Obasanjo Urges Nigeria to Confront Insecurity, Unemployment and Poverty
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has called for urgent and decisive action to address Nigeria’s worsening insecurity, unemployment and poverty, warning that persistent leadership failures are pushing citizens to seek better opportunities abroad, often through dangerous migration routes.
Obasanjo made the call on Saturday during a panel session themed “Lest We Forget” at the Creative Africa Nexus Weekend 2026, an event organised by the African Export-Import Bank in Lagos State. The session brought together leading voices to examine African identity, historical injustices and the continent’s development trajectory.
A Call to Confront Governance Failures
Reflecting on Nigeria’s security situation since independence, the former president said the country must confront the governance failures responsible for declining safety and shrinking economic opportunities. He stressed that decisive action was needed to create jobs and curb the spread of impunity, poverty, kidnapping and insecurity.
“We just have to do what we should do to provide job opportunities, to stem the tide of impunity, to stem the tide of poverty, to stem the tide of kidnapping and insecurity,” he said.
Obasanjo recalled returning to Nigeria in 1959 after completing his military training in Britain, noting that he could then travel freely across the country without fear of attack or kidnapping. He said he was posted to the north and could move anywhere in the region, alone, by day or by night.
Contrasting that experience with the current security situation, he questioned how Nigeria had deteriorated to the point where citizens can no longer travel safely across several parts of the country. “Now, if you can’t do that, what has gone wrong? We have to correct what has gone wrong,” he stated.
Graduate Unemployment and Economic Desperation
The former president argued that unemployment, particularly among university graduates, had become a major source of economic desperation, making it difficult to discourage young Africans from leaving their countries in search of opportunities. According to him, governments cannot continue producing graduates without creating sufficient employment opportunities and still expect them to remain economically productive.
Obasanjo recalled an encounter with Nigerians arrested for drug-related offences, explaining that one of the suspects had attributed his involvement in the illegal trade to the loss of legitimate employment. He said the encounter demonstrated how economic hardship could push otherwise productive individuals towards desperate decisions, although he stopped short of justifying criminal activities.
Irregular Migration and Its Human Cost
Addressing irregular migration, Obasanjo said he had interacted with Africans who attempted to reach Europe through the Sahara Desert and the Mediterranean Sea, describing their experiences as distressing. “I have got those people who have attempted to cross, and the story they told me is pathetic. Some die in the Sahara, some die in the Mediterranean,” he said.
The former president maintained that improving governance and creating economic opportunities would reduce the pressure on Africans to undertake life-threatening journeys abroad. “We have to improve on our leadership to deliver, and once our leadership delivers, what does any man want in the world?” he asked. “But if they have nothing here, they will look for whatever they can get anywhere else, and you can’t blame them.”
Leadership Blamed for Africa’s Underdevelopment
Responding to concerns about corruption, poor governance and Africa’s development challenges, Obasanjo placed substantial responsibility for the continent’s underdevelopment on its political leadership. “Africa is not where it should be, and that Africa is not where it should be is substantially the responsibility of our leaders. It’s as simple as that,” he declared.
Push for Visa-Free Movement Across Africa
The former president also advocated greater freedom of movement across the continent, disclosing discussions with Ghanaian President John Mahama on a proposal to eliminate visa requirements among approximately 25 African countries. He explained that the initiative would initially involve countries already operating visa-on-arrival arrangements, with the possibility of expanding the framework across the continent.
“These countries should eliminate visas among themselves, about 25 of them, and if they are able to do it successfully, then maybe in a matter of a few years, the whole of Africa will be able to move,” he said.
Obasanjo further criticised the limited recognition of the African passport and urged African governments to grant automatic citizenship to people of African descent seeking to return to the continent. “I believe that all African states should have such a policy. That anybody from the diaspora who wants to be a national of any African country should automatically be given,” he said.
He also called for greater unity among Africans and people of African descent worldwide, stressing that historical divisions must not prevent cooperation towards shared prosperity. He maintained that African countries must strengthen their leadership, expand economic opportunities and deepen continental integration to overcome the challenges confronting their citizens.
Reparatory Justice and the Diaspora Connection
The session, which also featured former Prime Minister of St Vincent and the Grenadines Dr Ralph Gonsalves and Jamaican scholar Prof. Paulette Ramsay, examined African identity, slavery, colonialism, reparations and the need for stronger connections between Africa and its diaspora.
The three speakers called for reparatory justice over the trans-Atlantic slave trade and colonialism, arguing that the historical exploitation of Africans continued to affect the continent’s development. Ramsay, author of “Lest We Forget: Slavery, Slave Trade, Colonisation, Emancipation and Reparation,” commended Obasanjo for supporting the publication, which brought together scholars, policymakers and cultural experts to examine Africa’s historical experiences.
She argued that reparations should extend beyond monetary compensation to include the return of stolen artefacts, stronger protection of African cultural heritage and an end to the continuing exploitation of the continent’s natural resources. “We must not remember with bitterness. We must teach younger generations that we remember the horrible things that were done, but we survived, and that’s the best part of the African story, that we survived,” she said.
Key Takeaways
Obasanjo’s remarks underscore a broader argument that Nigeria’s security and economic challenges are rooted in governance failures that demand urgent correction. His proposals—ranging from job creation and poverty reduction to visa-free movement across Africa and automatic citizenship for the diaspora—frame continental integration and improved leadership as essential to reversing the pressures driving irregular migration. The panel’s focus on reparatory justice further connected Africa’s historical experience to its present development challenges, with speakers insisting that remembrance must be paired with tangible remedies for past exploitation.
