Former presidential candidate of the Labour Party, Peter Obi, has said he was ready to give everything to ensure the country works.
Peter Obi decried the attitude of his fellow politicians toward him because he wanted a country that works for the citizens.
In a press conference on Thursday, Obi stated that being an opposition politician was not easy.
According to him, everything and everyone in the ruling class has been against him.
“I’ve made up my mind that if this is the end, so be it. Because we can’t allow the country. It is difficult to be in opposition in this country. Extremely difficult. Because everything is against you. People don’t even want to see you. They don’t even want to talk to you. I see colleagues, I greet them at the airport. They don’t even want to reply. Because they feel they don’t want to talk with me,” he said.
The Labour Party chieftain condemned the continuous increase in taxes, noting that the country was not productive.
He stated that the government cannot tax citizens who are finding it hard to eat, and who do not have work.
He said taxing can only be done when the country empowers the citizens.
Peter Obi ointed out the poor business environment killing companies and industries, and the high number of unemployed citizens, including out-of-school children and internally displaced persons in the country.
“Tax is a function of productivity. The country is unproductive. Some are even going to tax 100 million Nigerians that are living in extreme poverty. Are you going to tax 30% in IDP camps yesterday (Wednesday)? Are you going to tax the factories that are shut down in Kano? Where are you going to tax? Tax is a function of productivity. When the country is productive, people are gainfully employed, then you can tax. And we can generate more tax.
“What we need now is to reflect the country. Make it productive. And then we can talk about generating more revenue. Let me assure you, what is on the table now is that everybody who means well should come together to get the country to work. There’s a lot of lies. There’s a lot of propaganda. There’s a lot of trying to bamboozle the people going on here and there, which has to stop. Let’s build this country. Let me say it again. None of us is going to be here forever. Those who did it yesterday are no longer here,” he stated.
The former governor of Anambra State emphasized the need for all Nigerians to join hands and save the country from collapsing.
“If you look at the country, it’s collapsing every day. I saw 1,500 kids yesterday (Wednesday) not in school. And I did ask three of them, do you want to go to school? They say yes. What are we doing? An indicative of high level of distress. Food insecurity has become a national norm, making Nigeria one of the hungriest countries of the world. Gainfully employed and middle-income Nigerians now spend nearly their entire income on feeding, with some resorting to borrowing to eat, just to eat,” Obi added.