Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the current Director-General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), has condemned the use of insecurity against opposition for political gain in Nigeria.
Speaking at the 2024 Annual General Conference of the Nigerian Bar Association in Lagos on Sunday, Okonjo-Iweala highlighted the detrimental impact of politicians who exploit insecurity to undermine their opponents, exacerbating the nation’s challenges.
In her keynote address titled ‘A Social Contract for Nigeria’s Future’, Okonjo-Iweala emphasised the essential link between security and socio-economic development.
She stated, “We cannot have socio-economic development without security,” and reiterated that insecurity has been weaponised for political advantage, contributing to Nigeria’s current state of unrest and instability.
She criticised politicians for fostering insecurity to damage their rivals’ reputations, regardless of the human and material costs.
“We all know that security has been weaponised in our country for political purposes by political actors, leading partly to the situation we have now.
“We have politicians who believe that the best way to make their opponents look bad is to instigate insecurity, making it look like they can’t govern, regardless of whether this leads to loss of lives and property of innocent Nigerians. This has to stop,” Okonjo-Iweala stated.
Additionally, Okonjo-Iweala addressed the issue of massive crude oil theft, which she believes undermines Nigeria’s economic and financial stability.
She called for the use of available technology to combat oil theft and hold perpetrators accountable, stating that the theft of national assets must be stopped.
She remarked, “All Nigerians must agree that stealing of our national assets of any type is intolerable and must be stopped,” emphasising that technological solutions exist to track and prevent such crimes.
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