‘Solve Youth Joblessness in Africa, Avert breach of National Security’-Olusegun Obasanjo, Nigeria’s ex- President
*Laments: ‘People are now Dying of Starvation in West Africa’
* ‘Dangerous that 50% of African Youths are Unemployed’
* Says: ‘774 LGAs in Nigeria Incompetent, Bastardized by State Governors’
*Appeal to BUHARI, other African Leaders: “Let there be Inclusiveness in Governance”
BY NIYI OLATEJU/STAFF WRITER, ABEOKUTA
OLUSEGUN Obasanjo, Nigeria’s former President is known worldwide for ‘no-pretense’ when it comes to speaking his mind on national or international issues where Africans’ interest are concerned. Without playing to the gallery, Obasanjo has urgently urged African leaders to find a lasting solution to youth joblessness in their regions by creating a platform of inclusiveness in governance to avoid insecurity or breach of security.
This Nigeria’s ex-President made this revelation Obasanjo when he hosted President, Economic Community of West African States (ECOWAS Commission) Marcel Alain de Souza of Republic of Benin who led a four-man delegation to his residence in Abeokuta, the Ogun state capital. The Ota farmer recalled that ECOWAS was established 41 years ago, the sub-regional body were yet to be met. Obasanjo has urged the African nations to urgently address the lingering youth employment. As a matter of urgency, Obasanjo said should the African countries not address the issue of unemployment, there might be an outburst of violence.
His words: “On the issue of unemployment, particularly youth unemployment, I have maintained that all of us in West Africa, in our different countries and indeed in Africa, we are sitting on a keg of gun powder for as long as we do not pay adequate attention to youth unemployment.
“A situation where more than 50% of our youths are unemployed is extremely dangerous. We now have a situation in part of West Africa where people now are dying of starvation. “Is it that we are not producing enough food or if we are producing what we produced evenly, whatever it is it is shameful, it has led us to be begging international community for supply of food to any part of West Africa, it is not right?”
This special envoy of ECOWAS to Guinea-Bissau talks of his expectations from the sub-regional body when it was established 41 years ago were yet to be met, “So the attention that we should have paid to the original objectives which is economic integration, economic development, socio economic, economic progress, we have been diverted. “Of course peace and security is the foundation of any socio-economic development and growth. Of necessity we have to pay attention to base on security.
“My involvement in Guinea-Bissau was an enduring involvement. I have been in that development when I was in government as President of Nigeria and Nigeria and ECOWAS appointing me as special envoy that kept my involvement and my interest.
“I want to say this that most of these conflicts, most of these causes of insecurity or breach of insecurity were because adequate attention had not been paid to what I will call inclusiveness, inclusiveness in terms of political, economic and social development of all our countries, inclusiveness gender wise, inclusiveness social wise, inclusiveness religious wise, inclusiveness ethnic wise and we must appeal to our leaders in our sub region to take these issue of inclusion seriously.”
Of non-performance in Nigeria’s local government bodies, Obasanjo had on Tuesday, June 21 rued that the 774 local government areas across the country have been rendered ‘impotent’ and almost ‘bastardized,’ following the massive encroachment into their affairs by the state governors. He stated that the glaring injustices and overbearing influence of the governors which they hand down routinely to the LGAs are such that they cannot tolerate it should the Federal Government elect to treat them the same way.
