Former Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has blamed Nigeria’s deepening poverty and stagnated development on decades of failed political leadership.
Speaking during a lecture titled “Politics and Change in Nigeria” at Johns Hopkins University in the United States on Thursday, Obi highlighted how Nigeria has fallen behind other comparable nations, stating that the country now has more people living in poverty than China, Indonesia, and Vietnam combined.
“In 1990, the year the measurement of the Human Development Index (HDI) was started, these 3 comparable nations, including Nigeria, were all classified under the medium category… 35 years later, 3 of these nations have moved up to the High category of HDI while Nigeria has fallen into the low category,” Obi said.
He shared highlights of the lecture on Friday via his verified X account, reinforcing his central message that leadership is the key factor behind a country’s success or failure.
“The failure of a nation depends largely on its Political Leadership. Competent, capable and compassionate political leadership, with integrity, will help nations to achieve sustainable growth and development,” he said.
Obi also illustrated Nigeria’s economic decline over the years, using GDP per capita data to emphasise how the country had once surpassed nations like China and Vietnam but now significantly trails behind.
“As of 1990, while Nigeria had a GDP per capita of $556, China had $317, Indonesia had $578, and Vietnam had only $99… Today, Nigeria’s per capita is about one-fifth of Indonesia’s ($5000) and Vietnam’s ($4400) GDP per capita and below one-tenth of China’s ($13,000),” he stated.
Highlighting the alarming poverty rate in Nigeria, the former Anambra State governor recalled that decades ago, China had one of the highest numbers of people living in poverty globally. That is no longer the case, he said.
“In 1990… China had about 750 million people living in poverty… Today, however, Nigeria has more poor people than these 3 countries combined,” Obi added.
He attributed the progress recorded by the Asian countries to long-term investment in human capital and infrastructure, anchored on visionary and committed leadership.
