- Obasanjo reflected on his presidency, highlighting his achievements.
- He also boasted of economic progress during his presidency.
The Nigeria’s former President Olusegun Obasanjo believes effective leadership is the key to unlocking the country’s potential.
He said that understanding Nigeria’s intricacies is crucial for successful governance.
At a Lagos memorial lecture honoring the late Akintola Williams, Obasanjo shared his insights.
The event, themed “Leadership Dynamics: Current Realities and Way Forward,” was organized by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria, ICAN.
“I always say Nigeria is a complex country. You must understand that. But Nigeria is not a difficult country to manage. You have to be honest with yourself, Nigeria and your God,” Obasanjo emphasized.
During his presidency, Obasanjo claimed to have harnessed available resources to drive economic growth, leaving a lasting legacy.
He recounted his achievements, highlighting prudent financial management and strategic decision-making.
Obasanjo said: “When I was there, I did everything I should do for Nigeria and I can beat my chest and say that.
“I took over the affairs of Nigeria as elected president with N3.7 billion in reserves and we were spending N3.5 billion to service debt, so I decided we must seek debt relief and I went out for it, even though we were the fifth country in all exporting in the world and we got debt relief.
“Not only did we get relief from a quantum debt of N3.36 billion, we came to a quantum debt of N3.6 billion and I left with over N25 billion in what we call excess crude, that is, the money we saved from the budget and what we actually received and we had a reserve of over N45 billion,”
Obasanjo praised the late Akintola Williams as a trailblazer whose contributions transcended national boundaries.
“He deserves every honour that we can confer posthumously, not for what he did for this country but what he did politically, socially and economically,”