Just In: We’ll soon have to say goodbye to Nigeria as a nation —Obasanjo
Former Nigerian president, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, has grimly predicted the discontinued existence of Nigeria as a country following recent trends in the country.
Obasanjo stated this on Saturday during an international symposium to mark his 85th birthday in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital.
The symposium was attended physically and virtually by eminent personalities, including: President Paul Kagame, President Nicéphore Soglo, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Professor Goski Alabi (Ghana); Ambassador Barry Desker (Singapore); Professor Juma Shabani (Burundi); Dr. Mary Khimulu (Kenya); Dr. Moussa Kondo (Mali); Professor Sarah Agbor (Cameroon); Professor Chukwuma Soludo and Sanusi Lamido Sanusi, among others.
In his address titled “Africa Narrative with Nigeria Situation”, Obasanjo stated that Nigerians must learn from the events of the past and put aside sentiments in choosing the next President of the country.
He said, “Since 1999, we have changed from one political party or another. We have manoeuvred and manipulated to the point that election results are no longer reflections of the will of the people and we seemed to be progressively going back rather than going forward politically, economically and socially.
We have activities without requite actions and personnel to move us forward. If we continue in the same pattern of recycling, sweet-word campaigning, manoeuvring without the substance of integrity, honesty, patriotism, commitment, outreach, courage, understanding of what makes a nation and what make for development, we will soon have to say goodbye to Nigeria as a nation.
“I cast a cursory look at some of the people running around and those for whom people are running around. If EFCC and ICPC will have done their jobs properly and been supported adequately by the judiciary, most of them would be in jail. Any person who has no integrity in small things cannot have integrity in big things.”
