Okonjo-Iweala 

The Director General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has issued a strong plea to Nigerian politicians, urging them to stop using insecurity as a political weapon against their rivals.

She made this call while addressing a gathering of legal professionals at the opening ceremony of the 2024 Annual General Conference of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) on Sunday at Eko Hotel & Suites in Lagos.

Delivering a keynote address titled “A Social Contract For Nigeria’s Future,” the former Nigerian finance minister emphasized the critical link between security and socio-economic development.

Okonjo-Iweala pointed out that the deliberate manipulation of security issues by political actors has contributed significantly to the current state of insecurity in the country.

The WTO chief condemned the practice of politicians inciting or exploiting insecurity to undermine their opponents, warning that such tactics often lead to the loss of innocent lives and property.

“We cannot have socio-economic development without security. We certainly cannot have security without development.

“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.

“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. This has to stop”, she declared.

Tackling Oil Theft

In her address, Okonjo-Iweala also highlighted the issue of crude oil theft, describing it as “intolerable” and a significant threat to Nigeria’s economic stability.

She argued that the technological tools necessary to track and prevent oil theft are readily available, and that there are no longer any valid excuses for failing to curb this menace.

Okonjo-Iweala said, “A second aspect of security relates to the security of national assets. Nigerians have seen for years how organised crude oil theft on a massive scale seriously undermines the economic and financial health of the country.

“All Nigerians must agree that stealing of our national assets of any type is intolerable and must be stopped.”

She also noted that the ongoing theft of oil has hampered efforts to strengthen Nigeria’s foreign reserves, stressing that action must be taken immediately to prevent further damage.

The event, themed “Pressing Forward; A National Posture to Rebuilding Nigeria,” featured prominent figures from Nigeria and abroad, including former Ghanaian President John Mahama, Justice Monica Dongban-Mensem, the President of the Court of Appeal of Nigeria, and Vice President Kashim Shettima, who represented President Bola Tinubu.

Other high-profile attendees included Acting Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, Senate President Godswill Akpabio, and Speaker of the House of Representatives, Tajudeen Abbas.

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