The Presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, has defended and explained his plan to transform Nigeria from what he described as a consumption-driven economy into a production-led one, saying agriculture, manufacturing and support for small businesses would form the foundation of economic growth if elected president.
Speaking during an exclusive interview on Sunday Politics, Obi said Nigeria possessed the land, resources and human capital to become one of the world’s leading food producers and exporters but had failed to harness its potential. According to him, economic growth, job creation and poverty reduction could only be achieved by producing more locally rather than relying on imports.
“The only way to pull Nigeria out of poverty, or even genuinely grow GDP, is through production, not consumption. That production starts with agriculture, which gives you the food you need, raw materials for your factories, and jobs. That’s a win-win,” he said. Obi said Nigeria could produce enough food to feed itself and generate more revenue from agriculture than from crude oil if the right investments were made.
“This country can produce enough of what we can eat, and we can actually make more money from agriculture than we make from oil because, as it is today, we have vast uncultivated land,” the former governor said. He pointed to rice as an example, saying Nigeria’s current production levels were far below what was possible.
The NDC chieftain said Nigeria produces fewer than 10 million tonnes of unmilled rice annually, blaming years of cheap food imports for undermining local farmers. “We’ve used cheap importation to kill our farmers. We can do more,” he said. To illustrate Nigeria’s untapped potential, Obi compared the country with Bangladesh.
He noted that despite having a much smaller land mass, Bangladesh now produces between 15 and 16 million tonnes of unmilled rice annually, making it one of the world’s largest producers. “Bangladesh today produces about 15 to 16 million tonnes of unmilled rice… they are now the third or fourth largest producer globally,” he said.