Former Osun State governor and immediate-past Interior Minister, Ra’uf Aregbesola, has expressed deep concern over the widening country’s wealth gap, warning that it poses serious risks.
Speaking on Nigeria’s economic climate at the ‘National Dialogue on Home-grown Parliamentary System’ on Monday, in Abuja, Aregbesola bemoaned how economic inequality has worsened over the years. He said wealth is now concentrated in the hands of a few, leading to significant hardship for many citizens, a development that contrasted sharply with his formative years when wealth was more evenly-distributed.
According to Aregbesola, fewer Nigerians are now able to prosper, even though prosperity itself has not disappeared from Nigeria, adding that this wealth imbalance “signal deep” trouble for the nation.
“When I was born, and during my developmental years, wealth was not as limited to the hands of a very few people as it is today. What does that tell us? It tells us that we are in deep trouble. We would not be here discussing this if things were normal in Nigeria”.
Other panelists at the event were the erstwhile Speaker of the House of Representatives, Yakubu Dogara, and Minority Leader, Kingsley Chinda.
