Irked by what he perceived as the frivolous expenditure of
the Jonathan administration, former President Olusegun Obasanjo, yesterday,
once again took a swipe at President Goodluck Jonathan, accusing him among
other things of squandering $25billion crude oil savings left behind by his
administration.
Jonathan and Obasanjo
Obasanjo made the allegation while hosting the South-West
women leaders at his residence in Abeokuta, describing the administration of
President Jonathan as full of impunity. Obasanjo also said the failure of
Jonathan’s administration to save for the rainy day led Nigeria into the
current economic mess where a dollar exchanges N195.
Obasanjo claimed that the more than $25billion inherited by
his successor, Musa Yar’Adua, was raised to $35 billion but the Jonathan
administration squandered all, including also the $40billion in Nigeria’s
foreign reserve account after paying the outstanding debt at the time.
According to him, former President Yar’adua also raised the
reserves to $60billion, but under President Jonathan, the reserves plummeted.
These new claims followed series of public denunciation of
Jonathan’s government by the former president.
I’m not against
Jonathan
Last year, Obasanjo repeatedly lambasted the current
government, accusing the president of promoting and tolerating corruption, and
failing to provide security for Nigerians. But Obasanjo, yesterday, said he was
not fighting the President, nor was Jonathan fighting him. He said he was more
concerned about the interest of the country, and, therefore, cared less about
criticisms.
“I have no grudges against Jonathan and I think Jonathan
equally has no grudges against me. I’m not quarrelling with Jonathan. 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. Whoever I emphasize, whoever says he would not do
anything good to Nigeria, even if he says he’s ready to go ‘konko below’, 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. 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,” the former president stressed.
Economy in bad condition
The former president also lamented the poor condition of
Nigeria’s economy, saying it shouldn’t have been this bad.
“Our economy should not have been this bad. When I was
leaving office about eight years ago, I left a very huge reserve after we had
paid all our debts. Almost $25billion was kept in what they called excess
crude, including the excess from the budget we were saving as reserve for the
rainy days. When we left in May, 2007, the reserve was said to have been raised
to $35billion.
“But today, that reserve has been depleted! The reserve we
left when we finished paying all our debts, our debts that was about
$40billion, that is including debt forgiveness, the remaining debt was not more
than $3billion. Our reserve after we had paid off this debt was about
$45billion. As at the end of 2007, I heard that the reserve increased to almost
$67billion before the end of that year. But our reserve now, I learnt is left
with around only $30billion.
“That is why the Naira has been falling against the dollar.
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. That is the real situation. 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,” Obasanjo said.
He continued: “I know that God did not create Nigeria not to
be rich or great. Is it that the people he created in Nigeria are not
knowledgeable enough or not intelligent enough? Or is it that they don’t know
their rights? Our problems in Nigeria lie with the leadership. Let’s look at
the foundation of our leadership. In the profession I know very well, the
military, what we normally say is that there are no bad soldiers but bad
officers. If you see a situation where the soldiers are not doing well, we need
to examine the officers in charge. So it is in the family, the community, the
town and the country.
“Truly, the price of crude has fallen, but anyone who is
wise enough should know that since we depend on just one resource and since we
have no control over its pricing, we should be planning for this type of
situation and the way out of it. Our inability to have a reserve has brought us
into this economic quagmire.
“If we are going to solve unemployment problem, it is
through agriculture and not through oil and gas. Now, we have no alternative.
Agriculture is renewable because the land can be used over and over again, but,
once a barrel of oil is gone, it’s gone forever, “he said.
I’m not apprehensive about forthcoming elections
On the forthcoming
election, Obasanjo said he’s not apprehensive as being speculated. He also
advised the electorate to vote for candidates with integrity and good records.
“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. But when I’m talking, I’m talking
with my understanding and intellect. 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. I have no apprehension over this
coming elections. I have no fears over the forthcoming elections.
“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. What have they achieved
in the past and not what they have said.”
I’m still in PDP
Concerning his
membership of the Peoples Democratic Party, PDP, Obasanjo said: “I am still in
the Peoples Democratic Party, though not active. With the kind of people and
behaviours I see in the party, I don’t think I can stand before God and defend
them.
“Nigeria does not deserve the position it finds itself
today. Our nation is plagued with insecurity, corruption, economic downturn,
and impunity in doing thing. If man cannot arrest you, God will arrest you. The
position you are now, God puts you there. If you think lies can keep you there,
continue. If you think bad people can keep you there, continue. If you think
it’s money, continue. But remember God does not sleep nor slumber. A leader
must be forward looking and plan ahead.
“At the beginning of last year, the budget was based on $78
per barrel. That year, the government spent more on recurrent expenditure and a
little on capital expenditure”.
Nigeria cannot
disintegrate
The former President, however, ruled out the possibility of
Nigeria disintegrating after the election, saying, he had been told that he
would be the last President when he was contesting the election in 2003.
He recalled that, “1964 election led to ‘Wetie’. I saw
people being slaughtered; there was 1966 coup, the 1966 pogrom and the civil
war. We survived it. Then, Abacha came, we survived it. When I was about to
contest in 1999, I was told that it was a deceit like IBB and Abacha did. They
said that Abubakar Abdulsalami was also out to deceive us. Some people said
after me, there would be no Nigeria again, but, after me, there had been two
presidents. This God is God of Nigeria”.(VANGUARD)
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