Peter Obi, presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), has promised to support Nigerian youths to return to farming and small-scale businesses if elected president in 2027.
Obi made the pledge on Saturday in Kaduna during an NDC political gathering where he appeared alongside his running mate, Rabiu Kwankwaso, to outline their plans on job creation and the economy.
The former Anambra State governor said an NDC administration would focus on investment, production and an inclusive government, arguing that Nigeria must move away from borrowing to fund consumption.
“If you elect us to serve, we will only borrow money for investment,” he said.
“We’re no longer going to borrow money for consumption. We want to move Nigeria from consumption to production. By that, we will create jobs.”
Obi compared Nigeria with Indonesia, saying the Southeast Asian country has a larger population but performs better partly because more of its young people are employed.
Nigeria’s population, he said, is about 230 million, compared with Indonesia’s 280 million.
“We will help the youths to find something to do. We will make sure they go back to farm,” Obi said.
“We will make sure they go back to small businesses. We will support them and tell them the bad effects of drugs.”
Obi proposes life imprisonment for drug dealers
Obi also raised concerns about drug abuse among young Nigerians, linking the problem to unemployment.
He argued that Nigeria lacks adequate laws to deter the importation of illegal drugs and proposed life imprisonment for those involved in the trade if he becomes president.
“Nigeria does not have adequate laws for those who are importing drugs,” he said.
“If I become president, drugs will fetch life sentence. If you deal in drugs that will kill our youths and everything, you are going to face life imprisonment. We cannot take it.”
Obi further claimed that drug prevalence in Nigeria stands at 14 per cent, compared with about five per cent globally, and attributed the difference partly to youth unemployment. The figure was presented as Obi’s claim during the Kaduna meeting.
His Kaduna remarks centred on creating jobs by shifting government spending towards investment and productive sectors, particularly agriculture and small businesses.
