Chief Olusegun Obasanjo
* Says poor policies led to pitiable state of the nation
By Jon Egie
Former Nigerian President, Olusegun Obasanjo, has scolded himself, President Bola Tinubu and other past Nigerian leaders for socioeconomic, political and security situations in the nation saying Nigerians are now living “dangerously on a keg of gunpowder” through “policies poorly and thoughtlessly implemented or bad policy and no policy at all.”
Obasanjo stated this in Abuja while giving the keynote address at the public presentation of the book titled, “Reclaiming the Jewel of Africa,” written by former Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, who also served as Minister of Finance, Olusegun Aganga.
President Tinubu, represented by his Special Adviser on Monetary Policy, Olawale Edun, also unveiled the book.
The former president, Obasanjo, said, “Over the last 63 years, we have not lived up to expectations. We have disappointed ourselves; we have disappointed Africa; we have disappointed the black race; and we have disappointed the world.”
He, however, added that “what Segun (Aganga) has tried to identify, itemise and recommend in his book is the way forward. But the beginning of charting a new course for ourselves is to admit our failure because we have not always put the round peg in the round hole.
“We are carried along by ego and emotion of self, selfishness and self-centeredness, ethnic and religious jingoism, with total lack of understanding of the world we live in and gross misunderstanding of what development entails and how to move fast and continuously on the trajectory of development.”
Obasanjo identified two of the major issues that were interrelated in terms of factors for all-round development.
“These are peace and security, which we cannot achieve without justice, equity and inclusive society. And telling ourselves the truth, we have not done well on these scores in the recent past — in the last decade and a half.
“I will also point at the issue of education, where over 20 million children that should be in school are not in school. We do not need an oracle to tell us the consequences of that for tomorrow.”
“We do not need to look far for the remote causes of banditry, Boko Haram, kidnapping and other organised crimes. We are living dangerously on a keg of gunpowder, driving more people into poverty through good policies poorly and thoughtlessly implemented or bad policy and no policy at all,” he added.
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