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The Presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Mr. Peter Obi, has declared that Nigeria is not cursed, but has suffered from years of leadership failures and choices that have prevented the country from converting its abundant resources into human development and shared prosperity.

Obi made the assertion in his Independence Day broadcast titled, “Nigeria at 66: Looking Back, Looking Forward,” in which he called for sober reflection on the state of the nation 66 years after independence.

He said the anniversary should go beyond celebration and thanksgiving, insisting that it should provide an opportunity for Nigerians to examine the country’s journey, assess its present condition and determine the direction of its future.

According to him, every serious nation must continually answer three fundamental questions: “Where are we today? Where do we want to be? How do we get from where we are to where we want to be?”

Obi said the questions had become particularly urgent given what he described as the deepening challenges confronting the country despite the promises made by the APC-led government in 2023.

He listed widespread poverty and hardship, the high number of out-of-school children, insecurity, hunger and food insecurity, high infant and maternal mortality, youth unemployment and underemployment, drug abuse and low life expectancy among the major challenges facing Nigeria.

He cited figures which he said showed that more than 140 million Nigerians were living in poverty and severe hardship, while over 18 million children were out of school.

He also claimed that youth unemployment and underemployment affected more than 35 million Nigerians, while drug abuse and substance misuse had risen to 14 per cent, compared with a global average of six per cent.

On food security, Obi warned that more than 40 million Nigerians could face extreme hunger by the end of 2026, while he put Nigeria’s life expectancy at 54 years, compared with a global average of 74 years.

He also pointed to the continuing threat posed by terrorism, banditry and kidnapping, citing the recent death of 37 young Nigerians as another painful reminder of the country’s security challenges.

Obi said the situation required Nigerians to engage in honest national self-examination rather than merely celebrate independence anniversaries.

Quoting the ancient Greek philosopher Socrates, he said: “The unexamined life is not worth living,” adding that by the same principle, an unexamined nation could not successfully chart its future.

He asked: “Are we cursed, or have we become the curse through the choices we have made and the failures we have tolerated?”

The former Anambra State governor, however, rejected the notion that Nigeria was cursed, stressing that the country remained immensely endowed with human and natural resources.

“The answer cannot be that Nigeria is cursed,” he said, arguing that Nigeria’s fundamental problem was not a lack of resources but the failure to transform its resources into human development, productivity, security and shared prosperity.

Obi also spoke about his recent two-day visit to Sokoto State with his running mate, Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso, saying they held consultations with residents on insecurity, education, poverty, youth unemployment and drug abuse.

He said the delegation also visited an Internally Displaced Persons camp at Ramin Kura in Sokoto metropolis, where, according to him, they encountered thousands of women and children living in deplorable conditions after being displaced from their communities.

He said many of the children lacked access to education, while mothers and children had limited access to basic healthcare.

“These are Nigerians who should be living in their communities, going to school, farming their land, conducting their businesses and contributing to the economy. Instead, they live as displaced persons in their own country,” Obi said.

He called for a national redirection anchored on deliberate planning, responsible leadership and policies capable of translating Nigeria’s enormous resources into improved living conditions for its citizens.

Obi also urged Nigerians to use the 66th Independence anniversary to look beyond the ceremonies and confront the realities facing the country, stressing that the future of Nigeria depended on the choices Nigerians make and the quality of leadership they demand.

Find below full text of Mr. Peter Obi’s broadcast:

Nigeria at 66: Looking Back, Looking Forward

Fellow Nigerians,

Today we mark the sixty-sixth anniversary of our independence. It ought to be a day of celebration and thanksgiving to God Almighty for the gift of life and for the immense blessings He has bestowed on our nation—our diversity, our abundant human and natural resources, our vast agricultural potential, and the relative absence of devastating natural disasters.

It should also be a day of appreciation and patriotism: a day to remember our founding fathers and all those who made selfless, and in many cases supreme, sacrifices for the birth, survival and growth of our dear nation. We must acknowledge the efforts of past and present leaders who have laboured, however imperfectly, to build a better Nigeria.

Yet independence anniversaries must never be reduced to mere celebration. They are moments for honest national reflection. We must look back, examine where we stand today, and ask ourselves whether we are moving in the direction our founding fathers envisioned.

In national planning and strategy, every serious nation must continually ask three fundamental questions:

Where are we today? 
Where do we want to be? 
How do we get from where we are to where we want to be?

These questions are especially urgent now. Despite the enormous promises made by the APC-led government in 2023, our nation continues to face deepening challenges across virtually every critical sector of national life.

Today we stand before the world as a nation:

With an extraordinarily large population living in poverty and severe hardship; over 140M 

With one of the largest populations of out-of-school children in the world; over 18M 

Where insecurity, terrorism, banditry and kidnapping continue to threaten lives and livelihoods, just recently 37 young Nigerians in their productive age lost their lives

Where millions of Nigerians struggle with hunger and food insecurity; over 40M Nigerians will be in extreme hunger by the end of 2026.

With unacceptably high rates of infant and maternal mortality; Nigeria today is the worst place to be born.

Where youth unemployment and underemployment remain alarmingly high; over 35M

Where drug abuse and substance misuse increasingly threaten our young population; today 14% as against global average of 6%

Where life expectancy remains among the lowest globally, today 54 years against global average of 74 years 

And the list goes on.

This reality demands serious, sober and honest reflection. Socrates taught that “the unexamined life is not worth living.” By the same principle, an unexamined nation cannot successfully chart its future. We must therefore ask ourselves: Are we cursed, or have we become the curse through the choices we have made and the failures we have tolerated?

The answer cannot be that Nigeria is cursed. We are a nation immensely endowed and blessed. Our greatest problem is not a lack of resources; it is the failure to convert our enormous resources into human development, productivity, security and shared prosperity.

Only yesterday, Senator Rabiu Kwankwaso and I returned from a two-day visit to Sokoto State. We held extensive consultations with people from different parts of the state on insecurity, out-of-school children, poverty, youth unemployment, drug abuse and other challenges confronting our people.

In concluding the visit, we went to the Internally Displaced Persons camp at Ramin Kura within Sokoto metropolis. 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. Many of the children have no access to education. Mothers and children have limited access to basic healthcare. These are Nigerians who should be living in their communities, going to school, farming their land, conducting their businesses and contributing to the economy. Instead, they live as displaced persons in their own country.