Former President Olusegun Obasanjo says that the current Nigerian leader,
\nMuhammadu Buhari, has not disappointed him since he assumed office in
\n2015.<\/p>\n
Obasanjo stated this in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN)
\nat his hilltop residence in Abeokuta.<\/p>\n
While reflecting on the Buhari administration since 2015, Obasanjo said
\nthat the president had done his best to move the country forward.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhatever anybody says, President Buhari has not disappointed me from what
\nI know of him,\u2019\u2019 he said.<\/p>\n
He said the president had delivered on his core areas of strength and
\nability, particularly in the anti-corruption crusade and the war against
\ninsurgency.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn my book, I have said that Buhari is not strong on the economy and I
\ndid not write this to run him down.<\/p>\n
\u201cI also used to think that he is not strong in the area of foreign
\naffairs, but I have realised that he has improved very well.<\/p>\n
\u201cHe has actually done his best in the areas where we know him to be
\nstrong,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The elder statesman urged Nigerians not to relent in their support for
\nBuhari and not to give up on Nigeria.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhatever you might see as bad in Nigeria, other societies have gone
\nthrough the same at some period in their history.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is not for us to begin to condemn but to begin to join hands together
\nand consider how we can make the best out of our present.<\/p>\n
\u201c\u201dOur present situation is a passing phase and we need to be resilient to
\nensure that we are not consumed by it.<\/p>\n
\u201cI will be the first to admit that we have not been where we should have
\nbeen, but note that we have also been far from where we could have been
\nbecause it could have been worse.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt is the height of ingratitude for people to say Nigeria has not
\nachieved anything or much as a nation.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe generation before mine fought for Nigeria\u2019s independence, that is great.<\/p>\n
\u201cMy own generation, which is the next, fought to sustain the unity of
\nNigeria.<\/p>\n
\u201cSince 1999, Nigeria had enjoyed 18 years of unbroken democracy.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe witnessed in 2007 a transition of power from one individual to another
\nin the same party.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe witnessed in 2015 a transition of power from an individual in the
\nruling party to another individual in the opposition party.<\/p>\n
\u201cAll these should not be taken for granted,\u201d he said.
\nObasanjo also decried the call for national conferences or assemblies to
\nnegotiate the continued unity of Nigeria.<\/p>\n
The former president who, described such conferences as distractions, said
\nhe did not bother to read the report of the last one organised by former
\nPresident Goodluck Jonathan.<\/p>\n
\u201d We Nigerians need ourselves and if anyone thinks he does not need
\nanother person, good luck to him.<\/p>\n
\u201cWhat I see in all those groups trying to break away is that they want
\nmore of the national cake.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe fact that you want more of the cake means that it is good and you
\nlike it, else you will not be asking for more of it.<\/p>\n
\u201cI do understand the agitations of the youths in that the increased
\nfacilities that now exist as against our own time have not translated to
\nadequate opportunities for them.<\/p>\n
\u201cBut I think that rather than engage in violence, they should think of how
\nto build on the sacrifices of the generations before them,\u201d he said.
\nThe elder statesman, who would turn 80 on March 5, said he had no regrets
\nat such an age.<\/p>\n
He said that his hope that Nigeria would still be a great nation was still
\nintact. (NAN)<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo says that the current Nigerian leader, Muhammadu Buhari, has not disappointed him since he assumed office in 2015. Obasanjo stated this in an interview with the…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":48265,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_lmt_disableupdate":"","_lmt_disable":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-56371","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-exclusive"],"yoast_head":"\n