The National leader of the Labour Party (LP) Mr Peter Obi on Wednesday said his concern at the moment is how to see Nigeria achieve her potential as an independent nation.
Obi who had embarked on a tour of some parts of the country and carried out some social and education projects, explained that his mission has nothing to do with politics or the 2027 presidential election.
At a press conference in Abuja on Wednesday, the former Anambra State governor stated “Only God can tell who can run for election in future; my interest now is the poor and how to see Nigeria work.”
He regretted that 70 per cent of the wealth of the country is in the hands of about one per cent of the population, noting that if about 200,000 rich Nigerians could deploy their resources for the basic needs of the poor, the situation would not be as deplorable.
He equally called on governments at all levels to ensure that resource deployment is aimed at improving the living standards of the poor and pulling them out of poverty.
The former LP presidential candidate stated that his humanitarian tour of some parts of the country has exposed him to the level of poverty in Nigeria and the abandonment of the people.
Obi who announced the completion of the construction of 10 boreholes in some states of the North for a short-term water supply to the people, said if 200,000 rich Nigerians could do the same in the area of their choice, it would go a long way to solving the water needs of the people.
He stated that the potential he found among Almajiris in the Quranic schools in the North was an indication that with adequate encouragement and support, they could be catalysts to national development.
“I am carrying out a campaign to make the rich in our midst do more in providing water to our rural poor and helping to pull the out-of-school children off the streets for proper development.
“This is the time to cut waste; our larger population can’t be suffering a conspicuous lack of basic needs like water and we live lavish lifestyles in their midst.
“Our crisis of insecurity and other challenges derives from poverty, and it’s our responsibility to pull people out of poverty through good education,” Obi stated.
He also reacted to the allegation that he did not build any new school when he was governor of Anambra State, explaining that he met education is shambles, as schools were closed and the state occupied 26 positions in the country.
But according to him, by the time he left as governor, Anambra was number one in the country.
“I improved the quality, physical and mental well-being of the people; schools had the basic things they needed and the people shone like stars, and that was my manifesto.
“Building new schools when the old ones are moribund is just like building coastal lines when internal roads are impassable,” he pointed out.
He expressed confidence that the crisis in the Labour Party would be resolved amicably, adding, “What is happening in the Labour Party is child’s play compared to what is going on in APC and PDP.”
