Former Labour Party presidential candidate, Mr. Peter Obi, has stated that Nigeria possesses enough resources to provide basic amenities for its citizens but continues to lag due to poor governance, weak leadership, and misplaced priorities.
Obi made this assertion while recounting an encounter with a young Nigerian nurse, born and trained in the United States, who recently visited Nigeria for the first time. The conversation, he said, reinforced his long-held concerns about the country’s development challenges.
In a statement shared on his X (formerly Twitter) handle on Tuesday, the former Anambra State governor referenced the tragic road accident involving friends of boxer Anthony Joshua in Ogun State during the yuletide period. He described the incident as a painful reminder of Nigeria’s fragile emergency response system, noting that the victims might have survived if functional ambulances were readily available.
According to Obi, a standard ambulance costs approximately ₦150 million ($100,000), yet the federal government reportedly spent ₦39 billion renovating the National Conference Centre in Abuja and ₦21 billion on the Vice President’s official residence.
“Those two projects alone, amounting to about ₦60 billion, could have provided over 400 brand-new ambulances, roughly 11 per state including the FCT,” he said.
“Had Ogun State had 11 functional ambulances, one might have been available for Joshua.”
Obi emphasized that Nigeria’s challenges stem not from lack of funds but from mismanagement and poor leadership, stressing that critical sectors are often ignored in favor of non-essential expenditures.
He further revealed that building a primary healthcare centre costs about ₦75 million, yet the country allegedly spent ₦300 billion ($200 million) on acquiring an additional presidential jet.
“That amount could have built over 4,000 primary healthcare centres, about 110 per state,” Obi noted, adding that the jet’s only visible benefit is enabling President Bola Tinubu “to occasionally disappear without the public knowing where he is.”
Obi also shared that the young nurse had considered launching a GoFundMe campaign to support healthcare delivery in Nigeria but was discouraged by relatives who feared the funds might be misappropriated.
Despite these concerns, Obi urged Nigerians not to lose hope, maintaining that with responsible, transparent leadership, the nation can adequately meet the basic needs of its people and redirect resources toward life-saving priorities.
