Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Director General of the World Trade Organisation (WTO), has issued a stern warning to Nigerian politicians, urging them to refrain from using insecurity as a political tool against the government. Speaking at the opening ceremony of the 2024 Annual General Conference of the Nigerian Bar Association (NBA) in Lagos, Okonjo-Iweala criticized certain political players for deliberately instigating insecurity to undermine their opponents’ ability to govern.

In her keynote address titled “A Social Contract For Nigeria’s Future,” she emphasized the damaging effects of such tactics, noting that true socio-economic development is impossible without security, and vice versa. Okonjo-Iweala condemned the practice, specifying, “We have politicians who think that the best way to make their challengers look bad is to initiate insecurity, making it seem like they can’t govern, regardless of whether this results in loss of lives and property of innocent Nigerians. This has to stop.”

The event, held at the Eko Hotel & Suites on Sunday, August 25, 2024, was attended by prominent figures including former Ghanaian President John Mahama, Vice President Kashim Shettima representing President Bola Tinubu, and other top officials from Nigeria’s judiciary and legislature.