Why Nigerian Youths Want Me – Obi Speaks At Chatham House

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Why Nigerian Youths Want Me – Obi Speaks At Chatham House

The presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, has said Nigerian youths are rooting for him due to leadership failure that has diminished opportunities in the country.

Obi spoke at the Chatham House where he presented his policy framework as part of his manifesto if he is elected president in February.

The former Anambra State Governor noted that speaking at the event presented new “challenges to a new thinking.”

He acknowledged that there is a high level of insecurity which has affected investment, diminished employment opportunities and created a high level of unemployment in the country.

“We have an alarming insecurity that led to loss of many lives and properties, significant decline in food and economic output, immense trauma that has compromised the mental health of communities and in some leadership pressure on the Nigerian project.

“The economy is in crisis” with high “debt profile worsened by oil theft of proportion hard to imagine.”

Obi noted that, “Two economic recession in six years and lamentable power sector thus significantly constrained manufacturing and social life,” all conspired to create an ungoverned country.

He argued that, “The Nigerian state is captive of an elite gang up and rental political economy and concentrated power in the hands of those who came to power and influence mainly through their own contrivances and influence rather than affirmation of the people and therefore do not have the incentive to serve the people.

“Even after exploiting the ethnic and religious cleavage sentiment to ascend to power, the very people on whose sentiment they grab power often become the primary victims of such political force that render Nigeria a failing state with worsened leadership crisis.

“Consequently, Nigeria democracy has been on the wane evident” in multiple tracking which has revealed lower voter tune out.

Obi said the deplorable situation has prompted reaction from the youth noting that there “seems to have turned around dramatically last year allowing INEC to register more than 12 million new voters with many more complaining to register but unable to do so due to INEC deadline.”

He stressed that what prompted this turn around is due to this “high stakes” that are locked “in the face of demography with our dominant population the youths, frustrated and unhappy with the status quo and diminished opportunities in Nigeria in an age of globalization when internet can easily reveal to them prosperous forms of those who live in a better led and governed countries.”

Obi argued that things would change if he is voted into power through reengineering of the structure and new policies to grow the economy and create employment.