Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has advised the incoming administration to work towards achieving a national reconciliation to assuage the feelings of aggrieved Nigerians, particularly, the youth population.
Speaking as a guest of honour at a public lecture series, tagged ‘From elections to governance and performance’, in Abuja yesterday, Obasanjo lamented that the country was currently more divided and corroded than what its founding fathers had in mind.
The event put together by Nextier SPD, also witnessed the public presentation of a book, ‘The Unending Quest for Reform: An Intellectual Memoir’, written by Prof. Tunji Olaopa.
Obasanjo said the next administration must explore all avenues at ending ethnic division that emanated from the recent elections and work to facilitate national moral rearmament and reconciliation, following the divisiveness occasioned by the elections, however, told his audience that he would always speak in the overall interest of the country, because “I am too old to keep quiet.”
This, he said, has the potential to bring about healing and to assuage Nigerian youths who were angered by the shortcomings of the elections.
According to him, governance in Nigeria now required thinking outside the box, to rescue the nation, in terms of its plunging economy and huge national debt burden, adding that there must also be the political will and action, as well as administrative efforts, to reform the public service, and turn it into a capability-ready unit.
The former president also emphasised the need for national healing and reconciliation to address the anger of Nigerian youths who were let down by the shortcomings of the elections, insisting the incoming administration must take appropriate steps to further heal and assuage concerns of the citizens.
Suggesting three ideas to enrich conversations at the event, he said, “One, given what we saw during the election, Nigeria is now even more divided and more corroded than we thought. This places a deep onus on any administration following the current one, to urgently facilitate the process of national moral rearmament and national reconciliation for the aggrieved and will lead us across Nigeria and to assuage the youth.
“This must be done in sync with the imperative of national value orientation that Nigeria requires to build a collective sense of enduring local values and national belonging. Two, governance in Nigeria now calls for thinking outside the box in terms of development financing. This has become inevitable in the face of Nigeria’s dwindling fortune, in oil revenue, Nigeria’s huge foreign indebtedness and the urgency of diversifying the Nigerian neo-cultural economy.
“We cannot be spending like drunken sailor on frivolities and corruption and expect development and growth. Such situation cannot take us into the fourth industrial revolution already underway. My experience and understanding, however, is that the money to develop and grow our economy is out there if we provide conducive environment for it to come and stay.
“Three, political will, political action and administrative efforts must be invested on reforming the public service into a capability ready institution that could enable Nigeria’s development agenda beyond 2023. All of these and more are necessary to correct and not to repeat the sickening and painful show of shame, which the elections of 2023 generated into.
“Let me conclude by stating clearly that I am now too old to keep quiet and watch Nigeria’s seemingly clueless launch into dystopia. All efforts are now required from all, well, many and committed patriots to rescue the nation from the precipice. And when I look at the audience, I have a feeling that among the people, who can do it and who must do it are some of you here.
“It has become my own personal obligation, continuing in my relentless service as letterman, dedicated in my twilight years to say the truth, as I see it, so as to push Nigeria, in the direction of our collective aspirations. What is our collective aspiration? A better society, where all Nigeria can become what the Almighty God destined it to be.
“In times like this, some of us have to adopt the attitude of being known to be blind and not being afraid of the dark. But we must continue to work for the light of all,” Obasanjo stated.
Obasanjo also criticised the growing debt profile and spending spree of government at all tiers, especially those at the helm of affairs currently, likening the situation to “spending like a drunken sailor.”
He congratulated Olaopa for continuing to labour on behalf of the Nigerian public service and adding significant intellectual memoir to his huge collection of publications and to the annals of administrative reforms in Nigeria.
With ThisDay/Vanguard reports
