President of the ANAP Foundation and Founder of IBTC Bank, Atedo Peterside, has attributed the surge in terrorism and banditry across Nigeria to widespread poverty and inequality.
Speaking in an interview on Monday, Peterside explained that many Nigerians are vulnerable to recruitment by criminal and extremist groups due to economic hardship.
According to him, Nigeria faces a severe income distribution problem, with a stark contrast between extreme wealth and deep poverty.
“Sometimes you have an economy where the big players are doing very well, benefiting from the stock market and other opportunities. But I am talking about the over 140 million poor people. That is where the real problem lies,” he said.
Peterside emphasized that a society cannot remain stable when a small group enjoys immense wealth while millions struggle to survive.
“We have the very wealthy and the phenomenally poor. You cannot have equilibrium in such a situation. That is why it worries me when wealthy people assume everything will be fine indefinitely while hundreds of millions around them struggle to survive,” he added.
While noting that poverty alone does not directly cause insecurity, Peterside highlighted that many marginalized citizens, abandoned by the state, are easily drawn into banditry and terrorism.
“I’m not equating poverty directly with insecurity, but it is obvious that when the state offers people next to nothing, some of them can be easily recruited. They become potential bandits and terrorists,” he said.
He also expressed concern about Nigeria’s high number of out-of-school children, estimated at 30 million, warning that the lack of education prevents them from participating in a modern economy.
