New Telegraph

Time to move nation from consumption to production economy –Obi

Former Governor of Anambra State and presidential aspirant on the platform of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP), Mr Peter Obi, has said that as long as Nigeria earns revenue and borrows to consume, the country will remain in crisis. Obi made the assertion during his consultation visit to the Imo State PDP secretariat on Thursday.

“None of you will say he is not aware of the situation in Nigeria. We live in a country where almost everything is collapsing, including security. Nigeria is now number three in terrorism; after Afghanistan and Somalia. Syria is now better than Nigeria. And it is going to get worse. “Over the years, our country has been collapsing due to bad leadership. “We have the highest number of people living in poverty.

As a matter of fact, we have more people living in poverty than China and India combined. “We have 35 per cent unemployment, 15 million out-of-school children. All the indices that make a nation successful are negative for Nigeria. We do not even have resources anymore, as 90-95 per cent of our revenue is used to service debt.

“In spite of all these negatives, Nigeria is surviving on consumption. And we need to urgently move Nigeria from being a consumption economy to a production economy. Regrettably, all we have in Nigeria is formula for sharing for consumption and no formula for production,” he said. He maintained that the best and first step in the fight against crime is that people must have sustainable means of livelihood, “which Nigeria cannot presently guarantee anybody.” He regretted the cost of governance in Nigeria, adding that the huge cost of governance stems from corruption and a culture of consumption.

He continued: “If the leader is not corrupt and his family and cronies are not corrupt, corruption in government would be cut by 70 per cent. There is too much waste in governance. The cost of governance needs to be slashed, and this is some of the effects of a culture of consumption.” He warned that if the country is allowed to drift along the way it is going presently, citizens may turn to refugees soon. Earlier in his welcome address, the state PDP chairman, Engr. Charles Ugwu, said that Obi is the embodiment of all Nigeria needs to function again. Dr Doyin Okupe, who was also in Obi’s entourage, took time to explain to the PDP delegates how much of an asset Mr Peter Obi is to Nigeria, while urging Nigerians to end the Civil War in 2023.

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