Former President Olusegun Obasanjo, says Nigerians shouldn’t be poor, as the nation has enough resources and endowments to ensure prosperity for all.
He stated that Nigeria is richly blessed by God but continues to suffer due to the mismanagement of its wealth by successive leaders.
Obasanjo made the remark at a dinner held in his honour by the Abia State Government on Friday evening at the Government House, Umuahia. The elder statesman stressed that Nigerians must hold themselves accountable for the country’s failings, not God.
“Nigerians have no business with poverty because God has given us all that we need,” he said. “If we are mismanaging what God has given us, we do not have God to blame, we have ourselves to blame.”
He commended Abia State Governor, Dr. Alex Otti, for the significant developmental changes his administration has brought to the state, stating that the widespread approval of his performance was well-deserved. He urged the governor to remain committed to delivering good governance, stressing that Nigeria would experience a turnaround if at least 18 governors across the federation performed excellently in office.
Obasanjo reiterated that his concern remains the quality of governance Nigerians receive and their general well-being. “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,” he added.
The former president also recalled a moment during the tenure of ex-Transport Minister Rotimi Amaechi when he offered advice on a pre-existing national railway development plan. Obasanjo stated that Amaechi was unaware of the plan and was directed to the archives to retrieve it.
“You didn’t know that we had a national plan for railway for this country, to reach every state capital as we have them now, and I told you to go into the archives — it is there,” Obasanjo said. “But again, I believe as Minister of Transport, you got a bit of it right, you got a bit of it wrong.”
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Governor Otti, in his remarks, expressed deep appreciation for the former president’s support over the years. He highlighted the importance of vision and perseverance in leadership, recounting his decade-long political journey before finally assuming office in 2023.
“Once you have vision, you have to keep to it. It took us ten years to get here,” he said. “The two elections we contested from 2015 to 2019, we won clearly but they were all stolen. 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.”
The governor also noted that his administration had initiated wide-ranging reforms in the education sector to improve access and quality across the state.
In a separate address, former Minister Amaechi urged political stakeholders in Abia to begin early preparations for the 2027 general elections. He warned that the value of good leadership often becomes apparent only after a less capable government emerges.
“In your case, no matter who becomes president, you have always stood out,” Amaechi said, directing his comment at Obasanjo. He added that leadership quality is central to development, and to avoid any backward slide, Abians must continue to support proven leaders like Governor Otti in future elections.
“APC and other parties are already mobilising. If we don’t prepare now, we may lose out completely,” he warned. “We must not only protect what we have but also ensure that we come back in 2028 to celebrate true democratic success.”
Also present at the dinner were the lawmaker representing Isiala Ngwa North and South Federal Constituency, Chief Ginger Onwusibe, and the acting National Secretary of the Labour Party, Senator Darlington Nwokocha.
Both men praised Governor Otti for his even spread of development across all local government areas of the state and thanked Obasanjo for his consistent support and encouragement.
NAN
