Former President of Nigeria, General Olusegun Obasanjo, has said that he is an incurable optimist about Nigeria, and that he believes that though the country is not yet where God wants it to be, it will soon get there.
The former President said this in an interview with ARISE NEWS on Monday while giving a New Year message to Nigerians as the year 2024 draws to a close.
Obasanjo, encouraging Nigerians, said, “I will say to Nigerians, we are going through hardship, but they should never lose hope. I am an incurable optimist about Nigeria, and we have a great country. And where we are is not where God wants us to be. And I believe that sooner than later, we will get to where God wants us to be. God wants Nigeria to be a land flowing with milk and honey, not a desert, not a basket case, not a failed country that we are where we are either with the inadvertent or advertent actions of our leaders and followers to some extent. But God is God of great things for Nigeria. I believe God has great things for Nigeria in the immediate future.”
“I wish all Nigerians a happy new year, a prosperous 2025, and I hope every family, every living Nigerian will see something better in the year 2025,” he said.
Looking further into 2025, the year in which President-Elect Donald Trump will be sworn in as 47th President of the US, Obasanjo was asked how he believes the Nigerian government can work closely with Trump in a way that Nigeria will benefit, to which he responded, “Whether anybody likes it or not, the American people have decided that Trump will be their leader, and Trump is American people’s leader, and he will lead America for the next four years. He will be the leader of the world, because America is the greatest country in the world for now. It may change in a few years’ time, maybe China will take over and become the largest economy, maybe China will surpass America in technology, maybe in military power.
“But for today, America is that country. And we cannot say we have nothing to do with Trump. Trump will be there from the 20th of January for the next four years. And they have to find a way of letting Trump know that what he calls shithouse is not entirely shithouse, that there are decent houses in Africa, and we have to make him understand that.
“And I believe there will be policy makers around him that we can reach and we can also talk to. I believe that there is no leader that if you present facts and figures and what I would call enlightened interest of that leader’s country – because America has enlightened interest in Africa – we should make that known to Trump, and to say, look, this is in your interest, don’t ignore it. We are ready to work with you. Give us our respect and dignity that is due to us. Respect our citizens that are in your country, and let us work together for a peaceful world, a world that is secure, the world that is stable, and the world where the prosperity will be shared, where security will be common. I believe Trump will understand that.”
Ozioma Samuel-Ugwuezi
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