Nigeria is complex but not difficult to manage, says Obasanjo

Ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo says Nigeria may be complex but certainly not difficult to manage.

Obasanjo spoke on Wednesday at the memorial lecture in honour of Akintola Williams, Nigeria’s first chartered accountant.

Themed ‘Leadership Dynamics: Current Realities And Way Forward’, the lecture held in Lagos and was organised 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 said.

Obasanjo was military head of state from 1976 to 1979.

He returned as civilian president in 1999 and served until 2007.

The retired general said despite the economic challenges the country faced during his spell in office, his administration did everything possible to achieve development.

“When I was there, I did everything I should do for Nigeria and I can beat my chest and say that,” he added.

“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… and we got debt relief.

“Not only did we get relief from a quantum debt of N3.36 billion, but we also 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, adding that he deserves every honour conferred on him posthumously “for what he did for this country politically, socially and economically”.

Davidson Alaribe, ICAN president, implored members to uphold the standards of the profession set by Williams.

“Let us honour him not just with plaques and statues but through our daily commitment to uphold the standards he set, transforming every challenge into a stepping stone towards excellence,” Alaribe said.

In August, Obasanjo said Nigerians must stop electing “transactional leaders” if the country intends to make progress.

Obasanjo said the country is currently plagued by a band of “self-centred leaders” at all levels.