Nigeria’s former President Olusegun Obasanjo on Thursday called for stronger ties between political leadership and the people to collectively address some of the many challenges facing the country.
Apart from insecurity, Obasanjo said the country is also undergoing unstable political leadership, economic challenges and other concerns. He urged Nigerians to ensure all hands are on deck to change the nation’s present narrative.
Obasanjo, who spoke during a visit to Oyo State Governor Seyi Makinde in his office in Ibadan to commiserate with him over the demise of his mother, said the most important aspect of dealing with the challenges facing the country is leadership.
The former president, who also attended the launch of a book in honour of late political leader Lamidi Adedibu, said the myriads of challenges in the areas of security, economy and political instability are not really new, only that they have taken a new dimension.
“There are many challenges in Nigeria today. These challenges are not really new, except that they have taken a different dimension, but human challenges are meant to be solved or overcome by human beings, which means that all hands should be on deck,” Obasanjo said while fielding questions from journalists after the visit.
“I believe that the most important aspect of dealing with all the challenges we have is one, leadership, two, coming together, that is, all hands being on deck,” he said.
Asked to comment on the increasing call for the sack of the security chiefs as a means of tackling the insecurity issues in the country, the former president said he did not appoint the security chiefs and could not possibly ask that they be sacked.
When he was asked to offer a ‘fatherly’ advice to the security chiefs and President Muhammadu Buhari, Obasanjo said, “If I have a fatherly advice for the security chiefs, I will not give them through the media.”
During the courtesy visit, Obasanjo said he was impressed by the developmental strides being recorded by the Seyi Makinde-led administration in Oyo State.
The former president appreciated the efforts being made by the governor to develop the state, noting that he has seen improvements in the developmental activities in parts of the state.
