to go, and how it will get there. Those questions matter more now after the promises the All Progressives Congress government made in 2023.
He listed poverty, children out of school, insecurity, hunger, deaths of mothers and infants, jobless young people, drug abuse, and short lives as the main troubles. More than 140 million Nigerians live in poverty and severe hardship. More than 18 million children are out of school. More than 40 million people will face extreme hunger by the end of 2026. Youth unemployment and underemployment affect more than 35 million people. Drug abuse and substance misuse stand at 14 percent against a world average of 6 percent. Life expectancy is 54 years against a world average of 74 years. Insecurity still threatens lives and work, and 37 young Nigerians recently died.
Obi said the moment calls for serious, sober, and honest thought. He said the trouble is not a lack of resources. He asked whether Nigeria is cursed or whether the people have become the curse through choices made and failures allowed to stand. He answered that Nigeria is not cursed. The country is richly gifted and blessed. The biggest problem is the failure to turn huge resources into human progress, production, safety, and shared wealth.
He and his 2027 running mate Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso recently spent two days in Sokoto State. They spoke with residents about insecurity, children out of school, poverty, jobless youth, and drug abuse. They visited the internally displaced persons camp at Ramin Kura inside Sokoto city. Thousands of women and children live there in very poor conditions. Many of the children cannot go to school. Mothers and children have little access to basic health care. Obi said these Nigerians should live in their communities, attend school, farm their land, run their businesses, and help the economy. Instead they live as displaced people in their own country. He said the camp shows the same suffering found in other parts of Nigeria.
He said political leaders have failed the country and, most of all, have failed the children. His message is not one of despair. It is a message of hope, determination, and duty. A new Nigeria is possible.
If elected president he would make government measurable, accountable, and focused on the welfare and productivity of Nigerians. Within the first year people would start to see the results of purposeful and effective leadership. His government would face insecurity so farmers can return to their farms, children can return to school, and businesses can work without fear. No Nigerian should have to live in a camp because the government failed to provide security.
He would shift Nigeria from an economy that mainly consumes to one that produces. That means creating jobs, opening more chances, supporting farming and manufacturing, and investing in people. Education, health care, security, and productive work would come first because they form the base of a working nation.
He would lead by example. In four years as president he would not spend his holidays outside Nigeria. He would spend them in Zamfara State, Borno State, Kwara State, Ebonyi State, Edo State, Ekiti State, and other Nigerian states. He wants to keep seeing Nigeria, know the country, spend time with Nigerians, listen to them, understand their problems, and celebrate their strength.
His vision is a secure, united, and productive Nigeria run with skill, accountability, and justice. Children would not lose school because of poverty or insecurity. Mothers would get basic health care. Farmers could return safely to their land. Young people would find work and the chance to prosper. Public money would be used only for the public good.
Obi asked Nigerians to use the anniversary to look at the past, face present realities, and meet the future with courage. The Nigeria people want will not come from prayers alone or promises alone. It will come from leaders who treat public office as a sacred trust, from citizens who demand accountability, and from everyone who refuses to accept failure as destiny. It is time to build the new and productive Nigeria that is possible.
