Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party, says he has ideas that will fix Nigeria if elected president.
He disclosed that his ambition is not propelled by desperation.
Obi, while speaking during an interaction with journalists in Damaturu, the Yobe State capital, blamed bad leadership for the insecurity in the country.
He also visited the Emir of Damaturu, Shehu Hashimi, and the members of the town’s Emirate Council.
“I have said it repeatedly that I am not desperate to rule Nigeria, what I want to do is to see a Nigeria that is working. A Nigeria that cares for the poor people of this country. I believe that only we can offer that to Nigeria because our commitment is to the poor. We have ideas of what we can do to put people out of poverty in Nigeria.
“Look at a state like Yobe, it should be one of the striving states because it’s agricultural based. This is a state that should attract massive support for the agricultural revolution that will lead to industrialization and export which will be a win-win situation for everybody. This will pull people out of poverty and that is our commitment,” Mr Peter Obi said.
Obi, who also spoke about widespread insecurity in the Nigeria, said: “The enemy is not more formidable but for lack of leadership. We are going to tackle insecurity by ensuring that we give it all the attention it requires but at the same time working on pulling people out of poverty. The more you pull people out of poverty, the more tackle insecurity. ”
He thumbed down the state of insecurity in the country and how the government of the day had neglected the common people, while promising to reverse the trajectory if elected president come February 25, 2023.
He also noted that Yobe will become an agricultural exporting state in the country as his government will invest heavily in agriculture.
“We are here because we don’t want any state to say we have left it behind. We planned a rally in Damaturu but because of the suffering of lack of fuel and cash in the country, we decided not to add to the people’s suffering so we only came to use you as a point of contact for the people in the state.
“Our journey is that a new Nigeria is possible. We want to build a Nigeria where everybody will be happy to say he is a Nigerian. It does not matter which part of the country you are coming from, east, west, north or south.
“In the past ten years, all that Nigeria has breaded is insecurity, poverty, suffering, Youth unemployment, and out-of-school children. That is what we breaded and that is what we want to reverse. We brought a message of hope that we will build a country that will be secure. A country where people can move out freely. I told my brother Datti how I came to Damaturu to Maiduguri in an Airport Taxi to visit my late colleague who was a governor here. But when people tell me not to come to Damaturu to campaign because it is not safe.
“We came here because we believe in this state and I assure you of our commitment to building a new Nigeria for everybody. We are committed to uplifting the poor out of poverty. A state like Yobe has all the potential to help us to fight poverty. Yobe is bigger than Belgium and Gambia combined as a country. If you look at the population of these countries, Yobe has more land mass for agriculture. We will take the people of Yobe back to agriculture by investing in it. There are so many things produced in this state that the world is looking for. We will ensure that the people of the state earn a living from it.
“Those youth that have taken to crime because the government never cares about them, I assure Your Royal Highness that we will care for them. We will not govern from Abuja. We will come here. The government of Nigeria today doesn’t care about the common people.
“We have millions of out-of-school children today and quite a number of them are in Yobe State. These are children who are intelligent because I will discuss with them, they have learnt Quran. But they say they are out-of-school children. I want to meet them at the point they are learning the Quran and teach them skills, supporting them so that they can start businesses. That is what we are bringing.
“Your Royal Highness, we want to use you as a point of contact for the entire state and the people that are here too. We did not want to bring you out of your houses with all the pains that are associated with Nigeria today.
“This election should not be based on ethnicity, tribe or religion because everyone is suffering today from whichever tribe or religion you are. It should not be anybody’s turn. It is the turn of Nigeria to take back its country. What I and Datti represent is character. We want this election to be in character. Characters that Nigerians can trust. What we say is what we are going to do.
“We have to stop corruption. Stealing of public money must be stopped. We want this election to be based on trust. I and Datti are tested characters. We have created wealth as entrepreneurs. As a governor, I left behind money that no governor in Nigeria has left. We want to do the same thing by creating wealth for the people.
“The north has all the land mass for agriculture. We will use that to tackle insecurity by investing in agriculture. Of all the presidential candidates, we are the people born after the Independence of Nigeria. It has never happened before. Because we want to build a new Nigeria. Look at the other parties. This is the government of Youth and Women. We are urging all the Youth that this is your government and you should work hard to actualize it. A new Nigeria is possible. We want a new Nigeria from production to consumption. Thank you, Your Highness” the LP candidate said.
