The presidential candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 general elections, Peter Obi, has attributed Nigeria’s stunted growth and rising poverty levels to the failure of political leadership over the years.

He also lamented that Nigeria has more poor people than China, Indonesia, Vietnam, combined.

Obi made this assertion while delivering a lecture on “Politics and Change in Nigeria” at Johns Hopkins University in the United States on Thursday, at the invitation of Professor Peter Lewis, renowned author of “Growing Apart: Comparing Indonesia and Nigeria.”

Sharing highlights of the lecture via his verified X handle on Friday, Obi emphasised that the fate of a nation is closely tied to the quality of its leadership.

“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 compared Nigeria’s trajectory over the past 35 years with that of three other developing nations such as China, Indonesia, and Vietnam, and pointed out that, while these countries have moved into higher categories of human development, Nigeria has regressed.

“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,” he stated.

On the economic front, Obi highlighted how Nigeria, which once had a higher GDP per capita than China and Vietnam, has now fallen far 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 said.

He also raised concern about Nigeria’s alarming poverty figures, noting that the country now has more poor people than China, Indonesia, and Vietnam combined.

“In 1990… China had about 750 million people living in poverty… Today, however, Nigeria has more poor people than these 3 countries combined,” he lamented.

According to Obi, the distinguishing factor in the progress made by these countries lies in their political leadership’s commitment to development-focused policies.

“These comparable nations, and indeed other progressive nations, unlike Nigeria, have competent leadership with character, capacity and compassion, committed to prioritizing investment in critical areas of developmental measures; Education, Health, and pulling people out of poverty,” he explained.

Obi also reaffirmed his optimism about Nigeria’s potential, insisting that meaningful change remains achievable.

“A New Nigeria is Possible,” he declared.

[Punch]