The presidential candidate of the NDC, Peter Obi, has shared insights from a visit to Indonesia, saying the country’s emphasis on education and industrialisation has helped eliminate widespread street begging.
Speaking in a video posted by Advocacy for Good Governance on Sunday, July 12, 2026, Obi recounted how a book comparing the development paths of Nigeria and Indonesia inspired him to travel to the Southeast Asian nation to study its governance model firsthand.
According to Obi, he first met the book’s author in the United States before embarking on the trip to Indonesia, where he held meetings with senior government officials, including ministers, the vice president and the president.
Obi said one of the observations that stood out during his visit was the absence of widespread street begging, despite Indonesia being home to the world’s largest Muslim population.
“Indonesia is the country with the highest number of Muslims on the surface of the earth. When I finished there, I went with two Muslims. One of the people I went with who was not a Muslim was him. And he was there when I asked the Muslims, ‘Did you see any almajiri here?’ They said no. So I asked the president, ‘Why don’t you have people who are begging all over the place because it’s a Muslim culture?”
According to Obi, the Indonesian president explained that the country’s investment in education and industrial development had created jobs and improved livelihoods.
He said the president told him that with factories operating and citizens gainfully employed, there was little reason for widespread begging.
Obi said the response reinforced his belief that sustained investment in education and productive industries remains essential to tackling poverty, unemployment and street begging.
