Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has called for urgent action to address worsening insecurity, unemployment and poverty in Nigeria, warning that leadership failures are forcing citizens to seek better opportunities abroad, often through dangerous migration routes.
Obasanjo spoke on Saturday during a panel session themed “Lest We Forget” at the Creative Africa Nexus Weekend 2026, organised by the African Export-Import Bank in Lagos State.
The former president, who reflected on Nigeria’s security situation since independence, said the country must confront the governance failures responsible for declining safety and economic opportunities.
“We just have to do what we should do to provide job opportunities, to stem the tide of impunity, to stem the tide of poverty, to stem the tide of kidnapping and insecurity,” he said.
Obasanjo recalled returning to Nigeria in 1959 after completing his military training in Britain, noting that he could travel freely across the country without fear of attacks or kidnapping.
“I came back to this country after my commission as an officer in Britain in 1959. And I could go anywhere; I was posted to the north; I could go anywhere in the north, by myself alone, by day, by night,” he said.
Contrasting that experience with the current security situation, he questioned how Nigeria had deteriorated to the point where citizens could no longer travel safely across several parts of the country.
“Now, if you can’t do that, what has gone wrong? We have to correct what has gone wrong,” he stated.
He argued that unemployment, particularly among university graduates, had become a major source of economic desperation, making it difficult to discourage young Africans from leaving their countries in search of opportunities.
According to him, governments cannot continue producing graduates without creating sufficient employment opportunities and expect them to remain economically productive.
Obasanjo recalled an encounter with Nigerians arrested for drug-related offences, explaining that one of the suspects had attributed his involvement in the illegal trade to the loss of legitimate employment.
He said the encounter demonstrated how economic hardship could push otherwise productive individuals towards desperate decisions, although he stopped short of justifying criminal activities.
Addressing irregular migration, Obasanjo said he had interacted with Africans who attempted to reach Europe through the Sahara Desert and the Mediterranean Sea, describing their experiences as distressing.
“I have got those people who have attempted to cross, and the story they told me is pathetic. Some die in the Sahara, some die in the Mediterranean,” he said.
The former president maintained that improving governance and creating economic opportunities would reduce the pressure on Africans to undertake life-threatening journeys abroad.
“We have to improve on our leadership to deliver, and once our leadership delivers, what does any man want in the world?” he asked.
“But if they have nothing here, they will look for whatever they can get anywhere else, and you can’t blame them.”
Responding to concerns about corruption, poor governance and Africa’s development challenges, Obasanjo placed substantial responsibility for the continent’s underdevelopment on its political leadership.
“Africa is not where it should be, and that Africa is not where it should be is substantially the responsibility of our leaders. It’s as simple as that,” he declared.
The former president also advocated greater freedom of movement across Africa, disclosing discussions with Ghanaian President John Mahama on a proposal to eliminate visa requirements among approximately 25 African countries.
He explained that the initiative would initially involve countries already operating visa-on-arrival arrangements, with the possibility of expanding the framework across the continent.
“These countries should eliminate visas among themselves, about 25 of them, and if they are able to do it successfully, then maybe in a matter of a few years, the whole of Africa will be able to move,” he said.
Obasanjo further criticised the limited recognition of the African passport and urged African governments to grant automatic citizenship to people of African descent seeking to return to the continent.
“I believe that all African states should have such a policy. That anybody from the diaspora who wants to be a national of any African country should automatically be given,” he said.
Obasanjo also called for greater unity among Africans and people of African descent worldwide, stressing that historical divisions must not prevent cooperation towards shared prosperity.
He maintained that African countries must strengthen their leadership, expand economic opportunities and deepen continental integration to overcome the challenges confronting their citizens.
The session, which also featured former Prime Minister of St Vincent and the Grenadines, Dr Ralph Gonsalves, and Jamaican scholar, Prof. Paulette Ramsay, examined African identity, slavery, colonialism, reparations and the need for stronger connections between Africa and its diaspora.
The three speakers called for reparatory justice over the trans-Atlantic slave trade and colonialism, arguing that the historical exploitation of Africans continued to affect the continent’s development, among others.
Ramsay, author of Lest We Forget: Slavery, Slave Trade, Colonisation, Emancipation and Reparation, commended Obasanjo for supporting the publication, which brought together scholars, policymakers and cultural experts to examine Africa’s historical experiences.
She argued that reparations should extend beyond monetary compensation to include the return of stolen artefacts, stronger protection of African cultural heritage and an end to the continuing exploitation of the continent’s natural resources.
“We must not remember with bitterness. We must teach younger generations that we remember the horrible things that were done, but we survived, and that’s the best part of the African story, that we survived,” she said.
