Peter Obi has renewed calls for radical anti-corruption reforms in Africa, declaring that corruption should carry the kind of consequences meted out in China, including death and life imprisonment.
In a video interview posted on X, Obi, who ran for president in 2023 under the Labour Party, said Africa has no excuse for hunger and underdevelopment. He pointed to the continent’s vast size, fertile land, and young population as missed opportunities, insisting that the problem lies squarely with leadership failure and the erosion of values like hard work and productivity.
“Africa is the second biggest continent, has the biggest useful population of over one billion, and is the only continent with over 60% of uncultivated land, so how can you talk about hunger?” he asked.
He compared Africa’s agricultural output to countries like India and Bangladesh. Despite being ten times smaller than Africa, India produces nearly 150 million tons of rice annually, while Africa lags far behind at 25 to 26 thousand tons. Bangladesh, with less than 1% of Africa’s landmass, produces twice as much rice as the entire continent.
Obi singled out Nigeria’s failure in this regard, stating that the country, which holds most of Africa’s uncultivated land, does not even produce 10% of the rice output of Bangladesh.
He attributed this to systemic corruption, which he said has diminished the value of productivity and entrepreneurship, replacing them with a culture of shortcuts and looting.
“We deal with corruption aggressively,” Obi said. “Maybe what the Chinese people are doing, make sure that if there is an amount of money you steal, it is death sentence, there is an amount you steal, it is life imprisonment, there is an amount you steal, it is not less than 10 years.”
He argued that tackling corruption must come first before any meaningful development can take place. Only then, he said, can the government focus on critical investments and ensure that those who lead are not just competent but compassionate.
