Adesanya-Davies Backs Obasanjo -Says Nigeria Has No Business With Poverty

Former presidential candidate and Professor of Applied Linguistics, Prof. Funmilayo Adesanya-Davies, has commended former President Olusegun Obasanjo for his assertion that Nigeria has no business with poverty.

Adesanya-Davies said Obasanjo’s statement was a timely reminder that Nigeria’s persistent poverty was not necessarily due to a lack of natural and human resources, but rather the need for responsible leadership, accountable governance, effective policies and prudent management of the nation’s wealth.

In a statement issued in Port Harcourt on Tuesday, the professor noted that Nigeria was endowed with abundant oil and gas, vast agricultural land, solid minerals, a youthful population, intellectual capital and significant entrepreneurial potential.

She, however, lamented that millions of Nigerians still struggle with unemployment, food insecurity, inadequate healthcare, poor infrastructure and declining purchasing power.

Adesanya-Davies said if given the opportunity to become Nigeria’s first female president, she would prioritise prudent management of public resources and ensure that national wealth was deployed for the benefit of citizens.

“If I ever become the first female President of Nigeria, money would never be the problem of Nigeria but how to spend it, and it shall be very well managed and so well spent without any form of corruption and greed,” she said.

She urged the Federal Government and state governments to move beyond declarations and take concrete steps to transform Nigeria’s enormous resources into jobs, industries, quality education, healthcare and improved living standards.

According to her, tackling corruption, strengthening institutions, promoting local production, supporting small and medium-scale enterprises and investing heavily in education and human capital are essential to reducing poverty.

She also called for greater transparency in the management of the country’s natural resources, stressing that Nigeria’s wealth must translate into measurable improvements in the lives of ordinary citizens.

Adesanya-Davies argued that poverty reduction should be treated as a measurable national performance target rather than merely a political slogan.

She further challenged political, business, religious, academic and civil-society leaders to work collectively towards a development model capable of making poverty increasingly difficult to sustain in Nigeria.

“The time has come to move from the politics of sharing wealth to the economics of creating wealth. Nigeria must build a productive economy in which its enormous resources become prosperity for the many, not privilege for the few,” she said.

She said Obasanjo’s declaration should trigger serious national reflection and renewed commitment to building a productive and inclusive economy driven by innovation, employment, education, accountability and sustainable economic growth.