Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Director-General of the World Trade Organization, has accused Nigerian politicians of exploiting insecurity to tarnish the reputation of President Bola Tinubu and governors nationwide.
Speaking at the opening ceremony of the Nigerian Bar Association’s 2024 Annual General Conference, held on Sunday at Eko Hotel and Suites, Lagos, Okonjo-Iweala, who previously served as finance minister under former President Goodluck Jonathan, expressed her concerns about the politically motivated use of insecurity.
“We all know that security has been weaponised in our country for political purposes by political actors, leading partly to the situation we have now,” she stated.
“We have politicians who believe that the best way to make their opponents look bad is to instigate insecurity, making it look like they can’t govern, regardless of whether this leads to loss of lives and property of innocent Nigerians.”
She emphasised the urgency of ending this destructive trend, stating, “This has to stop.”
Mrs. Okonjo-Iweala also highlighted the detrimental impact of ongoing insecurity on Nigeria’s socio-economic development, urging the use of advanced technology to combat the theft of national assets.
“We cannot have socio-economic development without security,” she asserted, adding that “theft of national assets must be stopped, deploying technology.”
The former minister stressed the importance of a collective stance against the misappropriation of national resources, stating, “All Nigerians must agree that stealing of our national assets of any type is intolerable and must be stopped,” and that “there is so much technology available now to track such theft, and there must be no more excuses for inaction.”
Her remarks come at a time when Nigeria continues to grapple with persistent and deadly insecurity, exacerbated by political manipulation.
