Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has warned that Nigeria is “sitting on a keg of gunpowder” due to the worsening hardship faced by its citizens.
Speaking at Dele Momodu’s leadership lecture on Friday, Obasanjo expressed concern over the country’s deepening poverty, arguing that Nigeria should not be struggling with extreme poverty if China could lift 700 million people out of it.
Offering a solution to widespread hunger across Africa, Obasanjo emphasized that education is a critical tool in the fight against poverty, stating, “Where there’s no education, invariably, there will be poverty.”
He further stressed that national leadership plays a pivotal role in addressing hardship and deprivation.
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has warned that Nigeria is “sitting on a keg of gunpowder” due to the worsening hardship faced by its citizens.
Speaking at Dele Momodu’s leadership lecture on Friday, Obasanjo expressed concern over the country’s deepening poverty, arguing that Nigeria should not be struggling with extreme poverty if China could lift 700 million people out of it.
Offering a solution to widespread hunger across Africa, Obasanjo emphasized that education is a critical tool in the fight against poverty, stating, “Where there’s no education, invariably, there will be poverty.”
He further stressed that national leadership plays a pivotal role in addressing hardship and deprivation.
He said: “In all works of life, we must have leaders whose characters display ‘communality’.
“Leadership is the greatest ingredient for ending poverty. There’s no human endeavour that does not thrive on leadership.
“To get it right, we must ensure no child is uneducated.
“Nigeria can eliminate hunger and poverty with integrity, discipline, and good governance.
“We can do it if China can lift 700 million people out of poverty.
“Nigeria should have no business with abject poverty. If we don’t take responsibility, we all sit on a gunpowder keg.
“Until we banish poverty in Africa, international communities will not recognize us as a serious continent,” he said.
