Okonjo-Iweala-Criticizes-Nigerian-Politicians,-Accuses-Them-of-Exploiting-Insecurity

Okonjo-Iweala Criticizes Nigerian Politicians, Accuses Them of Exploiting Insecurity

Wisdom Tide

26/08/2024

The Director General of the World Trade Organization (WTO), Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala has called on political actors in Nigeria to cease using insecurity as a political tool. She emphasized that without security, socioeconomic development is unattainable.

Addressing an audience of legal professionals at the opening ceremony of the 2024 Annual General Conference of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) held at the Eko Hotel & Suites in Lagos, she delivered a keynote address titled, "A Social Contract for Nigeria’s Future." The former Nigerian finance minister stressed the interconnectedness of security and development, stating, “We cannot have socio-economic development without security. We certainly cannot have security without development.”

Okonjo-Iweala expressed concern over the politicization of security issues in Nigeria, noting that some politicians have weaponized insecurity to undermine their opponents. “We all know that security has been weaponized in our country for political purposes by political actors, leading partly to the situation we have now,” she said. She further criticized those who instigate insecurity to make their opponents appear incapable of governing, regardless of the resulting loss of lives and property among innocent Nigerians. "This has to stop," she asserted.

The WTO Director General also highlighted the availability of technological innovations that could be utilized to combat crude oil theft in Nigeria, urging those in positions of power to take decisive action. She argued that those responsible for addressing this "intolerable" act of crude oil theft no longer have any valid excuses for inaction

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