State of the Nation: Bedrock of growth is leadership — Obasanjo

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has stressed that the bedrock of the growth of a nation is the behest of the leadership at the helm of affairs.

Just as he alluded to the dwindling state of the country to absence of quality leadership, saying that the country is not difficult to manage.

The former president stated this while answering questions at the maiden memorial lecture in honour of late Akintola Williams, themed ‘Leadership Dynamics: Current Realities and Way Forward,’ organised by the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria, ICAN, in Lagos.

Obasanjo, however, admitted the complexities of the country, saying, “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.”

He recalled his experiences as president, asserting that he served the country with the resources available at his disposal, claiming the country’s economy enjoyed good economic fortunes.

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

“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 debt relief, and I went out of it even though we were fifth country in all exports in the world, and we got debt relief.

“Not only did we not get relief from a quantum debt of N3.36 billion, we 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,” he said.

He described the late Akintola Williams as a sage, saying he served humanity during his lifetime.

“He deserves every honour that we can confer posthumously, not for what he did for this country but for what he did politically, socially, and economically,” he said.

ICAN President, Davidson Alaribe, said the lecture was organised to glean from the leadership qualities late Akintola Williams displayed while he was alive.

“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,” he added.