‘We are so divided today the way we have not been before’— Obasanjo

Former president Olusegun Obasanj says Nigeria has never been as divided as it is today under President Muhammadu Buhari.

He said this on Thursday when he received a former Minister of Special Duties and Inter-Governmental Affairs, Kabiru Tanimu Turaki, at the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library in Abeokuta.

Turaki, who is a presidential aspirant, came with a 10-man delegation that included a former governor of Adamawa State, Boni Haruna.

Obasanjo reiterated that he would not rest until the fortunes of Nigeria are “turned around for good.”

He identified the absence of “qualitative leadership” as one of the major challenges confronting Nigeria, adding that men of goodwill must not keep quiet in the face of bad leadership.

He then called on the political class to work hard towards providing the country with better leadership.

He said, “Let me say that what is happening here today or what you’re making to happen with your delegation particularly gladdens my heart.

“You are firming up and stabilising our democracy. Democracy is not a destination but a journey and there is no nation that can claim to have reached the final destination.

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“It is good for us as a nation and our democracy. We have said a lot of things that we have identified about what we need to put right as a country. What do we lack? Why are we not where we should be?

“We are so divided today the way we have not been before. People are deprived socially and economically. But you know, I have never lost hope.

While speaking with journalists after the meeting, Turaki said he came to pay respect to the former president and also to intimate him with his presidential ambition in 2019.

He said the indivisibility of the country remained non-negotiable.

He also accused the All Progressives Congress-led administration of “incompetence” due to its “inability to resolve some of Nigeria’s many challenges.”

He said, “The meeting has been a very fruitful one. We have discussed openly, honestly and frankly about the current situation in this country and like always, Baba was of tremendous guidance to us.

“Baba has spoken in his vintage way of speaking passionately about the situation in Nigeria.

“We believe that our indivisibility as one and united nation is given and it is non-negotiable. We feel that our unity is also non-negotiable.”

 

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