The 2023 presidential candidate of the Labour Party (LP), Mr. Peter Obi, has said that India’s emergence as the world’s fourth-largest economy is a stark reminder of Nigeria’s economic struggles and missed opportunities.
Obi‘s remarks follow reports that India has overtaken Japan to become the fourth-largest economy globally in terms of nominal Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
Citing International Monetary Fund (IMF) data for 2025, Obi noted that India’s GDP was projected to stand at about $4.187 trillion, while Japan’s GDP was estimated at approximately $4.186 trillion.
“India now aims to overtake Germany, which has a GDP of around $4.74 trillion, to become the third-largest economy,” he stated. “While this is a remarkable achievement for India, it raises questions about Nigeria’s economic performance. I have undertaken a comparison of the two countries, as they once shared a similar economic trajectory.”
Referencing World Bank data, Obi recalled that at the end of 2007, during Olusegun Obasanjo’s presidency, India’s nominal GDP per capita was about $1,022, while Nigeria’s stood at approximately $1,816.
He also disclosed that by 2015, at the end of the Umaru Musa Yar’Adua/Goodluck Jonathan administration, India’s nominal GDP per capita had risen to around $1,584, compared to Nigeria’s $2,586.
According to IMF World Economic Outlook projections, Obi revealed that by 2025, India’s nominal GDP per capita was estimated to reach about $2,878, while Nigeria’s was expected to decline to approximately $807.
“Despite significant subsidy savings, substantial revenue growth, and excessive borrowing (more than all previous governments combined from 1999 to 2023), Nigeria’s performance remains troubling.
“The combined revenue for 2023 to 2025 amounts to approximately ₦200 trillion ($135 billion), yet there has been no meaningful improvement in critical areas such as healthcare, education, or poverty alleviation,” he lamented.
Obi further decried the worsening state of poverty, insecurity, healthcare, and education across the country, despite the availability of resources. “Businesses, particularly small and medium enterprises, are closing daily due to lack of support, electricity remains erratic and expensive, and the costs of basic necessities — such as rent, transport, and food — continue to rise beyond the reach of ordinary Nigerians.”
He reiterated his call for national unity to build a leadership consensus anchored on competence, compassion, and character, stressing that governance must prioritise the welfare of Nigerians.
Obi asserted that leadership must invest strategically in key sectors, including healthcare, education, infrastructure, agriculture, and technology, while also cutting waste, reducing the cost of governance, and ensuring full transparency and accountability so citizens can track and assess national progress.
“Such a government must empower citizens economically, create jobs, support businesses, strengthen security, provide reliable energy and food security, promote innovation and human capital development, and restore trust in public institutions by holding officials accountable,” he remarked.
This way, he said, Nigeria’s vast resources can be directed towards building a prosperous, equitable, and secure nation for all.
He argued that only through united collective action, transparency, and visionary leadership can Nigeria close the gap with nations like India and ensure that its wealth translates into prosperity, security, and opportunity for all citizens.
“Other countries are already setting an example — the time for Nigeria to act, catch up, and reclaim its potential is now,” he added.
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