While playing host to women leaders from across the southwestern
states of Nigeria at his Presidential Hilltop mansion, Abeokuta, on
Monday morning, former president Olusegun Obasanjo re-addressed some
national issues.
He declared that he bears no personal grudge against President
Goodluck Jonathan as insinuated in some quarters as he called on
Nigerians to vote against bad candidates in the next month general
election, adding that good governance is what he is after and it starts
from voting to select credible leaders.
Here are ten quotes from his speech:
1. I know that God did not create Nigeria not to be rich or great. Is
that the people he created in Nigeria are not knowledgeable enough or
not intelligent enough? Or is that they don’t know their rights?
2. Now, you said this year is an election year, I have no
apprehension over these coming elections. I have no fears over the
forthcoming elections.
3. I have no grudges against Jonathan and I think Jonathan equally has no grudges against me.
4. I am not quarreling with Jonathan but all I know is that whatever
is good for Nigeria, that I’m ready to die for. I emphasize that,
whatever is good for Nigeria, is what I’m ready to defend with my life.
5. Whoever, I emphasize, whoever says he would not do anything good to Nigeria, even, if he says he is ready to go ‘koko
bellow’, I’m ready to square it up with such a person. I say again,
whoever that person may be; I want you to get that correctly.
6. If this country is going to change for the better, it would start
from the top and if it’s going to be otherwise, it would start from the
top too.
7. I have had some little experience about this country. I was a
military Head of State and I was also a civilian president, so what is
left? So, if I talk, I know what I’m saying. Whoever wants, should
listen to me and whoever feels otherwise, may turn a deaf ear.
8. When I’m talking, I’m talking with my understanding and intellect.
9. I’m drawing from my experience and from what I’ve learnt with
others and from other countries and fellow eminent citizens of the world
that I relate with.
10. Good governance comes from voting, from selection of leaders. It
is now left to you to decide who you cast your vote for because if you
throw away your votes and tomorrow you are saying good governance, once
you throw away your votes you have lost out. That is one. Find out the
track records of achievements of those you want to vote for.
11. Our economy should not have been this bad. When I was leaving
office about eight years ago, left a very huge reserve after we had paid
all our debts. Almost 25billion dollars were kept in what they called
excess crude. The excess from the budget we were saving as reserve for
the rainy days.
12. When we left in May 2007, the reserve was said to have been
raised to 35billion dollars. But today, that reserve has been depleted!
Today, that reserve has been depleted. The reserve we left when we
finished paying all our debts, our debts that was about 40billion
dollars, that is including debt forgiveness, the remaining debt was not
more than 3billion dollars. Our reserve after we had paid off this debt
was about 45billion dollars. As I said, they continued till the end of
2007, I heard that the reserve increased to almost 67billion dollars
before the end of the year. Our reserve now, learnt is left with around
only 30billion dollars. That is why the Naira has been falling against
the dollar.
13. What would now happen, I learnt if you want to buy a dollar now,
it’s about N192 or N195. What it means is this, what you have been
buying at N150 to a dollar, now you need N192 or N195 to buy it.
14. Is there any remedy? There is but it does not come overnight
because it means we have to give up all the bad things we have been
doing.
15. Obasanjo later went spiritual as he quoted from Biblical verses
and told a story of how God called Samuel to anoint Saul as King of
Israel. “It was the same God that called the same Prophet to anoint
David as the next king when Saul misbehaved. Only God gives power to
whoever He wishes and takes it at anytime He wishes.”
While playing host to women leaders from across the southwestern
states of Nigeria at his Presidential Hilltop mansion, Abeokuta, on
Monday morning, former president Olusegun Obasanjo re-addressed some
national issues.
He declared that he bears no personal grudge against President
Goodluck Jonathan as insinuated in some quarters as he called on
Nigerians to vote against bad candidatesin the next month general
election, adding that good governance is what he is after and it starts
from voting to select credible leaders.
Here are ten quotes from his speech:
1. I know that God did not create Nigeria not to be rich or great. Is
that the people he created in Nigeria are not knowledgeable enough or
not intelligent enough? Or is that they don’t know their rights?
2. Now, you said this year is an election year, I have no
apprehension over these coming elections. I have no fears over the
forthcoming elections.
3. I have no grudges against Jonathan and I think Jonathan equally has no grudges against me.
4. I am not quarreling with Jonathan but all I know is that whatever
is good for Nigeria, that I’m ready to die for. I emphasize that,
whatever is good for Nigeria, is what I’m ready to defend with my life.
5. Whoever, I emphasize, whoever says he would not do anything good to Nigeria, even, if he says he is ready to go ‘koko
bellow’, I’m ready to square it up with such a person. I say again,
whoever that person may be; I want you to get that correctly.
6. If this country is going to change for the better, it would start
from the top and if it’s going to be otherwise, it would start from the
top too.
7. I have had some little experience about this country. I was a
military Head of State and I was also a civilian president, so what is
left? So, if I talk, I know what I’m saying. Whoever wants, should
listen to me and whoever feels otherwise, may turn a deaf ear.
8. When I’m talking, I’m talking with my understanding and intellect.
9. I’m drawing from my experience and from what I’ve learnt with
others and from other countries and fellow eminent citizens of the world
that I relate with.
10. Good governance comes from voting, from selection of leaders. It
is now left to you to decide who you cast your vote for because if you
throw away your votes and tomorrow you are saying good governance, once
you throw away your votes you have lost out. That is one. Find out the
track records of achievements of those you want to vote for.
11. Our economy should not have been this bad. When I was leaving
office about eight years ago, left a very huge reserve after we had paid
all our debts. Almost 25billion dollars were kept in what they called
excess crude. The excess from the budget we were saving as reserve for
the rainy days.
12. When we left in May 2007, the reserve was said to have been
raised to 35billion dollars. But today, that reserve has been depleted!
Today, that reserve has been depleted. The reserve we left when we
finished paying all our debts, our debts that was about 40billion
dollars, that is including debt forgiveness, the remaining debt was not
more than 3billion dollars. Our reserve after we had paid off this debt
was about 45billion dollars. As I said, they continued till the end of
2007, I heard that the reserve increased to almost 67billion dollars
before the end of the year. Our reserve now, learnt is left with around
only 30billion dollars. That is why the Naira has been falling against
the dollar.
13. What would now happen, I learnt if you want to buy a dollar now,
it’s about N192 or N195. What it means is this, what you have been
buying at N150 to a dollar, now you need N192 or N195 to buy it.
14. Is there any remedy? There is but it does not come overnight
because it means we have to give up all the bad things we have been
doing.
15. Obasanjo later went spiritual as he quoted from Biblical verses
and told a story of how God called Samuel to anoint Saul as King of
Israel. “It was the same God that called the same Prophet to anoint
David as the next king when Saul misbehaved. Only God gives power to
whoever He wishes and takes it at anytime He wishes.”
