Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has said that Nigeria’s widespread poverty is unjustifiable, considering the nation’s abundant natural and human resources.
Speaking during a dinner hosted in his honour by the Abia State Government at the Government House in Umuahia on Friday, Obasanjo lamented that the country’s wealth continues to be squandered due to poor leadership and resource mismanagement.
“Nigerians have no business with poverty because God has given us all that we need,” he stated.
“If we are mismanaging what God has given us, we do not have God to blame, we have ourselves to blame.”
The former president praised Abia State Governor Alex Otti for his administration’s transformative efforts, noting the growing public confidence in the governor’s leadership.
Obasanjo encouraged Otti to sustain his current path, describing him as a model of progressive governance.
He further emphasized that if at least 18 governors in the country were performing their duties effectively, the fortunes of Nigeria would improve significantly.
Reaffirming his dedication to the welfare of Nigerians, the former Head of State said:
“For me, whether you don’t greet me or I greet you and you don’t answer, what is important to me is that the people of this country are getting what they deserve and what they deserve is good governance.”
Obasanjo also recounted an incident during the tenure of former Minister of Transport, Rotimi Amaechi, in which Amaechi was initially unaware of an existing national railway development plan. He said the minister had to consult archived documents to retrieve the plan.
In his response, Governor Otti acknowledged Obasanjo’s longstanding support and stressed the importance of vision and perseverance in leadership.
Reflecting on his political journey, Otti recalled the challenges he faced over the past decade, particularly during the 2015 and 2019 elections.
“Once you have vision, you have to keep to it. It took us ten years to get here. The two elections we contested from 2015 to 2019, we won clearly but they were all stolen,” he said.
“A lot of people had given up hope and said it wasn’t going to work, but I was sure that I heard clearly from God.”