Nigeria’s former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, has said that Nigerians, both leaders and followers should blame themselves for the woes confronting it.
He said this on Tuesday in Abeokuta, the Ogun State capital, in his year 2021 message to the nation, saying no Nigerian must blame God for the hunger, poverty, bad economy among other challenges plaguing the country.
Obasanjo insisted that Nigeria ought not to be poor with numerous abundant resources the country is endowed with.
He, however, admonished Nigerians not to be weary, urging them to remain steadfast in prayers and hardwork.
The former president said, “I like the motto of a school which says ‘work and pray.’ Some people say it should be ‘pray and work’, but it doesn’t matter to me in what order I put it, but prayer must go with work and work must go with prayer.
“And I believe we need to work hard in this country as we pray hard so that the coming year, the year 2021 will be a glorious year for us. But it will not happen unless we work to make it happen.
“We do not have to blame God for our situation, we have to blame ourselves. Nigeria does not have to be poor, no Nigerian must go to bed hungry. That we have a situation like that is a choice by our leaders and followers alike. My prayer is that God will make year 2021 a better year for all of us, but it will not happen without work.”
Obasanjo described the outgoing year as most challenging as a result of the coronavirus pandemic which ravaged the entire world, insecurity and bad economy in the country.
He prayed for the repose of those who lost their lives due to the pandemic and insecurity across Nigeria.
“I would say as St. Paul, the great Apostle said, ‘in all things, we must give thanks’. This year 2020 has been a challenging year in the whole world, particularly for us in Nigeria.
“We have gone from one form of insecurity to bad economy and on the top of it is the COVID-19.
“Some people, either for insecurity or for bad economy or for COVID-19 have gone to the great beyond. I pray for the soul of those who have departed, particularly in this year of challenges, rest in perfect peace,” Obasanjo added.
He advised the leadership of the nation to do the right thing to bring the economy back to a good state, saying “when we do the right thing. We are not doing the right thing now. When we do the right thing, the economy will be what it should be.”
YOU SHOULD NOT MISS THESE HEADLINES FROM NIGERIAN TRIBUNE
Rays of the afternoon sun pelted her head as she fanned the embers beneath the half-cut iron drum with the smoke permeating the air. “This smoke is unbearable, Iya Maria,” said one of the three neighbours conversing under a makeshift shed about five meters away. Their voices rose and fell intermittently…
Selfies, video calls and Chinese documentaries: The things you’ll meet onboard Lagos-Ibadan train
The Lagos-Ibadan railway was inaugurated recently for a full paid operation by the Nigerian Railway Corporation after about a year of free test-run. JUSTICE NWAFOR joined the train to and fro Lagos from Ibadan and tells his experience in this report…
and then