Peter Obi, Labour Party presidential candidate in Nigeria’s 2023 general elections, says security challenges bedevilling Africa are directly linked to poverty, with over 50 per cent of the population multidimensionally poor.
The former governor of Anambra was speaking on Saturday in Athens, Greece’s capital, at an international dialogue of global leaders that includes former Presidents and top government officials.
Obi listed unemployment, corruption, poverty, and inequality among the variables militating against security and peaceful co-existence in Africa.
“I joined global leaders, former presidents, prime ministers, serving and retired senior government officials, military chiefs, renowned academics, and sports personalities in leadership dialogue focused on governance.
“This is particularly in the areas of security and the economy in today’s world, and the lessons for future leaders.
“In my brief presentation, I emphasised that as leaders, we must acknowledge the profound global and generational transformations confronting us,” he said.
He explained that despite vast human and material resources, there remained significant unmet needs in global governance.
He maintained that urgent attention must be given to enhancing collective security, lifting people out of poverty, and reducing injustice and inequality in society.
“In Africa, we face high levels of insecurity, alarming corruption, worsening poverty, huge youth unemployment, and gross inequality.
“Non-state actors have now taken over the security in some African nations, furthermore, many African countries under-invest in critical areas of development, such as health and education.
“Future African leaders must take bold, accelerated, just, and transformative actions to achieve far-reaching, people-centred development,” he added.
He stressed that African leaders must confront insecurity head-on and reassure citizens of the state’s ability to maintain security without being undermined by non-state actors.
He noted that corruption must be tackled with vigour, adding that leaders must invest in critical areas of development to improve health and education while addressing poverty, unemployment, hunger, and other pressing societal challenges.
He said that Nigeria has all the resources needed to move in this direction, and we remained committed to placing the nation on the right path.