In a country where nearly 100 million people live in extreme poverty and over 140 million suffer from multidimensional poverty, insecurity is inevitable
Peter Obi, former presidential candidate of the Labour Party, has once again raised deep concerns about Nigeria’s worsening security situation, tying the country’s criminal activities to entrenched poverty and systemic leadership failure.
According to him, the alarming state of insecurity is not accidental but a result of years of poor governance, corruption, and neglect of human development.
Obi emphasized that the path to national security does not lie in force alone, but in uplifting the lives of ordinary Nigerians. “I have consistently maintained that the more we pull people out of poverty, the more we reduce criminality—and the reverse is also true. You cannot separate security from human development; they are inextricably linked,” he stated.
He decried the decades of misplaced priorities, during which public funds were diverted to white elephant projects instead of areas that directly affect human well-being. “Development is not about awarding billion-naira contracts for soulless infrastructure. True development means investing in education, healthcare, and poverty eradication—sectors that build human capital and restore dignity,” he asserted.
Nigeria’s security woes, Obi explained, are rooted in the socioeconomic realities of the majority of its citizens. “In a country where nearly 100 million people live in extreme poverty and over 140 million suffer from multidimensional poverty, insecurity is inevitable,” he said.
Obi’s views align with recent remarks by the Chief of Defence Staff, General Christopher Musa, who noted that bullets alone cannot solve insecurity. Musa stressed the need to tackle the root causes—poverty, unemployment, injustice, and lack of education—adding weight to Obi’s long-standing position. “This isn’t just political rhetoric; it’s a fact acknowledged by our top military leadership,” Obi noted.
He further drew on the wisdom of late Nigerian statesman Mallam Aminu Kano, who once warned: “The problem with Nigeria is that we abandon the masses and then criminalise their hunger.” Obi lamented that this statement remains relevant, as millions of Nigerians continue to suffer from deprivation and neglect.
The former Anambra State governor also warned of the social consequences of ignoring basic human needs. “A child kept out of school today is vulnerable to extremism tomorrow. A family that sleeps hungry tonight becomes a breeding ground for resentment. A community denied clean water, primary healthcare, and opportunity becomes a ticking time bomb,” he warned.
Quoting Mother Teresa, Obi reminded leaders of their moral responsibility: “When a poor person dies of hunger, it is not because God failed them, but because you and I refused to help.” He condemned the government’s tendency to react to crises that are self-inflicted through bad policies, calling for a radical shift in priorities.
To break the cycle of poverty and violence, Obi urged immediate and strategic investment in key sectors such as education, healthcare, and agriculture. “These aren’t just economic necessities—they are national security imperatives,” he stressed.
“We cannot continue with business as usual,” he said. “Every naira we invest in our people today is one less bullet we will need to fire tomorrow. That is the true essence of security. That is how we build the new Nigeria that is possible.”