Nigeria can earn more from agriculture than from oil — Peter Obi

Former Governor of Anambra State and 2023 Labour Party statesmanlike candidate, Mr. Peter Obi, has reiterated that Nigeria tin make much gross from agriculture than from crude lipid if the federation commits to purposeful leadership, investment, and value-chain development.

Obi stated this connected Thursday successful Abuja portion speaking astatine the Sahel Food Systems Changemakers Conference 2025, organised by Sahel Consulting with the taxable “Designing for Legacy: Building Resilient and Impact-Driven Food Systems.”

The league brought unneurotic leaders successful development, agribusiness, and sustainability, including Sahel Consulting Chairman, Mezue Nwuneli; ONE Campaign CEO and keynote speaker, Ndidi Nwuneli; Inga Stefanowicz, Head of Section, Green Economy, EU Delegation to Nigeria and ECOWAS; Michael Ojo, Country Director, Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN); Dr. Hussaini Abdu, Country Director, CARE International; Lekan Tobe, Country Director, Heifer International; and Oladoyin Olawaiye, Deputy Country Director, GIZ.

Obi, successful his remarks, lamented Nigeria’s paradox of wide hunger contempt being blessed with immense arable onshore and abundant quality capital. He said it was unacceptable that Nigerians inactive spell to furniture bare successful a state susceptible of feeding itself and others.

“No Nigerian should spell to furniture hungry. Nigeria, blessed with immense arable onshore and quality capital, should not beryllium listed among the hungriest countries successful the world. Instead, we should beryllium self-sufficient and exporting,” helium said.

Citing Bangladesh arsenic an example, Obi noted that the Asian nation, with a onshore country of astir 148,600 quadrate kilometres — astir the size of Niger and Borno states combined — produces astir 10 times much atom than Nigeria.

“This world reflects our misplaced priorities. It is not a deficiency of capacity, but a deficiency of committedness and enactment focus,” helium added.

Obi besides visited accumulation stands featuring innovative agri-businesses, including AACE Foods, SEM Food and Prices, Dmore Foods, and CHC Agritech Africa. He commended the entrepreneurs for their resilience and publication to nationalist development, saying their enactment highlights the value of supporting tiny and medium-scale enterprises (MSMEs) and gathering beardown cultivation worth chains.

He emphasised that with the close policies and an enabling environment, agriculture could surpass lipid arsenic Nigeria’s large root of income.

“It is clip for Nigeria to realise that we tin gain much from agriculture than from oil. For Nigeria to rise, we indispensable determination from depletion to production, from dependency to productivity, and from rhetoric to action,” Obi stated.

He concluded by reaffirming his content successful the nation’s potential, saying: “Our farmers, entrepreneurs, and innovators are ready. The authorities indispensable simply make the enabling situation for our youths and for our nation. A caller Nigeria is possible.”