“Why should Nigerians be in poverty”: Obasanjo urges solution to hardship

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has urged the Federal Government to listen to the concerns of Nigerians, especially youths, which he said necessitated the nationwide protest.

Obasanjo said this while playing host to six members of the National Assembly in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, on Friday, August 9, 2024.

The six lawmakers are co-sponsors of a bill seeking a single six-year term for presidency and rotation between the North and the South.

The former president stated what the youths were seeking through the #EndBadGovernanceInNigeria nationwide protest was legitimate.

He said there could be dire consequences if their demands were not met as soon as possible.

Obasanjo urged the federal government to listen to Nigerian youths and not treat their concerns with levity.

Obasanjo said: “You are what you are today because you’re a Nigerian. I’m what I am also because I’m Nigerian. So why should they be Nigerians and be languishing in poverty?

“They make demands and we’re not listening to them. Many of them are frustrated, desperate, angry and unemployed. What do we expect?”

Obasanjo noted that for Nigeria to attain its highest status, all hands must be on deck, just as “our mentality should also change”.

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The former president added: “The issue is not whether Nigeria should adopt a single six-year term or maintain status quo. If the mentality of the people in governance does not change, then Nigeria will remain where it is.

“For me, the issue is for us to get it right. Whether we have one term of six years or two terms of four years; where it’ll work is our mentality.

“We have to decarbonise our brain. If you give a person one single term of six years, he will do the same harm he could have done in two terms of four years.

“If you have a system you can trust; you have an INEC you can trust, then it will not matter the number of years.”

Speaking, Ikenga Ugochinyere, who led five other lawmakers, said the country should move toward adopting a single six-year term for president.

Ugochinyere, a member of the House of Representatives representing Ideato Federal Constituency in Imo State, stated that there should be a rotational mechanism for governance between the North and the South, just as state governments should rotate governance among the three senatorial districts.

The lawmaker called for a rejig of Nigeria’s laws to accommodate these changes.

Other lawmakers, who accompanied Ugochinyere on the visit, were Abdulmalik Danga (Kogi), Midala Malami (Borno), Matthew Nwogu (Imo), Peter Aniekwe (Anambra), and Kama Nkemkama (Ebonyi).

The Star