According to Mr. Peter Obi, the presidential candidate of the Labour Party in Nigeria’s general elections of 2023, over 50% of the continent’s population lives in multidimensional poverty, which is directly related to the security issues facing Africa.
Speaking on Saturday in the Greek city of Athens, the former governor of Anambra was part of an international discussion of world leaders that also included past presidents and high ranking government officials.
Obi enumerated the factors that work against security and peaceful coexistence in Africa, including inequality, poverty, unemployment, and corruption. “I participated in a governance-focused leadership debate with world leaders, former presidents, prime ministers, top government officials both in active and retired service, military chiefs, esteemed academics, and prominent athletes.
This is especially true in terms of the economics and security in the modern world, as well as the lessons for aspiring leaders. “As leaders, we must acknowledge the profound global and generational transformations confronting us,” he stated in his brief talk. He clarified that there were still a lot of unfulfilled demands in global governance despite the abundance of material and human resources.
According to him, improving collective security, helping people escape poverty, and lessening injustice and inequality in society all require immediate attention. “We have severe poverty, dangerous levels of corruption, a high rate of youth unemployment, extreme inequality, and significant levels of insecurity throughout Africa.
Some African countries currently rely on non-state entities to maintain security, and many of them underinvest in vital sectors of the continent’s development, such health and education. “To achieve far-reaching, people-centered development, future African leaders must take bold, accelerated, just, and transformative actions,” he continued. He emphasised that in order to guarantee the public that the state can uphold security without being threatened by non-state actors, our leaders must face instability head-on.
In addition to emphasising that leaders must make investments in vital development sectors to advance health and education while tackling poverty, unemployment, hunger, and other urgent societal issues, he said that corruption must be vigorously combated. He declared that Nigeria possesses all the resources required to proceed in this direction and that we are still dedicated to putting the country on the correct course.
