THERE’S MORE TO BRAND AFRICA’S PROBLEMS THAN CORRUPTION SAYS JONATHAN

–By Oriade Ayomide

President Goodluck Jonathan yesterday opposed the common belief that the root cause of brand Africa’s myriad problem is corruption. The president who made the contrasting stand during a televised debate titled, “Africa’s Next Billion,” held at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, said Africans tend to ascribe every odd happening to corruption but he doesn’t subscribe to such belief. “Everything that does not happen the way it should in Africa, people say corruption is the answer.  I don’t agree,” he said.

The president however maintained same stance with Nigerians on the issue of security, stating that the Boko Haram brand of terrorism currently pose the greatest security challenge to the country.  “In terms of security,  Boko Haram is the biggest challenge we have at the moment,” he affirmed.

Jonathan also called on all stakeholders in the continent to continue to work for greater security and political stability, which he described as prerequisites for sustained socio-economic development.

“Security and political stability is key to development. Investors will not come to any country that is insecure or politically unstable. Happily, many African countries now enjoy political stability. It is a major reason for the positive economic growth rates, which we are now witnessing on the continent and we must continue to do our best to maintain and expand the frontiers of political stability on our continent.”