Former President Olusegun Obasanjo on Wednesday charged between President Muhammadu Buhari to give priority attention to clearing the mess he inherited, saying the president was elected to change the country and put it on the path of rectitude and development.
Obasanjo in his keynote address at the First Akintola Williams Annual Lecture held in Lagos that dwelt on Nigeria Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow: Governance and Accountability said the major hallmarks of good governance are Transparency, Accountability, Adherence to the rule of law, Responsiveness to needs and demands of the citizenry.
Obasanjo said, “Good governance, properly nuanced, is highly participatory and as a fall out of that, good governance is equitable and inclusive. That is why good governance is effective and efficient.”
He affirmed that, “Now that the country have had change because the actors and the situation needed to be changed, let us move forward to have progress through a comprehensive economic policy and programme that is intellectually, strategically and philosophically based, pointing out that, “It is easier to win an election than to right the wrongs of a badly fouled situation. When you are outside, what you see and know are nothing compared with the reality.”
Obasanjo added that “Once you are on seat, you have to clear the mess and put the nation on the path of rectitude, development and progress leaving no group or section out of your plan, programme and policy and efforts. The longer it takes, the more intractable the problem may become.”
He opined that plans by President Buhari to take about $30billion loan was not propers, saying “I am sure that such a comprehensive policy and programme (that will move Nigeria forward) will not support borrowing US$30 billion in less than three years. It will give us the short-, medium- and long-term picture.
“Adhocry is not the answer but cold, hard headed planning that evinces confidence and trust is the answer. Economy neither obeys orders nor does it work according to wishes. It must be worked upon with all factors considered and most stakeholders involved.
“The investors, domestic and foreign, are no fools and they know what is going on with the management of the economy including the foreign exchange and they are not amused. The Central Bank must be restored to its independence and integrity. We must be careful and watchful of the danger of shortermism.
“Short-term may be the enemy of medium- and long-term. We must also make allowance for the lessons that most of us in democratic dispensation have learned and which the present administration seems to be just learning.”
Dwelling on the nation’s social maladies, the former president fingered the National Assembly as one public sector he says stinks to high heavens.
According to him, the Nigerian military, which he said needed to be purged
Obasanjo who paid glowing tribute on Akintola William said, “ I must confess that my interactions with Mr. Akintola Williams were tangential for a number of reasons. When those of us in the military in the province like Kaduna, where I was, came to Lagos in the mid-1960s, we were looking at the likes of Mr. Akintola Williams at a distance with great administration and in awe.”
