As Nigeria marks its 66th Independence anniversary, presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, has stirred fresh political debate, declaring that the country’s worsening poverty and insecurity are not the result of a curse but consequences of leadership failures.
Obi, in his Independence Day message yesterday, challenged Nigerians to confront what he described as decades of poor choices and failures in governance rather than attribute the country’s problems to fate.
“Are we cursed, or have we become the curse through the choices we have made and the failures we have tolerated?” he asked.
The former Anambra State governor answered that Nigeria remains “immensely endowed and blessed,” insisting that the country’s fundamental problem is not a shortage of resources but its failure to convert those resources into human development, security, productivity and shared prosperity.
His remarks come as the country heads towards another general election cycle, with the 2027 presidential contest already shaping political conversations across the country.
Obi painted a grim picture of the nation’s socioeconomic condition, citing widespread poverty, unemployment, insecurity, poor access to education and healthcare, as well as food insecurity.
According to him, more than 140 million Nigerians are living in poverty and severe hardship, while over 18 million children are out of school and more than 35 million youths are affected by unemployment and underemployment.
He further warned that more than 40 million Nigerians could face extreme hunger by the end of 2026 if current trends persist.
The NDC candidate said his recent visit to Sokoto State with his running mate, Rabiu Kwankwaso, reinforced his concerns about the depth of the country’s challenges.
He particularly highlighted conditions at the Internally Displaced Persons camp in Ramin Kura, where he said thousands of women and children had been forced from their communities by insecurity.
“What we saw was deeply troubling.
Thousands of women and children live in deplorable conditions, displaced from their homes and deprived of the basic necessities of life,” Obi said.
He questioned the circumstances that had turned Nigerians into internally displaced persons in their own country, arguing that affected citizens should ordinarily be farming, attending school, running businesses and contributing to the economy.
But beyond criticism, Obi presented what he described as his alternative vision for Nigeria, promising measurable and accountable governance if elected president.
He said an administration under his leadership would prioritise security, education, healthcare, agriculture, manufacturing and human capital development.
According to him, insecurity must be tackled to enable farmers to return to their farms, children to return to school and businesses to operate without fear.
He also promised to shift Nigeria from what he described as a consumption-driven economy towards production, job creation and expanded economic opportunities.
The former governor, however, acknowledged that rebuilding Nigeria would require more than political promises.
“The Nigeria we desire will not be built by prayers alone, nor by promises alone,” he said, calling for leadership that treats public office as a “sacred trust” and citizens who demand accountability.
Obi’s Independence Day intervention effectively turned the 66th anniversary into another platform for his long-standing argument that Nigeria’s crisis is fundamentally a governance problem—an argument likely to feature prominently as the 2027 political contest gathers momentum.
