Nigeria’s former President and elder statesman, Olusegun Obasanjo has pointed at the growth of poverty and unemployment in Nigeria as basic factors which stimulated the growth of insurgency in the country.
He made the revelation at the launch of a book titled, ‘Pillars of Statecraft: Nation-building in a changing world’ authored by his daughter, Dr Kofo Obasanjo-Blackshire in Lagos on Saturday.
President Obasanjo revealed what the founders of Boko Haram in the North-East told him that poverty and unemployment drove them into insurgency when he had a meeting with them.
He said “During the early days of Boko Haram, when the man who started the movement was said to have been killed, I said I wanted to meet with the members of the group to talk to them and know what they wanted.
“I met with their representatives and found out that they needed nothing but a better life for themselves. Can we blame them for wanting a better life for themselves?
“They said they believed in Sharia Law. I told them that Sharia was not a problem in Nigeria. It is part of our constitution.”
He revealed that some of the members of the insurgent group informed him that they were educated but had no jobs which led them into becoming insurgents.
“Do we blame them if after four years, they have no jobs? Are they not entitled to a livelihood? This boils down to one of the P’s of nation-building – politics – which talks about governance and leadership.
“If that (leadership) is not properly taken care of, every other thing will go haywire.”
He warned that the country having over 20 million out-of-school children might become another breeding ground for more ‘Boko Haram members of the future’ if not urgently tackled.
“We must ask, What do we do with our people? How do we raise and value them? How do we value them?
“We have over 20 million out-of-school children. Google how many countries in the world have less than 20m. That doesn’t worry us? Are you thinking there will be no Boko Haram tomorrow?
“Those are the foundations of your Boko Haram tomorrow. That should be our concern. We should not say it is externally induced. Is poverty also externally induced? Poverty is the conscious, unconscious choice of our leaders. If we say no; it would be no. If we say yes; it would be yes.”
He urged government at all levels to be proactive and plan for the livelihood of their citizens in order to put an end to all acts of violence and rid the nation of other associated problems which are working against the nation’s development.
