High corruption and the influence of big business and the wealthy elite keeps the poorest Nigerians trapped in poverty and cut off from the benefits of economic growth and basic services. Some people - searching for the means to survive - became vulnerable to groups like Boko Haram.
My life has been varied, involving many jobs, but I have always been impatient with injustice.
Civil society space provides the oxygen for citizens to participate and meaningfully hold their governments and the private sector to account - and ensure that decisions are made in the interest of the majority and not the few. Without it, citizens have limited space to dissent and challenge the elites.
I have learnt to enjoy my own company because I have lived alone many years.
I grew up thinking the most decent job to do was to fight injustice.
Rather than working for all, power and public policy is increasingly influenced by wealthy elites that are able to bend the rules - and hijack democratic institutions - to their favour.
The U.N. must be made more inclusive, accountable, democratic, effective, and reflective of a world in which political and economic power has shifted.
Tackling the extreme gap between the rich and the poor and tackling climate change is part of the same struggle.
Rule of law, access to justice, and financial transparency happen by design, not accident.
Billions of people are being left behind by economic growth.
Conflict and callous politics drive famine.
Developing countries are losing significant tax revenues through corporate tax dodging.
Rather than engineering our economies solely to maximise GDP, Africa's business and political leaders must build economies explicitly designed to end poverty and inequality.
GDP excludes care work and other unpaid work, most of which falls to women and girls in rich and in poor countries alike.
A good leader, in my view, should have a clear vision of the future they want and the society they need to build. They must also have a connection with the people who work for them and be able to mobilise their best energies to create teams where people can be most creative and happy.
I grew up really being able to stand up to authority.
Protecting space for civil society and citizenry is particularly critical in a world marked by rising political and economic inequality.
When we talk about women's economic empowerment, we should be careful that we're not just giving women more to do.
I am angry that the international community has failed to find a permanent solution to the plight of the Rohingya. I am also ashamed that, in not speaking out loudly enough, we - humanitarians - have been complicit.
Here's something we're rarely told growing up: our world rewards wealth, not hard work or talent.
Economic inequality is a corrosive force that undermines economic growth, puts a brake on the fight against poverty, and sparks social unrest.
The struggles to overturn colonial rule were long and often bitter. But, over time, most were inevitably successful.
I believe we can build a human economy where people are the bottom line.
I grew up in a country that was in a civil conflict for most of my childhood and adolescence. I saw violence and lived as a teenager through the time of a brutal dictator called Idi Amin. I fled and became a refugee.
Wealth is used to entrench inequality, not to trickle down and solve it.
A global tax body would give all countries - not just the rich and powerful - an equal say in how the global rules on taxation are designed.
Investing in vital infrastructure will help to build more sustainable, equitable economies.
We have international organizations for health, trade, and football - even for coffee - but not tax. Why not?
Corporations are driving down wages and working conditions across the globe to maximize returns for their shareholders. They use their power and influence to ensure the rules align with their interests - no matter the cost.
Oxfam believes that any global talks to reform tax rules must include all countries, including the poorest.
The people standing up most strongly for our democracies should be celebrated, not prosecuted - be it those countless human rights defenders who defend all our rights or the brave whistle-blowers who expose tax dodging.
Fundamental is the need for governments to protect the space for citizens to claim their rights, organize, and express themselves.
We need to tackle extreme inequality because it is morally indefensible and socially corrosive - undermining our health, affecting our well-being, and undermining peaceful societies.
We need to harness the boundless energy and creativity of our youth.
Whatever I do, it will be fighting for social justice.
Crucially, African governments must ensure they prioritize the eradication of tax evasion and tax avoidance.
For me, growing up as an activist under an oppressive dictatorship in Uganda, the U.N. was a friend to those of us who fought our way to freedom, as it was for the millions who joined decolonization struggles in the African continent.
The discrimination of women and girls goes to the core of any and all analyses of the world's economic, political, and environmental problems.
Ending extreme poverty is possible.
Governments should end the extreme concentration of wealth in order to end poverty. This means tackling tax dodging but also increasing taxes on wealth and high incomes to ensure a more level playing field and generate the billions of dollars needed to invest in healthcare, education, and job creation.
Governments and civil society must step up to ensure inclusivity in the commissioning, design, delivery, and assessment of vital public services.
Leadership is so defined by men, and we need to revise that - we need to be able to say that the people we honor are not the conquerors but the peacemakers.
Development cooperation between nations is very important because it is one of the building blocks of shared peace, prosperity, and human rights for all. It is one of the antidotes to the poison of xenophobia.
Extreme inequality is no temporary blip. It is hard-wired into our economies.
Global growth and development that is strong, sustainable, and inclusive requires the challenges of inequality to be met head-on.
Wealth does not trickle down to the poor. Oxfam knows this, the IMF knows this, the World Bank knows this. Poor people have always known this.
African countries lose billions every year because of tax dodging by big corporations and wealthy individuals. They lose billions more from overly generous tax incentives in a misguided belief that this is the only way to attract foreign investment.
The high price of medicines is crippling healthcare systems and denying people access to the treatments they so desperately need.
The move to a zero-carbon future is unstoppable.
