By Babalola Seyi
Peter Obi, the Labour Party’s presidential candidate, has stated that his emphasis on transforming Nigeria from a consumption to a production nation is at the heart of his motivation for visiting the markets as part of his campaign.
In a one-on-one interview that aired on Channels TV on Monday night, Obi made this revelation.
Speaking about his economic platform and execution plans, the LP presidential candidate said, “My motivation for visiting markets is straightforward.
“I have always said we need to be able to go back from consumption to production, you can’t talk about doing that without roots to the functional markets.
“I need to interact with traders and business people, and visit industrialists, agriculturalists hearing what is their problem and be able to promise them of better times to come.
The presidential candidate for the LP said, when asked about his economic program should he be elected president for these small enterprises, “the biggest employer of labor, the greatest productive sector in any economy is Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises. Every country, including China, India, and Indonesia, is fueled by the same economy.
Giving statistics on global working economies, the former governor of Anambra noted that countries like Indonesia, where nearly 90% of businesses are in this sector in terms of employment, are responsible for over 70% of job creation, China, where over 60% of businesses are in this sector, and Vietnam, where a similar situation exists, are all doing very well today and are highly productive and export-oriented.
Going further, he stated, “I believe that you need to study and listen to this session because they will propel what we went to achieve. For me, the commitment to pull people out of poverty is immeasurable.
“What governments in Nigeria have not done in the past is to look at where they are coming and where they are standing.
“For example, in 2012, unemployment was about 10 to 12 per cent but today, it has risen to about 33 per cent.
“Our monetary poverty was 55 million. 33 per cent today is about 95 million, and of course, multi-dimensional poverty has increased to 133 million.
These are things that need to be addressed by a new government.
He added that it is the physical support of the government that makes it possible for these micro Small businesses mentioned to be able to have faith again.
He stressed, “We will ensure first that we deal with the issue of security of life and property by securing the country.
“That way, we will be able to let our farmers return to farming and increase agricultural production.”
