Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, the Director General of the World Trade Organization (WTO) and former Nigerian finance minister, has called on Nigerian politicians to stop exploiting insecurity as a political tool against their opponents.
Speaking at the 2024 Annual General Conference of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA), held at the Eko Hotel & Suites in Lagos, Okonjo-Iweala delivered a keynote address titled “A Social Contract for Nigeria’s Future.” She emphasized the critical link between security and socio-economic development, stating, “We cannot have socio-economic development without security. We certainly cannot have security without development.”
Addressing the issue of weaponized insecurity, she noted, “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. We have politicians who believe that the best way to make their opponents look bad is to instigate insecurity, making it appear as though they can’t govern, regardless of the resulting loss of lives and property of innocent Nigerians. This has to stop.”
Oil Theft Intolerable– Okonjo-Iweala
Okonjo-Iweala also addressed the issue of crude oil theft in Nigeria, condemning it as intolerable. She pointed out that technological innovations are available to track and prevent oil theft, stressing that those responsible for stopping this crime no longer have any excuses for inaction.
“A second aspect of security relates to the security of national assets,” she said. “Nigerians have witnessed for years how organized crude oil theft on a massive scale has severely undermined the economic and financial health of the country. All Nigerians must agree that the theft of our national assets of any type is intolerable and must be stopped.”
Okonjo-Iweala further highlighted how oil theft has weakened the country’s foreign reserves, emphasizing, “There is so much technology available now to track such theft, and there must be no more excuses for inaction.”
The event, themed “Pressing Forward; A National Posture to Rebuilding Nigeria,” featured prominent figures from both within and outside Nigeria. Among those present were former President of Ghana, John Mahama, the President of the Court of Appeal of Nigeria, Justice Monica Dongban-Mensem, and Vice President Kashim Shettima, who represented President Bola Tinubu. The Acting Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, Senate President Godswill Akpabio, and House of Representatives Speaker Tajudeen Abbas were also represented at the event.
