by Patience Maganzo
London, England (News Of The South)-
Chatham House, a Royal Institute of International Affairs, is a world leading policy institute based in London.
Their mission is to help governments and societies build a sustainable, secure, prosperous and just world. Yesterday they hosted political leaders from Africa including the former Finance Minister of Zimbabwe and current Vice President of the MDC, Honourable Tendai Biti and former President of Nigeria, Honourable Olusegen Obasanjo to discuss democracy in Africa particularly strengthening democracy and civil society after elections.
After the event our reporter caught up with Mohammed Dabo who was one of the delegates who attended the event. Mohammed Dabo is currently studying security intelligence from one of the prominent universities. He stressed the need for Africans to redefine themselves and find effective ways to help their home continent. He urged those who are abroad to go back home with their acquired skills and help to eradicate wars and poverty.
Over the past decade terrorist organizations such as ISIS and Boko Haram have been wreaking havoc to innocent Africans. Recently, the terrorist organization ISIS claimed responsibility for two attacks in sub Saharan Africa. Mohammed Dabo stressed on banditry and how it is affecting the whole African continent, particularly the Sudan issue which is still ongoing. “If Sudan collapses into an all-out war it will affect its neighboring countries and subsequently their neighboring countries and the result is that Africa will be affected as a whole. The solution to these problems is also the cause to these problems. Bad politics is the cause and good politics is the answer, hence politics is everything.”
At the Chatham House event, the former President of Nigeria, Honorable Olusegen Obasanjo, highlighted the shockingly high level of Nigerians who are out of education. Over 11 million children are not attending school which makes it the highest number of children out of school in the world. Nigeria’s population growth has put pressure on the Country’s resources, public services and infrastructure leading to the appalling numbers.
Mohammed Dabo stressed that to solve this problem, the Government of Nigeria needs to provide an enabling environment for children to go to school. He said that the politics of Nigeria should be inclusive so as to allow various stakeholders from the private sector to come up with solutions. The government should also fund the entrepreneur skills and development programs which will also curb the unemployment in that country. Entrepreneurs all over the world are bridging the unemployment gap and bettering their communities. It is the Government’s mandate to eliminate poverty in their country and investing in entrepreneurship will ensure they meet their objectives.
Nigeria is a country abundant in minerals including, petroleum, coal, bitumen, iron ore, gypsum, gold and gemstones to name a few. Despite its natural wealth, it holds a record for unemployment and illiteracy rate. Mohammed Dabo argues that the tribal divisions play a major role in ensuring Nigeria remains underdeveloped. Nigeria has a lot of languages and even though this great for culture diversity, the politicians have used language and culture to further divide the people. The citizens spend time fighting amongst each other instead of uniting and building the nation. He highlights that corruption and mismanagement are the reason why Nigeria is in a dire state and it will take a change of perception to fix the damage.
Mohammed Dabo is promising his people in Sierra Leone that he will return as soon as he finishes his studies. With the various skills he has acquired at school and the community, he will be an asset to his Country, stressing on the importance of those studying abroad to return as well. His hope is that when he goes back he can be part of the policy makers regarding security. “Technology will play a great role in liberating Africa and empowering the youths”
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