Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has warned that Nigeria is “sitting on a keg of gunpowder” and urged for moral rearmament and positive reorientation among citizens to address the country’s myriad challenges.
Obasanjo made the call while hosting six members of the House of Representatives at the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library in Abeokuta, Ogun State.
The lawmakers were led by Ugo Chinyere, former chairman of the House of Representatives Committee on Downstream Petroleum.
The former President expressed concern that Nigeria has failed to build on the foundations laid during his tenure, instead taking “two steps forward, one step aside, and four steps backward.”
“Nigeria is a nation where we take two steps forward, one step aside and four steps backward. So, we sitting on a keg of gunpowder that could explode anytime if we fail to take courageous and decisive steps to address the multi various challenges facing the country,” he said.
He emphasized the need for courageous and decisive steps to address the country’s challenges.
Obasanjo also stressed the importance of changing the country’s mentality and characters, saying, “We must decarbonize our brains; we must change our ways of doing things in this country.”
He warned that the three arms of government, the civil service, and the private sector must change their ways, or “we all sink in the same boat called Nigeria.”
The former President also criticized the corruption in the Nigeria National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), stating that it would prevent the country’s refineries from functioning effectively.
He recalled that Shell Company had declined his offer to take over the refineries due to “unimaginable corruption.”
The lawmakers, who were co-sponsors of a bill on a single six-year term and rotation between the North and South, sought Obasanjo’s counsel and expertise on the matter.
