The crusade by Obi and Osinbajo is that Nigeria must shift from consumption to production if it must attain greatness
There are expressions that stand out statesmen from the crowd. Such remarks announce their visions for their people. They come from the heart, with the force of bullets and encapsulate their thoughts. Those declarations speak louder than the manifestoes at campaign grounds.
That sums the admonition to patriotism by John F. Kennedy, the 35th US President, on his countrymen and women, on coming to office on January 20, 1961. Kennedy was elected president at a time the world was reeling under the uncertainties of the Cold War. He was confronted with the challenge of galvanizing his people in rebuilding the country and called on them to commit themselves to service and sacrifice to the fatherland: “My fellow Americans: ask not what your country can do for you – ask what you can do for your country”,
48 years after, President Barrack Obama, on January 20, 2009, spoke in similar vein when, he called on Americans to unite and look towards their common national heritage as a guide for facing the challenges of the future. Obama had inherited a country in serious economic downturn and needed all hands to bring it back on its feet. He did not give up but said; “The time has come to reaffirm our enduring spirit; to choose our better history; to carry forward that precious gift, that noble idea passed on from generation to generation: the God-given promise that all are equal, all are free, and all deserve a chance to pursue their full measure of happiness”.
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For erstwhile President Nelson Mandela, the years of struggle against apartheid demanded a change for a more equitable system, hence on coming to power in 1994, he stressed the need for building an inclusive society where no one would be oppressed. “We enter into a covenant that we shall build the society in which all South Africans, both black and white, will be able to walk tall, without any fear in their hearts, assured of their inalienable right to human dignity – a rainbow nation at peace with itself and the world”, he said
These leaders demonstrated good understanding of their countries at the time. Nigeria is at such critical juncture, presently. With daunting security challenges in all parts of the country, deplorable infrastructure base, widening corruption index, crippling economic uncertainties manifested in youth unemployment, dwindling fortunes of the national currency and debilitating poverty among the people, the country is without doubt, on a sorry curve. The copious absence of disciplined leadership class to steer the ship of state on the right course, makes the situation more worrisome.
The signs are not encouraging. All indices of state failure are starring at us. Since 2018, Nigeria has been the World’s Poverty Capital. It currently ranks the second most terrorised country in the world after Afghanistan. There are 22 million out-of-school children in the country. Inflation is slipping out of control, at the rate of 21.09 percent – the highest in over 17 years. Insecurity has been on the rise. Hardly does a day pass without sordid incidences of Nigerians being slaughtered in their homes, on the roads or places of work by criminals. Increasingly, the citizens troop out of the country in search of better living outside.
With the 2023 general elections barely three months away, the stakes are high. Nigerians want to hear from the political parties and their candidates how they intend to reclaim the country from its piteous state. Sadly enough, the older political parties – the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) or All Progressives Congress (APC), are not offering any idea in that direction. Their standard bearers, Atiku Abubakar (PDP) and Bola Tinubu, are politicians of the old order, who are still entrenched in throwing muds at their opponents without addressing the issues of the day.
This is where the Labour Party (LP) candidate, Peter Obi, has made a world of difference from the lot. From the moment he signaled his interest for the presidency, he knew that the office is not a prize to be won but a job to be done. With this uncommon approach at analyzing issues with facts and statistics, he has elevated the language and context of the contest beyond his counterparts in the race.
But perhaps, where he strikes it, most is in his insistence that Nigeria can only get out of its economic crisis by conscious transition from the current culture of consumption to production. Like the Biblical John the Baptist, Obi has been making this presentation to Nigerians in all the states. “When I say we are not a producing country but a consuming one, it is true”, he stressed at a recent summit organised by his party.
The thrust of his argument is that Nigeria has over 84 million hectares of arable land with only 40% of it cultivated, pointing out that her arable land is her new oil and gold, if properly managed.
He cited instance of Borno that is situated on 70.9 square kilometres of land and harbouring the Sambisa Forest which should have been an asset for Nigeria but has become hideout for terrorists due to non-utilisation. Sambisa Forest, he observed, is twice the size of Israel and an agricultural land that can feed the nation.
Also, compared with Vietnam that lives on 331square kilometres of land and a population of 100 million, Obi says Nigeria is not harnessing her potential adequately. This is because while Vietnam’s export is 312 billion dollars, Nigeria does not do 10 per cent of such, even with a vast land and a population of 200 million people.
Niger state, he added, is two-and-half the size of The Netherlands, yet the state could not feed itself or the country whereas The Netherlands’ agricultural export for 2021 was 120 billion dollars.
He was initially a lone voice in the consumption to production crusade and was mocked by his opponents. But many are beginning to reason with him. The Vice President, Prof. Yemi Osinbajo, has bought into the message. At a recent event organised by the Senate Committee on science, technology and innovation, Osinbajo emphasised that Nigeria must shift from consumption to production if it must attain greatness. “Nigeria will be great only when we begin to shift our emphasis from a consuming nation. We must rely on production and that is the only way to go”, he said. These are men of ideas thinking alike. That is the way to go.