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NDC presidential candidate Peter Obi says Nigeria’s 66th Independence Anniversary should trigger sober reflection rather than mere celebration.
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The former Anambra governor urged Nigerians to examine the country’s current condition, its development direction and whether successive governments have fulfilled the aspirations of the nation’s founding fathers.
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Obi said more than 140 million Nigerians are living in poverty and severe hardship, while insecurity, hunger, unemployment and the education crisis continue to undermine the country.
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Obi promises measurable and accountable governance if elected president in 2027, pledging to tackle insecurity, facilitate the return of displaced Nigerians, prioritise education and healthcare, and move the economy from consumption to production.
October 01, (THEWILL) – The presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, has said Nigeria’s 66th Independence Anniversary should be a moment of sober reflection and national reckoning rather than an occasion for celebration alone.
Obi made the declaration in his Independence Day message titled “Nigeria at 66: Looking Back, Looking Forward”, in which he acknowledged the country’s abundant human and natural resources and paid tribute to its founding fathers and past leaders who, he said, sacrificed to build the nation.
He, however, argued that Independence anniversaries must go beyond ceremonies and patriotic speeches, insisting that they should provide an opportunity for Nigerians to examine the country’s present condition and determine whether it is moving in the direction envisioned at independence.
According to him, every serious nation must continually ask three fundamental questions: Where are we today? Where do we want to be? And how do we get there?
Obi said the questions were particularly urgent given what he described as the deepening challenges confronting the country despite the promises made by the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led government in 2023.
His message came as President Bola Tinubu, in his own 66th Independence Day address, defended his administration’s economic reforms and declared that Nigeria had moved beyond the most difficult phase of its economic adjustment into what he described as an “age of prosperity.”
Obi’s assessment offered a sharply contrasting picture, focusing on poverty, insecurity, hunger, unemployment and the difficulties facing ordinary Nigerians.
‘Over 140m Nigerians Living In Poverty’
The NDC candidate said Nigeria currently had more than 140 million people living in poverty and severe hardship, while more than 18 million children remained out of school. He also expressed concern over persistent insecurity, including terrorism, banditry and kidnapping, citing the recent deaths of 37 young Nigerians of productive age as evidence of the continuing human cost of insecurity.
Obi further said more than 40 million Nigerians would face extreme hunger by the end of 2026, while infant and maternal mortality remained unacceptably high.
He put youth unemployment and underemployment at more than 35 million, while citing drug abuse and substance misuse at 14 percent, compared with a global average of 6 percent.
Obi further cited Nigeria’s life expectancy at 54 years, against a global average of 74 years. He said the figures should force the country into a serious examination of its development trajectory.
Quoting the Greek philosopher Socrates, who taught that “the unexamined life is not worth living”, Obi said an unexamined nation could not successfully chart its future.
He asked whether Nigeria was cursed or had become the source of its own problems through the choices made by its leaders and citizens.
But the former Anambra governor rejected the notion that Nigeria was cursed.
Obi said the country remained immensely endowed, arguing that its greatest challenge was not a lack of resources but the failure to convert those resources into “human development, productivity, security and shared prosperity.”
Recalling a recent two-day visit to Sokoto State with former Kano State Governor and his running mate, Rabiu Musa Kwankwaso, Obi said they held consultations on insecurity, out-of-school children, poverty, youth unemployment, drug abuse and other challenges confronting residents.
While they also visited the Internally Displaced Persons camp at Ramin Kura in Sokoto metropolis, Obi said the condition of the displaced persons was deeply troubling, particularly the situation of women and children.
“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”, he said.
According to him, many of the children at the camp had no access to education, while mothers and children had limited access to basic healthcare.
He said the people in the camp should ordinarily be living in their communities, attending schools, farming their land, running businesses and contributing to the economy, rather than living as displaced persons in their own country.
Obi said the situation at Ramin Kura was not isolated, describing it as a reflection of the suffering experienced in different parts of Nigeria.
He criticised the government for appearing disconnected from the hardship confronting ordinary Nigerians, saying political leaders sometimes behaved as though the problems belonged to another country.
“The political leaders have failed our country and, most importantly, we have failed our children. This must change”, he said.
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‘New Nigeria Is Possible’
Despite his criticisms, Obi said his Independence Day message was not one of despair but of “hope, determination and responsibility.” He declared that a new Nigeria was possible and outlined what he said would be his approach to governance if elected president in the 2027 election.
“As President of Nigeria, I will make governance measurable, accountable and centred on the welfare and productivity of our people”, he said.
Obi promised that Nigerians would begin to see the tangible impact of what he described as purposeful and effective leadership within his first year in office.
He said his administration would confront insecurity decisively to enable farmers to return to their farms, children to return to school, businesses to operate freely and families to live without fear.
Obi also promised to ensure that Nigerians displaced by insecurity could return safely and with dignity to their communities.
“No Nigerian should be forced to live in an IDP camp because his or her government has failed to provide security”, he said.
On the economy, the NDC candidate said his administration would seek to move Nigeria away from what he described as a consumption-driven economy to one based on production.
He said the focus would be on creating jobs, expanding opportunities, supporting agriculture and manufacturing, investing in human capital and creating an environment where young Nigerians could build sustainable livelihoods.
Education, healthcare, security and productive enterprise, he said, would form the foundation of his proposed administration.
“These are not luxuries. They are the foundations of a functioning nation”, Obi said.
Obi also promised to lead by example if elected president. He said he would not spend his holidays outside Nigeria during his four-year tenure, but would instead use the periods to visit different states, interact directly with Nigerians and understand their challenges.
“In four years as President of this great nation, I will not spend my holidays outside Nigeria. My holidays will be spent in Zamfara State; Borno State; Kwara State; Ebonyi State; Edo State; Ekiti State and other Nigerian States. I want to continue to see Nigeria. I want to know Nigeria. I want to spend time with Nigerians, listen to them, understand their challenges and celebrate their resilience”, he said.
Obi said his ultimate objective would be to build a Nigeria that is secure, united and productive, with public resources deployed strictly for the benefit of citizens.
He also envisaged a country where children would not be denied education because of poverty or insecurity, mothers would have access to basic healthcare, farmers could return safely to their farms and young people could find opportunities to work and prosper.
As Nigeria marks 66 years of independence, Obi said the country must look back with gratitude, confront its present realities with honesty and look ahead with courage.
He maintained that the Nigeria citizens desire would not be built through prayers or promises alone, but through leadership that treats public office as a sacred trust and citizens who demand accountability.
“The Nigeria we desire will not be built by prayers alone, nor by promises alone. It will be built by leadership that understands that public office is a sacred trust, by citizens who demand accountability, and by all of us who refuse to accept failure as our destiny,” he declared
Felix Ifijeh is a journalist with years of professional reporting experience. Known for his keen news sense, compelling storytelling and commitment to accurate, impactful reporting, he has built a reputation for turning leads into clear, engaging, and well-structured reports that resonate with readers. His work reflects deep newsroom experience and a commitment to accurate, impactful journalism.
