Former President Olusegun Obasanjo warned that Nigeria must take urgent action to curb worsening insecurity, unemployment and poverty during a panel titled “Lest We Forget” at the Creative Africa Nexus Weekend 2026 in Lagos, an event organised by the African Export‑Import Bank.
Reflecting on the country’s security trajectory since independence, Obasanjo recalled returning to Nigeria in 1959 after military training in Britain and being able to travel freely across the north, day or night, without fear of attack. He contrasted that experience with today’s “tide of kidnapping and insecurity,” questioning how the nation had deteriorated to a point where many citizens can no longer move safely across large parts of the country.
The former president linked the surge in insecurity to high unemployment, especially among university graduates, saying that “governments cannot continue producing graduates without creating sufficient employment opportunities.” He recounted meeting a drug‑related suspect who blamed his turn to illegal trade on the loss of legitimate work, and described the “pathetic” stories of Africans who die attempting to cross the Sahara Desert or the Mediterranean Sea in search of better prospects.
“We have to improve on our leadership to deliver, and once our leadership delivers, what does any man want in the world? But if they have nothing here, they will look for whatever they can get anywhere else, and you can’t blame them.”
Obasanjo placed “substantial responsibility” for Africa’s underdevelopment on its political leaders and advocated deeper continental integration. He disclosed discussions with Ghanaian President John Mahama on a proposal to eliminate visas among roughly 25 African countries, with the aim of expanding visa‑free travel across the continent, and urged all African states to grant automatic citizenship to members of the diaspora who wish to return.
<small>Source: Vanguard News — read the original story there.</small>
