The presidential candidate of the Nigeria Democratic Congress (NDC), Peter Obi, has urged the Federal Government to learn from Bangladesh and other developing countries that have recorded significant progress in poverty reduction, stressing that data, statistics, and evidence-based policies are essential for effective governance and national development.
Obi made the call in a statement issued on October 20, 2026, noting that although the next global celebration is scheduled for October 20, 2030, he chose to mark the occasion on Tuesday to encourage Nigerians to appreciate the importance of statistics in national development.
He argued that nations achieve progress by learning from one another and adopting policies and practices that have delivered measurable results elsewhere.
Obi noted that Nigeria has adopted several aspects of its governance and socioeconomic systems from other countries, including the United States and the United Kingdom, making it imperative for the country to draw lessons from nations that have recorded verifiable development achievements.
The former Anambra State governor maintained that good governance requires humility, a willingness to learn and the adoption of global best practices, which he described as essential benchmarks for assessing performance and measuring progress.
Citing Bangladesh as an example, Obi stated that the country, with a population of about 178 million, achieved significant poverty reduction between 2010 and 2022, lifting approximately 34 million people out of poverty and reducing its extreme poverty rate from 12.2 per cent to 5.6 per cent.
He attributed the achievement to five key pillars — agricultural growth, export-oriented manufacturing, microfinance and non-governmental organisations, social safety nets, and investment in human capital and infrastructure.
Obi asserted that Nigeria should study and adapt these strategies to its own circumstances rather than continue with policies that have failed to deliver the desired outcomes.
He also cited Vietnam, Rwanda, Morocco, and India as other developing countries whose experiences could provide useful lessons for Nigeria’s development.
However, Obi criticised the All Progressives Congress (APC)-led government, accusing it of corruption, ineffective policymaking, and an unwillingness to learn from successful governance models in other countries.
He expressed concern that Nigeria, despite its abundant resources, continued to grapple with widespread poverty, citing a poverty rate of about 63 per cent and more than 140 million Nigerians living in multidimensional poverty.
The former Labour Party presidential candidate equally referenced a recent United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) report, which he said indicated that previous poverty reduction gains in Nigeria appeared to have been reversed.
Obi questioned how a country endowed with substantial natural and human resources could experience such a significant increase in the number of people falling into poverty.
He also argued that reports by international and local organisations documenting poverty, insecurity, inequality, unemployment, and corruption should prompt serious accountability from the government.
Obi emphasised the importance of continuous learning in governance, saying Nigeria must draw lessons from the experiences of other countries to accelerate its development.
“We must learn to learn from others so that we can fuel our leapfrog with what others have done,” he said.
He further highlighted the importance of learning at a pace that matches or exceeds the speed of change, warning that organisations that fail to adapt risk becoming obsolete.
