TheCable

Olusegun Obasanjo, former Nigeria president, has lamented the parlous situation of things in the country, saying he is prepared to “follow anyone capable of bringing change”. 

Speaking when women leaders from the southwest led by Alaba Lawson, the Iyalode of Yorubaland, paid him a visit in Abeokuta on Monday, Obasanjo reiterated that he had no personal grudge against President Goodluck Jonathan, but was only after the good of the country.

“I don’t have personal grudge against President Jonathan, and I do not think that he also has any personal grudge against me, but all what I am after is to see that a good leader emerges,” he said.

“No matter where such a leader comes from or who is that leader, the most important thing is to have good leader that has the experience and not mere words of mouth; and I can follow anybody that is ready to bring that change, because there is serious corruption and impunity in the land.

“If this country is going to change for the better, it would start from the top and if it would be otherwise, it would also start from the top. Find out the track records of achievements of those you want to vote for – what they have achieved in the past and not what they have said.

“Good governance comes from voting, from selection of leaders. It is now left to you to decide who you cast your vote for because once you throw away your votes, you have lost out.”

He added that Nigeria does not deserve its current situation of abject poverty, economic downturn, sheer impunity and insecurity.

“Nigeria does not deserve the situation in which it has found itself,” he said.

“Our nation bleeds in poverty, economic downturn, sheer impunity and insecurity. When I was leaving office about eight years ago, I left a very huge reserve after we had paid all our debts.

“About $25bn was kept in what they called excess crude account and we were saving the excess from the budget for the rainy days. It was raised to $35 bn when we left office in May.

“But today, that reserve has been depleted. That is why the naira has been falling against the dollar. I learnt that if you want to buy a dollar now, it’s about N192 or N195. Our inability to have reserve has brought us into this economic quagmire.

“I know what I’m saying. Whoever wants should listen to me and whoever feels otherwise may turn a deaf ear. But when I’m talking, I’m talking with my understanding and I’m drawing from my experience, from what I have learnt with others and from other countries and fellow eminent citizens of the world that I relate with.”

In one of his recent criticisms of the Jonathan administration, Obasanjo, in an interview with Radio France International decried the handling of the abduction of more than 200 Chibok schoolgirls by Boko Haram.

He blamed the government for the continued captivity of the girls, accusing it of failing to act within the first 48 hours of the incident.

The former president also expressed belief that the girls “would not return intact“.