“There is no doubt that, dating back to the colonial era; you can trace many of the problems that have plagued the continent.
“But at some point, we have to stop looking somewhere else for solutions, and you have to start looking for solutions internally.
“And as powerful as history is; at some point, you have to look to the future and say `OK’, we didn’t get a good deal then but let’s make sure that we’re not making excuses for not going forward,’’ Obama added.
However, President Goodluck Jonathan has repeatedly argued that Nigeria was not a poor country, contrary to opinions in certain quarters.
“The challenge of the country is not poverty but redistribution of wealth,” Jonathan said, while addressing labour leaders at the 2014 May Day rally in Abuja.
For him, the realities on the ground did not portray Nigeria as a poor nation but as a country with abundant wealth which needed to be evenly redistributed among its populace.
“Nigeria is not a poor country. Nigerians are the most travelled people in the world; there is no country in the world you go to that you will not see Nigerians there.
“The GDP of Nigeria is over half a trillion dollars and the economy is growing at a rate close to 7 per cent,” he added.
Besides, Jonathan cited the recent classification of Alhaji Aliko Dangote as one of the 25 richest people in the world as another pointer to Nigeria’s affluence.
He also recalled that the number of private jets owned by Nigerians, which landed in Nairobi during his recent state visit to Kenya, was a subject of discussion in the Kenyan media for over a week.
“If you talk about ownership of private jets, Nigeria will be among the first 10 countries in the world. Yet, they are saying that Nigeria is among the five poorest countries.
“The World Bank statistics show that Nigeria is among the five poorest countries but our problem is not poverty; our problem is redistribution of wealth.
“Probably, wealth is concentrated in very a few hands and a number of people do not have access to it.
“That is why my administration is committed to ensuring the creation of wealth, in terms of financial inclusiveness, and we are working very hard to achieve this,’’ he added.
Jonathan said that as part efforts to address the poverty challenge, the Federal Government introduced the Electronic Wallet System for farmers in rural areas to enable them to have access to fertilisers and other farm inputs, including funds via affordable bank facilities.
Equally, he said that the government was also transforming agriculture from just a rural development programme into a major wealth-creation and business programme.
The president said that his administration had initiated proactive measures and policies to improve and stabilise power supply in the country so as to enable small and medium-scale enterprises to thrive.
He also said that the key component of his administration’s commitment was aimed at ensuring that many Nigerians had access to finance, so that they would be able to create wealth for themselves.
Observers blame the failure to tackle the poverty challenge in the country on massive corruption which has permeated every facet of national life.
They, nonetheless, hope that the U.S.-Africa Leaders Summit will reawaken the consciousness of African leaders on the need to squarely tackle the challenge of poverty, which if well addressed, can help to reduce youth restiveness and other acts of criminalities in African countries. (NANFeatures)
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