The media was awash over the weekend with the news-report about a recent statement made by former President Olusegun Obasanjo in which he criticized the present President of Nigeria, Asiwaju Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
In the statement signed by his Special Assistant on Media, Kehinde Akinyemi, the Owu High Chief expressed sadness over what he called ‘the poor implementation of the removal of subsidy from petroleum products as well as the floating of the naira.’
Obasanjo was further quoted as saying that ‘the government has taken three decisions, two of which are necessary but wrongly implemented and have led to the impoverisation of the economy and of Nigerians’.
To those who have forgotten, Chief Obasanjo was at the helms of affairs in Nigeria for eight years, this is not inclusive of his several months of sojourn as the military leader of the country after General Murtala Muhammed was assassinated in 1976.
It is therefore pertinent to ask three questions – how many decisions did Obasanjo take in all those years that he was  presiding over the affairs of Nigeria that impoverished the people?
The second question – what and what roles did Tinubu’s predecessors including Chief Obasanjo play in sinking the economic ship of the country to the level it is today?
And the third – what roles and contributions did the followership, the citizens in general general play (and are still playing) that specifically grounded the nation’s currency to the level of worthlessness?
At this point, it will be un-solomonic to embark on the needless trip of blame-trading. The survival of the nation should be paramount and prioritized by all including Chief Obasanjo and others.
The hunger in the land is unprecedented. History has recorded it that societies that experienced hunger, deprivation, poverty and other sad experiences have most of the times also recorded civil unrest and strife.
Focus should be on how both the leadership in the country (at all levels of governance) and the followership will mend their ways, become more interested in doing the right things at the right time. There is dire need for all to undergo intense re-orientation before it becomes too late. Corruption and lack of love for the country have prevailed for so long to the extent that they look like part of the culture of Nigeria. Something urgent must be done. And fast!
Long live the Federal Republic of Nigeria!
