Revealed: What Peter Obi Told Powerful Northern Group Behind Closed Doors

The 2023 Labour Party (LP) presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has expressed concern over the underutilization of resources in Northern Nigeria.

Speaking on Sunday at the National Political Consultative Northern Group Meeting, Obi emphasized the immense but untapped human and natural potential in the region. He shared further insights from the event in a post on his (formerly Twitter) account on Monday.

Obi lauded the resilience of the North and stressed the urgent need for inclusive development and trust, noting that with proper investment, agriculture in the region could generate more revenue than crude oil.

“One of Nigeria’s greatest physical assets is the vast, underused landmass in the North. I believe we can earn more from agriculture than we currently do from oil,” he said.

To illustrate his point, Obi compared Nigeria’s rice production to that of Bangladesh. He noted that Nigeria currently produces only about 10% of Bangladesh’s annual rice output, despite having more cultivable land in just two Northern states—Niger and Borno—than the entire landmass of Bangladesh.

“Bangladesh, with a land area of about 148,600 sq km, produces 50–60 million tonnes of rice annually. In contrast, Niger and Borno States, with a combined land area of about 147,100 sq km and a population of only 10 million, produce less than 5% of that amount,” he explained.

Obi concluded by lamenting that this imbalance reflects a broader issue across the North, where vast agricultural opportunities remain largely untapped.