Former President Olusegun Obasanjo on Thursday, March
5, 2015 explained why West African countries and Britain are worried
about developments in Nigeria.
Punch newspaper reports that the one time Head of State made the statement on Thursday while addressing guests at the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library, Abeokuta, during the celebration of his 78th birthday and 2015 annual summit.
According to Obasanjo, each time he travelled to these countries, he was normally inundated with enquiries from their leaders on the precarious nature of Nigeria situation, in terms of security, political and socio-economic challenges.
He
explained that the countries had pointed out to him that any turmoil in
Nigeria might have dire consequences on its West Africa neighbours and
even Britain, given the large population of the country.
He said, “We are about 180 million now. Our brothers and sisters in West Africa are worried, and when they talk to me and I said why were they worried, they said, ‘if half a million Nigeria go to Republic of Benin, we will overwhelm them; if two million (Nigerians) go to Ghana.
“Even Britain is worried, they are worried. They said their problem is that if one million Nigeria go to Britain, they said in 10 years, there will be 10 million Nigerians in Britain and they will rather keep us here.”
The former president said the nation was experiencing a peculiar set of challenges, which required leaders with requisite experience for such challenges.
“May God give us leaders that occasion like this deserves,” he said.
Obasanjo, who dressed in a white agbada, noted that there were too many think-tanks in the country, saying what was needed currently were ‘do-tanks.’
He said with the enormous resources the nation was blessed with, no Nigerian child should lack access to education, food and employment, adding that the mismanagement of the resources had landed the country in its current mess.
The former Head of State said, “My concern is that we have too many think- tanks; we need more of do-tanks. The point is we can do and we have no reason why we can’t do and we have also seen that one individual can make a difference.
“There is no reason why any Nigerian child, at this point in time, should not have a basic education, food and nutrition. Not only Nigerian child, no Nigerian should go to bed without food.
“We have the resources to achieve all that; that we are not achieving it does not mean we don’t have the resources. It is because we haven’t managed our resources well.
“Employment, if all other things are right, there should be no reason for any Nigerian who wants to be employed not to have the opportunity for employment.”
Obasanjo noted that if the unemployment malaise persisted for the next 15 years, “and if all those things that all these young ones are expecting are not there, in 15 years time, they will be be good recruits for Boko Haram or its equivalent.”
Punch newspaper reports that the one time Head of State made the statement on Thursday while addressing guests at the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library, Abeokuta, during the celebration of his 78th birthday and 2015 annual summit.
According to Obasanjo, each time he travelled to these countries, he was normally inundated with enquiries from their leaders on the precarious nature of Nigeria situation, in terms of security, political and socio-economic challenges.
Ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo
He said, “We are about 180 million now. Our brothers and sisters in West Africa are worried, and when they talk to me and I said why were they worried, they said, ‘if half a million Nigeria go to Republic of Benin, we will overwhelm them; if two million (Nigerians) go to Ghana.
“Even Britain is worried, they are worried. They said their problem is that if one million Nigeria go to Britain, they said in 10 years, there will be 10 million Nigerians in Britain and they will rather keep us here.”
The former president said the nation was experiencing a peculiar set of challenges, which required leaders with requisite experience for such challenges.
“May God give us leaders that occasion like this deserves,” he said.
Obasanjo, who dressed in a white agbada, noted that there were too many think-tanks in the country, saying what was needed currently were ‘do-tanks.’
He said with the enormous resources the nation was blessed with, no Nigerian child should lack access to education, food and employment, adding that the mismanagement of the resources had landed the country in its current mess.
The former Head of State said, “My concern is that we have too many think- tanks; we need more of do-tanks. The point is we can do and we have no reason why we can’t do and we have also seen that one individual can make a difference.
“There is no reason why any Nigerian child, at this point in time, should not have a basic education, food and nutrition. Not only Nigerian child, no Nigerian should go to bed without food.
“We have the resources to achieve all that; that we are not achieving it does not mean we don’t have the resources. It is because we haven’t managed our resources well.
“Employment, if all other things are right, there should be no reason for any Nigerian who wants to be employed not to have the opportunity for employment.”
Obasanjo noted that if the unemployment malaise persisted for the next 15 years, “and if all those things that all these young ones are expecting are not there, in 15 years time, they will be be good recruits for Boko Haram or its equivalent.”
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