The presidential candidate of the Labour Party during the 2023 general elections, Peter Obi, has raised alarms about Nigeria’s growing poverty and stagnant development. He stated that the country now has more people living in poverty than China, Indonesia, and Vietnam combined.
Obi made these remarks while delivering a lecture titled “Politics and Change in Nigeria” at Johns Hopkins University in the United States.
The event took place on Thursday, at the invitation of Professor Peter Lewis, the acclaimed author of Growing Apart: Comparing Indonesia and Nigeria. During his lecture, Obi connected Nigeria’s lack of progress to the failure of political leadership, stressing the need for better governance to improve the nation’s economic and social conditions.
The former governor of Anambra State shared his insights with the public through his social media accounts, pointing out that the fate of any nation is significantly influenced by the quality of its leadership.
“The failure of a nation depends largely on its Political Leadership. Competent, capable and compassionate political leadership, with integrity, will help nations to achieve sustainable growth and development,” Obi remarked.
In his comparison of Nigeria’s development over the last 35 years with China, Indonesia, and Vietnam, Obi noted that while these three countries have made significant progress in terms of human development, Nigeria has moved backward.
He referenced the year 1990, when the Human Development Index (HDI) was first measured. At that time, Nigeria, along with China, Indonesia, and Vietnam, were all placed in the “medium” HDI category. However, by 2025, China, Indonesia, and Vietnam had advanced to the “high” HDI category, while Nigeria has dropped to the “low” category.
Obi also addressed the country’s economic decline, pointing out that Nigeria, once ahead of China and Vietnam in GDP per capita, now lags far behind. “As of 1990, while Nigeria had a GDP per capita of $556, China had $317, Indonesia had $578, and Vietnam had only $99. Today, Nigeria’s per capita is about one-fifth of Indonesia’s ($5000) and Vietnam’s ($4400) GDP per capita, and below one-tenth of China’s ($13,000),” Obi explained.
The most alarming statistic, according to Obi, is the growing number of Nigerians living in poverty. He noted that in 1990, China had about 750 million people in poverty. Today, however, Nigeria has surpassed all three countries combined in poverty figures. “In 1990… China had about 750 million people living in poverty… Today, however, Nigeria has more poor people than these 3 countries combined,” he lamented.
Obi attributes the success of China, Indonesia, and Vietnam to the political leadership in these countries, which has prioritized development policies focused on education, healthcare, and poverty reduction. He contrasted this with Nigeria’s leadership, which he believes has failed to make similar commitments.
Despite the grim statistics, Obi remains hopeful for the future of Nigeria. He ended his lecture with an optimistic call for change, asserting, “A New Nigeria is Possible.”
