Economic hardship caused by mismanagement of resources, unproductive Nigerians - Obasanjo

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has said the recent economic hardship in the country is caused by mismanagement of resources and unproductive Nigerians.

He stated that the rate at which leaders mismanage the nation’s resources is alarming. Adding that some Nigerians have failed to make themselves productive citizens.

He made this known while speaking at the 9th International Trade Exhibition and Conference on Agrofood, Plastics, Printing and Packaging in Lagos, hosted by FairTrade Messe and the Organisation for Technology Advancement of Cold Chain in West Africa.

The former military leader was of the view that the increase in banditry and kidnapping in the country is as a result of unemployment.

Obasanjo said:

“Of course, if we are able to achieve this, it will improve our security. Part of our insecurity are men and women that are not properly engaged.

"If we are able to give them employment, there will be less of them getting involved in banditry, in kidnapping and in doing various other criminal activities that they get involved in.”

According to Obasanjo, there is a need to invest in agriculture as he believes it would go a long way to building a country with enough food security, nutritional well-being, job opportunities, wealth generation, poverty reduction, and revenue, especially through foreign exchange.

He added that; “Food security starts with availability. We must be able to produce enough. Then there is affordability. We must be able to get everybody who needs food to be able to get the food that they need. Then there is accessibility. We must get food to where it is needed.

“Almost 40 percent of our food goes to waste after cultivation. So, food security and nutrition security make agribusiness important.”

Former President Obasanjo charged Tinubu's administration to decentralise power and resources from the federal government to state and local governments.