Former Governor of Anambra State, Mr Peter Obi, has identified unemployment, corruption, poverty, and inequality as factors driving the challenges of insecurity and strife in Africa.
According to Obi, who spoke over the weekend in Athens, Greece, at an international dialogue of global leaders, the security challenges bedeviling Africa are directly linked to poverty, with over 50% of the population multi-dimensionally poor.
The Dialogue focused on governance, particularly in the areas of security and the economy in today’s world, and the lessons for future leaders.
It attracted former presidents, prime ministers, serving and retired senior government officials, military chiefs, renowned academics, sports personalities, and others.
Obi, who was the Presidential Candidate of the Labour Party in the 2023 general election, in a statement signed by Ibrahim Umar, who is the spokesman for the Peter Obi Media Reach, POMR, regretted that despite its huge potentials, Africa remained largely under-developed.
He emphasized the need for Africa’s leaders to begin to take crucial steps towards addressing the problems of insecurity, corruption, unemployment and inequality.
“As leaders, we must acknowledge the profound global and generational transformations confronting us. Despite vast human and material resources, there remain significant unmet needs in global governance.
“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. Over 50% of the world’s multidimensional poor live in Sub-Saharan Africa.
“Nigeria and Congo both have over 60% of their populations living in poverty and suffer from unacceptable levels of inequality. Non-state actors have now taken over the security in some African nations. “Furthermore, many African countries underinvest 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-centered development.
“They must confront insecurity head-on and reassure citizens of the state’s ability to maintain security without being undermined by non-state actors.
“Corruption must be tackled with vigor. 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.
Obi noted that Nigeria has all the resources needed to move in this direction, expressing his commitment to placing the nation on the right path.
