By Olatunbosun Obafemi
Labour Party presidential candidate Peter Obi has renewed his warning about Nigeria’s deepening insecurity, urging urgent investment in human development to address the root causes of violence and poverty.
In a strongly worded post on X (formerly Twitter), Obi said, “You cannot separate security from human development; they are inextricably linked.” He blamed decades of poor governance and corruption for creating the conditions that fuel crime and instability.
With nearly 100 million Nigerians living in extreme poverty and over 140 million facing multidimensional poverty, Obi warned the nation is “sitting on a time bomb.” He dismissed the focus on flashy infrastructure projects, calling instead for investment in education, healthcare, and agriculture.
“A child out of school today becomes vulnerable to manipulation and extremism tomorrow,” he cautioned.
Obi echoed comments by Chief of Defence Staff General Christopher Musa, who recently said bullets alone cannot solve insecurity. “Even the boots on the ground know the battle cannot be won by force alone,” Obi wrote.
Quoting Mallam Aminu Kano and Mother Teresa, Obi called poverty “a failure of leadership and compassion.” He urged a national reset: “Every naira we invest in people today is one less bullet we need to fire tomorrow.”
