Sambisa Forest Producing Only Banditry, Kidnapping, Despite Its Assets – Peter Obi

Former presidential candidate of the Labour Party, (LP), Peter Obi, has said that despite the agricultural potential of Sambisa in Borno State, it is producing only banditry and kidnapping.

Peter Obi said Niger State and Sambisa forest in Borno State have the potential to feed the entire Nigeria and Africa. He explained that not putting the vast arable land of the country into positive use caused the states and Nigeria to have a food crisis.

He noted that if Nigeria had put its vast arable land into productive use, the country would not have been ranked among the hungriest nations in the world.

The former governor of Anambra State said this in an interview with Why Not Afrika.

Obi said he was committed to harnessing the resources of Nigeria to move the country from consumption to production.

“We have the most uncultivated land of any country in the world, in the North and we are hungry. Nigeria is 109, out of 125 countries measured hungriest countries. And we have highest vast uncultivated land in the world.

“Other countries that have a similar trajectory are far below even in Africa. Countries like Morroco is like number 42 or 43 (actually 47) in that list, Egypt is 57 or 58 and we are 109. It is like putting it to Congo, Congo has the highest amount of mineral deposits of any country. Congo is sitting on over 20 trillion worth of assets, mineral assets, yet people are hungry in Congo.

“I can use it to say the same thing of Africa. Africa is seated on wealth yet people are hungry. Everywhere can feed Africa. Nigeria can feed Africa, we have the resource, we have empty land.

“In one of our states in Nigeria, Niger state which is the highest in terms of land, we have arable land, the whole space is about 76.3000 square kilometers of land. They can’t feed themselves. but they can feed Nigeria.

“Sambisa forest, the sambisa area is about 60,000sq km, imagine such resource out into production. The production is banditry and kidnapping. which is negative, we want to turn it from consumption to production and that is making these assets to be productive,” Obi said.