Former governor of Anambra State and presidential hopeful, Peter Obi, has said insecurity in the country is caused by the high rate of unemployment among youths.
According to him, what needs to be done is to invest in the youths, and him being a wealth creator makes him eligible to do the job as president.
Obi said this at the Greater Nigeria Conference held in Abuja on Monday.
“I thank my brothers and sisters who are also aspiring. I want us to do it in unity and ensure that one of us emerges and is supported by all of us,” he said.
“Everyone has talked about injustice in Nigeria and everybody knows that this country thrives on injustice. But beyond that, I want us to look at the true description of a failed state — when a system is no longer in control of its territory, economy. Is Nigeria in control of its territory, economy? And the reason is simple.
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“When Pa Adebanjo was talking about Nigeria when it was good, he talked about how the west kept cocoa money, the east kept for palm and the north kept for groundnut. That was when Nigeria was producing. Today, what Nigeria is doing is sharing, sharing, sharing. All I want to do is stop the sharing and start production.
“Development is hinged on human development index (HDI). Let’s invest in education; let’s pull people out of poverty — with 100 million people living in poverty, you’ll have crisis and that’s the crisis we face today.
“I’m a wealth creator and I know what it means to create wealth. I’ve travelled to 31 countries of the world and know that you cannot have 55 percent unemployment, with 70 percent of your youths not knowing where the next meal will come from and you think you’ll have peace. No.
“We need to invest in youths. That’s what’s happening in China, Indonesia, Malaysia, everywhere. I want to invest in youths. The opportunity is for me to move the country from consumption to production.”