Nigerian presidential candidate Obi vows to empower youth: A new era of hope for the future?

Thousands of Labour Party supporters welcomed the group's presidential candidate, at a rally in Abuja on Thursday (Feb. 09).

Peter Obi is one of 18 seeking Nigeria’s highest office in the February 25 polls.

He pledged to support the country's youth. Unemployment among ppl aged 15 to 34; stood at 35 per cent, as of the 2nd quarter of 2020.

"Nigerian youths, young people in Nigeria don't know where the next meal will come. We have high level of youth unemployment, we would employ our youths, we would make them productive. We have vast land in the north where our youth will be engaged and they will be productive. Nigeria will feed itself, Nigeria will be a great nation again....

Muhamadu Buhari's 2nd term was marked by a worsening security situation and the shock of the Covid-19 pandemic, felt across the globe.

"The Nigeria that all of us have been dreaming of, the Nigeria that we leave here to run away to go and study abroad, (Peter) Obi is the man that will grant us that Nigeria that we all dream of and that’s why I am here to support him and also very confident that he is going to win his election," Kingsley Inyamah a research analyst said.

"Obi himself motivated me to support him. When he came out and he was talking about himself, how he was accountable when he ruled Anambra State, the whole thing just captivated me, and I fell in love with him right on the spot," Mirabel Onyewe, a student.

Since campaigning began last September, other top contenders have made pledges similar to Obi.

It remains uncertain how many Nigerians will cast a ballot, though as they battle a conjunctions of crises including a cash shortage.