Nigeria Will Get Better —Obasanjo

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has expressed optimism that Nigeria will get better.

The ex-President, who spoke to journalists on Saturday after a lecture organised by the Youth Fellowship of the Owu Baptist Church, Totoro in Abeokuta, Ogun State, to mark the nation’s 56th Independence Day anniversary, prayed for the repose of the souls of those who had laboured to build the nation.

In his lecture titled, ‘Nigeria: Development for Nigerians by Nigerians,’ the former president that though the country was not where it ought to be after 56 years of independence, he was optimistic it would surmount its challenges.

He said, “Our development is impaired; it is not what it ought to be, but we must get it right.”

According to Obasanjo, in order to move the country forward, “we must all accept responsibility; we must stop passing the buck.”

He noted that the development of the country must not be by Nigerians, foreign investors and all friends of Nigeria.

According to Obasanjo, the areas of priority for development include peace; security; education; food and nutrition; water and sanitation; shelter; and transportation.

The ex-president said, “Unemployment is a major problem in the country today and if we don’t take care, it will consume all of us. In fact, the rising unemployment is a time bomb.”

Obasanjo noted that the high rate of unemployment was responsible for youth restiveness in the country, warning that the situation should be approriately tackled.