Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has warned that Nigeria is sitting on a keg of gunpowder. He also called for for proactive actions to halt the drift before more harm is done to the country. Obasanjo gave the timely warning in Abuja at the launch of a book titled, “Reclaiming the Jewel of Africa,” written by a former Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment, who had also served as Minister of Finance, Olusegun Aganga.
He identified ego and poor implementation of policies as the bane of the country’s development, stressing that in its 63 years of nationhood, Nigeria has not lived up to its expectations as the giant of Africa, thus disappointing the continent and the world. “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,” the former leader stated.
He loathed the situation where over 20 million Nigerian children are outside the classroom. The growing number of out-of-school children, especially in the Northern region, might have fueled the insurgency, banditry and other crimes in that part of the country. “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,” Obasanjo observed. While ensuring the peace and security will lead Nigeria on the path of development, Obasanjo warned that such may not be achieved without justice, equity and inclusive society.
The timely warning by Obasanjo should be heeded by all our political leaders at all levels of government. Nigeria cannot be truly said to be the giant of Africa in every sense of the word when 133 million Nigerians are facing multidimensional poverty and when the country is the poverty capital of the world. With rising inflation and unemployment and depreciation of the naira against major foreign currencies, Nigeria is indeed sitting on a time bomb. Nigerians are passing through excruciating pains on account of the hasty removal of subsidy on petroleum products and unification of the exchange rates. Thousands of Nigerian youths and medical professionals are daily migrating to Europe and America in search of the greener pastures. The hardship in the country might have exacerbated the general insecurity across the country. We urge our political leaders to see Obasanjo’s advice as a clarion call to address the socio-economic challenges facing the country. The looting of warehouses by angry youths in Adamawa State is a pointer to the enormous challenges facing the country.
The protest by Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) over rising cost of living in Edo State is an indication of the deteriorating situation. There is no doubt that Nigerians need food, potable water, clean and steady energy. They also want quality education and health. The government should provide all these in addition to ensuring the security and welfare of the Nigerian people.
The former leader’s warning is timely and commendable. He spoke truth to power. Therefore, it is not too late for the leaders to realise their mistakes and make necessary corrections. They must also realise that governance is for the people. All the programmes of the government should revolve around the people.
We urge the leaders to come up with policies that will frontally address the needs of the Nigerian people. Since the primary function of government is the security and welfare of the citizens, the president and the governors should not fail in this regard.
Let those in government drastically cut the cost of governance. It will be hypocritical to ask the people to make sacrifice while the leaders are living in opulence. For Nigeria to achieve the much needed greatness, the leaders and the led must be willing to make sacrifices.