Former President Olusegun Obasanjo, Osun State Governor Ademola Adeleke, and the Ooni of Ife, Oba Adeyeye Enitan Ogunwusi, have called for urgent and decisive action to eradicate extreme poverty across Africa.
The call was made during a leadership lecture themed “How to End Hunger and Poverty in Africa”, delivered by media mogul Dele Momodu.
Delivering the keynote address, Chief Obasanjo emphasized the importance of security, education, and leadership in addressing poverty.
“Before we talk about food, security is key,” Obasanjo said.
While proffering solutions to hunger and deprivation on the continent, the former president declared that education must be prioritized as a powerful tool against poverty.
“Education is one of the tools we can use to banish poverty. Where there’s no education, invariably, there will be poverty,” he stated.
He stressed that effective leadership was indispensable in the fight against poverty.
“In all works of life, we must have leaders whose characters display ‘communality’. Leadership is the greatest ingredient for ending poverty. There’s no human endeavour that does not thrive on leadership,” Obasanjo said.
He argued that Nigeria had the potential to overcome poverty through purposeful governance and discipline.
“To get it right, we must ensure no child is uneducated. Nigeria can eliminate hunger and poverty with integrity, discipline and good governance.”
“We can do it if China can lift 700 million people out of poverty. Nigeria should have no business with abject poverty. If we don’t take responsibility, we all sit on a gunpowder keg,” he warned.
The Ooni of Ife, who also spoke at the event, commended President Obasanjo for his insight and urged collective patriotism among Nigerians as a solution to the nation’s challenges.
“If we want to break poverty in this country, we have to be patriotic in all ramifications. From the food we eat to the clothes we wear. We may not get it right at first, but in a short time we would be the envy of the world,” the monarch said.
In his remarks, Governor Ademola Adeleke of Osun State applauded Chief Momodu for establishing the leadership centre in Ibadan, Oyo State. He expressed concern about the disconnect between political leaders and their people.
“The problem we have is that people don’t have the fear of God. I invited President Obasanjo twice to Osun State to inspect the rapid development I am bringing there. I am trying to build the Atlanta standard of spaghetti junction,” he said.
