Former Labour Party presidential candidate, Peter Obi, has criticised Nigeria’s development priorities, urging greater investment in women as a key driver of national growth.
In a statement shared via X on Saturday, titled “Channelling Our Women to Critical Areas of Development,” Obi highlighted that Nigeria is trailing behind countries that deliberately empower women and leverage their economic potential.
“While the rest of the world invests in critical areas like human capital, we lag behind,” Obi said. “Instead of ensuring that our women, a vital segment of our population, are educated and meaningfully integrated into leadership and management structures where they consistently contribute significantly to development we fall short.”
Obi cited examples from other nations to illustrate the impact of female participation in the economy. In Indonesia, women own over 50% of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), which provide about 98% of jobs. In Bangladesh, women constitute roughly 60% of the workforce in the garment industry, the country’s largest export sector, generating approximately $50 billion far exceeding Nigeria’s annual crude oil earnings.
He emphasised that in several advanced and developing economies, women play central roles in driving productivity and economic expansion. By contrast, Nigeria has failed to replicate such progress despite women making up over half of the population. Obi stressed the urgent need for policies that promote female education, leadership inclusion, and economic participation.
The former Anambra State governor also criticised what he described as misplaced national focus, warning that concentrating on trivial activities undermines meaningful development efforts. He called for a shift in priorities toward human capital development, insisting that empowering women and integrating them into key sectors is essential to rebuilding the economy and restoring national pride.
Obi concluded by urging the government and stakeholders to channel resources and policy measures toward enabling women to lead in critical areas of economic and social development, positioning Nigeria to catch up with nations that have successfully harnessed the potential of their female population.
