Jonathan Nwokpor
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Since every region of Nigeria has considered seceding at some point, former President Olusegun Obasanjo has maintained that no ethnic group should be punished for its separatist tendencies.He made the remarks at the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library in Abeokuta, Ogun State, on Tuesday while entertaining members of the League of Northern Democrats, who were led by Ibrahim Shekarau, a former governor of Kano State.
He said: “I think all of us in Nigeria have to rethink. It bleeds my heart when people say because the Igbos had carried out secession, an Igbo man cannot be the president of Nigeria. I say what nonsense? There is no section of Nigeria that has not planned secession.”
The former president maintained that regionalism is the fundamental issue ailing Nigeria, pointing out that it has widened the rift among Nigerians and slowed the nation’s development.
Obasanjo continued by challenging the focus on regional leadership and advocating for a change in perspective towards national unity.
“One of the things I always question myself about is, why should my being a proud Yoruba man be in the way of my being a Nigerian? I could have been born in Sokoto or Maiduguri, and I would still be a Nigerian. My being Yoruba should not be an enemy of my being Nigerian,” he said.
Nigeria was once considered a “giant in the sun,” but the former president lamented the country’s lost potential on the international scene, saying it has since failed to live up to expectations.
“At independence, the world was talking about Nigeria as the giant not just in Africa but in the sun. We have disappointed ourselves, Africa, the black race, and the world. That is the truth,” Obasanjo declared.
In his speech, he urged Nigerians to choose competence and honesty over regional or religious affinities when choosing leaders.
“If we do not get the best man for the job, it doesn’t matter where he comes from, we are deceiving ourselves,” he added.
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