By Olusegun Olanrewaju
The Director-General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, cautioned politicians yesterday to stop instigating insecurity against their opposition in office.
She said this at the 2024 Annual General Conference of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) opening ceremony at Eko Hotel & Suites, in Lagos.
The former managing director of the World Bank, who was also a two-time finance minister in Nigeria, delivered a keynote address entitled “A Social Contract for Nigeria’s Future.”
She said, “We cannot have socio-economic development without security, and 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 our current situation.
“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 also advocated policy consistency regardless of change from one administration to another.
“Maintaining good economic and social policies, maintaining policy consistency, and adding more reforms on top of that will lead us along the path of good progress that we all desire,” she said.
Okonjo-Iweala decried a phenomenon she labelled the “not-in-my-administration syndrome” in governance, which she said has been responsible for Nigeria’s not-so-good economic performance.
She said Nigeria needs a social contract and that all Nigerians, regardless of political or other affiliations, should agree on one.
The developmental economist said specific sacrosanct policies should remain the same whenever Nigeria witnesses administration changes.
She said some of these policies should be made into laws after being passed through a referendum.
Okonjo-Iweala said maintaining policy consistency and adding more reforms will help us achieve the good governance we all desire.
*No excuse for continuous crude oil theft
Speaking on the vexed lingering issue of oil theft in the Niger Delta region, Okonjo-Iweala said there are enough technological innovations to track crude oil theft and bring those behind the act to justice.
She said those responsible for stopping crude oil theft’s “intolerable” action no longer have excuses.
She 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 country’s economic and financial health.
“All Nigerians must agree that stealing our national assets of any type is intolerable and must be stopped.”
She said oil theft has hampered the strengthening of the foreign reserves.
“There is so much technology available now to track such theft, and there must be no more excuses for inaction.”
Also at the event were former President of Ghana, John Mahama, and the President of the Court of Appeal of Nigeria, Justice Monica Dongban-Mensem.
Vice President Kashim Shettima represented President Bola Tinubu.
Acting Chief Justice of Nigeria, Justice Kudirat Kekere-Ekun, Senate President Godswill Akpabio, and his counterpart in the lower chamber, Tajudeen Abbas, were also represented at the event.
