Unless something is done urgently to address the wide gulf between the rich and the poor, Nigeria and other African countries may be in for an implosion.
A former Minister of Education, Dr Obiageli Ezekwesili, gave the warning on the sidelines of the World Economic Forum currently holding in South Africa.
According to her, the continent is in an abysmal state, because of the failure of leadership.
“We still have the highest number of children dying before that age of five, we still have the highest number of mothers dying needless deaths at child birth, we still have the highest number of our children out of school (some 63 million or there about for the continent), we still have the highest stock of the poor at about 48 per cent on the continent, we still have the lowest indicators on governance across the world,” she told Channels Television’s Johannesburg Bureau Chief, Betty Dibia.
“All of these are challenges that have become almost intractable simply because of the failure of leadership.”
The former minister said people were beginning to ask questions, and if nothing changes, there could be danger ahead.
She said, “The dissatisfaction that comes with inequality is becoming so acute; it’s becoming so accentuated to the point where people ultimately are going to say, ‘do something’.
“They really are saying, ‘We’ve tolerated this for so long. We really need a new conversation.
“The gap between the upper percentile that have and the lowest (people) that are starkly caught in stagnation… the society just set itself up for implosion.”
