Former Anambra State governor, Peter Obi, has said the insecurity in the country is the result of the high population of unemployed youths.
Speaking Monday during his presentation at the ‘Greater Nigeria Conference’, he said Nigeria needs to move from being a consuming nation to prioritising production.
The conference featured discussions on the need for the southeast to produce the next president.
The event was held in Abuja and was organized by the Nzuko Umunna, an Igbo think-tank.
Obi said that in 2021, Nigeria hit a new record high in the unemployment rate, following the report by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) that the unemployment rate climbed to 33.3 per cent in the fourth quarter (Q4 2020) from 27.1 per cent recorded in Q2 2020.
“I thank my brothers and sisters who are also aspiring. I want us to do it in unity and ensure that one of us emerges and is supported by all of us,” he said.
“Everyone has talked about injustice in Nigeria and everybody knows that this country thrives on injustice. But beyond that, I want us to look at the true description of a failed state — when a system is no longer in control of its territory, or economy. Is Nigeria in control of its territory and economy? And the reason is simple.
“When Pa Adebanjo was talking about Nigeria when it was good, he talked about how the west kept cocoa money, the east kept palm oil money and the north kept the money for groundnut. That was when Nigeria was producing. Today, what Nigeria is doing is sharing, sharing, sharing. All I want to do is stop the sharing and start production.
“Development is hinged on the human development index (HDI). Let’s invest in education; let’s pull people out of poverty — with 100 million people living in poverty, you’ll have a crisis and that’s the crisis we face today.
“I’m a wealth creator and I know what it means to create wealth. I’ve travelled to 31 countries of the world and know that you cannot have 55 per cent unemployment, with 70 per cent of your youths not knowing where the next meal will come from and you think you’ll have peace. No.
“We need to invest in youths. That’s what’s happening in China, Indonesia, Malaysia, and everywhere. I want to invest in youths. The opportunity is for me to move the country from consumption to production.”
