Reviving Kano industries key to fixing North, says Obi

Presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, Peter Obi, while speaking at the fifth convocation ceremony of Skyline University Nigeria. CREDIT: Hussaini Ibrahim

The presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress, Peter Obi, has said reviving Kano’s moribund industries is critical to addressing Northern Nigeria’s economic challenges, describing the state as one of the country’s most important commercial centres.

Obi made the remarks on Saturday in Kano while speaking at the fifth convocation ceremony of Skyline University Nigeria, where he lamented the decline of the state’s manufacturing sector and called for urgent efforts to restore its industrial capacity.

He said Kano had historically played a major role in Nigeria’s commerce, business and manufacturing, but regretted that many factories that once drove its industrial growth were no longer operational.

“As I was coming to Kano this morning, I met several people, and I told them that Kano is one of the most important commercial centres in Nigeria.

“This city represents the country’s strength in commerce, business and manufacturing. Kano was once a major industrial hub, with several factories operating here. Today, many of those factories are no longer functioning. We need to bring them back, revive manufacturing and create employment opportunities for our people,” he said.

The former Anambra State governor said restoring the factories and strengthening manufacturing would create jobs, reduce poverty and improve the economy.

He cited Vietnam as an example of a country that had made significant progress through manufacturing, noting that Nigeria needed to strengthen its productive capacity rather than depend heavily on the export of raw materials.

“Countries such as Vietnam have made significant progress through manufacturing, earning substantially more from manufactured goods than Nigeria does,” Obi said.

He also highlighted the importance of small and medium-sized enterprises, urging the government to create an enabling environment for businesses to grow, expand and employ more people.

“Small businesses are also critical to economic development. In countries such as Indonesia, small and medium-sized enterprises account for a significant proportion of employment. Nigeria must create an environment where businesses can grow, expand and employ more people,” he said.

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Obi further called for increased investment in young entrepreneurs, saying government support for promising business ideas could help tackle unemployment and poverty.

He recalled meeting a young entrepreneur who told him about a competition in which successful participants received between N5m and N10m to develop their businesses.

Obi questioned why the government could not provide more substantial support to young people with viable business ideas, arguing that resources saved from fuel subsidy removal could be channelled into productive investments.

“I asked myself why Nigeria cannot do more to support young entrepreneurs. The government reportedly saved N17.8tn from fuel subsidy, an expenditure that was not sustainable and had serious implications for the economy,” he said.

He added that identifying promising entrepreneurs and providing them with financial support would enable more young Nigerians to establish businesses and become employers rather than depend on government jobs.

“Imagine if we could identify promising young entrepreneurs and provide them with substantial financial support to establish and expand their businesses. Such investments could create millions of jobs and give young Nigerians the opportunity to become employers rather than job seekers,” Obi said.

The NDC presidential candidate also urged the country to prioritise human capital development, saying national progress should be measured by the quality of its people rather than the abundance of natural resources.

“What matters most is human capital. The more we invest in human capital, the better our chances of building a prosperous nation. We must begin to change the way we approach governance and politics. We need to focus on quality education, productivity and creating opportunities for our people,” he said.

Addressing the graduands, Obi urged them to believe in their abilities and contribute to national development, stressing the need to build a country where opportunities were not determined by family background or personal connections.

“We must build a nation where the child of nobody can become somebody without knowing anybody,” he said.