•Olusegun Obasanjo
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has said financial impropriety by the previous governments had forced Nigeria into a debt burden the coming generations would have no option but to pay.
According to a statement by his Media Aide, Kehinde Akinyemi, the former president made the observation during a meeting with 2023 awardees of the Future Africa Leaders Foundation, an initiative of Pastor Chris Oyakhilome, reports Daily Sun.
In 2003, as president, Obasanjo secured a debt relief for Nigeria. He said with the level of mismanagement of the previous debts written off for the country, it would be almost impossible for any administration to get similar gesture in the continent.
Obasanjo declared that the debts were a trap that no individual or nation should fall into, as it constitutes an albatross on any economy.
He said leadership was the number one problem facing Africa and “the coming generations will have no choice but pay the current debt being incurred by different countries in the continent.”
He commended Pastor Oyakhilome for the efforts being put into building leaders, adding that the nation needed more people like him to address the leadership crisis facing the continent.
Highlighting the qualities of a leader during the questions and answers session, Obasanjo said: “A leader should be able to set good examples, being bold and courageous when making decisions, accepting mistakes and learning from them as well as having a realistic dream.”
Meanwhile, the former president has assured that the country’s socio-economic situation could be better in another four years or thereabout with prayers and thanksgiving.
He spoke at the Christian Association of Nigeria (CAN) Ogun State 5th thanksgiving service of his conferment as the Asiwaju Onigbagbo, Ogun State, held at the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library (OOPL), Abeokuta on Tuesday.
Obasanjo said that it was a clear indication that the socio-economic situations of the country were not in good stead, “but, mercy has been with us and if that is so, why should we not thank God.”
“Think about it. If you have breathed the free air of God, you should have cause to thank God. So, things are bad, they may be good in a space of what…four years? And who knows for Nigeria, things that are bad today, may be good tomorrow.
“That is our prayer and that is why we must never stop thanking God. In all situations, give thanks to God”, Obasanjo told the congregation. He thanked brothers and sisters in the vineyard of God for their continuous and persistent prayers for the country.
“It is such a difficult time. And when they are talking of being in fellow of mercy, mine is more than a Fellow of Mercy, mine is Fellow of Grace and Mercy of God, any one that is not enjoying this should put up his hand. If that is so, why should we not thank God?”
