“Our Youths Are Restive; Nigeria Sitting On A Keg Of Gunpowder” – Obasanjo Warns

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has expressed worries over the growing unrest among Nigeria’s youth, attributing it to unemployment, lack of skill and empowerment. He warned that the nation might be on the brink of a crisis, advising the Tinubu-led administration to create more opportunities.

Sharing these concerns in an interview with the Financial Times, Obasanjo said:

Our youth are restive. And they are restive because they have no skill. They have no empowerment. They have no employment. We are all sitting on a keg of gunpowder. And I pray we will do the right thing before it’s too late.

This perspective follows the ongoing nationwide #Endbadgovernance protests, where youths have been demonstrating against the country’s widespread hunger and hardship.

Since August 1, youths across Nigeria have been protesting, leading to increased reports of violence, looting and police brutality.

In his interview, Obasanjo highlighted that Nigeria’s economic condition could have been better if it hadn’t depended solely on crude oil.

He termed the reliance on oil as a “grave error.”

“I believe we made a deadly mistake by putting all our eggs in one basket by relying on oil. We had an essential commodity, gas, but we were flaring it,” he said, criticising the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL) and other oil companies for not boosting oil production to meet national demands.

“We ignored Agriculture, which could have been the centrepiece of our investment,” he added, stating Nigeria could have invested more in Agriculture against crude oil.

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