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Former President, Olusegun Obasanjo, has called for peace in the country, calling on all Nigerians not to lose hope, despite the hardship the country has been faced with in recent times, coupled with the bad leadership.
Speaking further, the former very outspoken President, challenged all Nigerians, to think and figure out, “What Is The Nigerian Dream”. The former President spoke at a Book Launch, titled: “Politics As Dashed Hopes In Nigeria”, by Auwalu Anwar, on Thursday, January 31, 2019.
He said: “What should be our take home from here? I think there are two things: one, yes, things may be gloomy; yes, things may not be what they should be; yes, leadership may be under-performing; we must not lose hope. That is the first one. The second thing, I believe we must have some commonalities, that we will all hang on to. One, our common nationality, Nigeria. May be there is also… This is the time when we must have a Nigerian Dream. What is the Nigerian Dream? What can I hang on to and say yes I am a Nigerian, and because I am a Nigerian, I expect this. What is the Nigerian Dream?
“And I believe if we all see ourselves first as Nigerians, and then we enunciate for ourselves a Nigerian Dream, a land flowing with milk and honey, a land of opportunity, a land that gives you a stake in all that it takes, I think we would have a country, that we can all be proud of.”
Obasanjo said in his speech: “Since the book is about The Buhari Organisation, TBO, Congress for Progressive Change, CPC, All Progressive Congress, APC, and Buhari’s political life and activities up to the second year of Buhari’s administration, I will touch on two or three points that may be of interest to all of us. President Buhari served the purpose of galvanizing efforts to get Jonathan and PDP out of office. Buhari and the APC must get the credit because democracy without a strong opposition is like a marriage without the bridegroom consummating the marriage.
“But on the mid-term scorecard, Dr. Anwar pointed out three significant and tangible areas of failure; security, fighting corruption and job creation. As at today, these three areas are still what they were at mid-term, not yet a success story. Dr. Anwar touched on another significant but intangible areas of failure; exemplary leadership which induce character and power for the sake of what may be called power for self-aggrandisement. I can say that I understand where Dr. Anwar is coming from to get the title of the book, but we must face despair with optimism.
“If we all cherish democracy, we will all guard and protect our fledgling democracy and that, I believe, is the main purpose of Dr. Anwar’s book. As for me, I will do everything within me possible to safeguard democracy for good governance in Nigeria and for all Nigerians. I am particularly happy in this respect that most Nigerians themselves are rising to their duties, obligations, and responsibilities as guardians of our democracy. I commend all those that are standing for democracy. Remember that if you stand aloof when evil is being perpetrated, you will become an accomplice in the perpetration of evil.
“Nigerians must be the architect of their fortunes and future progress but equally gratifying is that the international community has accepted the responsibility and committed themselves to take necessary actions to ensure the health and sustenance of our democracy, therefore, making politics a great hope for Nigeria, for West Africa and, indeed, for Africa rather than great despair or dashed hopes. We salute and appreciate those who support us for the general good of Nigeria with a population of 200 million and rising; our misfortune has implications for the rest of Africa and the rest of the world in general. Nigeria’s potentials shall be realised by the grace of God.”
What are your thoughts? Let us know in the comments.
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