COP28 Summit: Obi urges FG to focus on production instead of delegate size in competition with China

The presidential candidate of the Labour Party for 2023, Mr. Peter Obi, has asked the federal government to compete with China in the production sector rather than in the number of participants to a specialised conference of specialists.

In a series of tweets on his X handle yesterday, Obi attacked the waste and inappropriate mimicry of a nation laboriously pulling its people out of poverty in response to the well discussed large delegation of Nigerians attending the United Nations (UN) COP28 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates.

Based on reports from Dubai, Nigeria has the most delegates of any country other than the host United Arab Emirates (1,411), matching the number of delegates from China.

Read Also: COP28: Nigeria is set to deploy 100 electric buses in its transportation system – Tinubu

“In a twist of sad irony, let me congratulate the giant of Africa, Nigeria, for matching the great China, with the same number of contingents at the ongoing COP28 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates,” Obi remarked in satire in response to the size of Nigeria’s delegation. Nigeria sent 1411 people to COP28, which is the same amount as China sent.

According to the LP standard bearer, Nigeria’s budget for 2024 is approximately $33 billion, or $165 per person, while China’s budget is approximately $4 trillion, or $2,860 per person. Nigeria has a poor Human Development Index (HDI), ranking 163 out of 191 countries, while China has a high HDI, ranking 79 out of 191 countries. Despite China having seven times our population, Nigeria has a higher proportion of its population living in “multi-dimensional” poverty.

Most notably, the most of the Nigerian delegation to COP28 are either friends, family, or hangers-on of high ranking government officials, or they are irrelevant civil servants. The majority of them barely comprehend climate change or are involved in it.

“This sizable contingent is funded by the government at a time when the majority of Nigerians are struggling financially and can barely afford food and necessities. I fervently hope that the day will come soon enough for us to concentrate on surpassing China in terms of output and the wonder of lifting the greatest number of its people out of poverty in a comparatively short amount of time.

“As we have often emphasised, we need to cease adding waste to our government and country. We have to invest in production and reduce the expense of governance immediately.

The emphasis on pointless ceremony and theatrics as a way of conducting government business needs to be lessened. Pointing out that a New Nigeria is feasible but that we just need to accomplish the reasonable and the essential, we need to attach spending to necessity and national priority, Obi said.