Selfish leaders holding Nigeria down - Obasanjo

According to former President Olusegun Obasanjo, Nigeria would have been far better and had a position of pride in the world if it hadn't had an issue with self-centred leadership.

Obasanjo claims that Nigerian leaders are not just self-centred but also ignorant.

During the 2024 Leadership Empowerment International Conference, the former president gave a speech on Saturday in Abeokuta, the capital of Ogun State.

During the conference, the Priesthood Leadership Development Initiative Inc., based in Nigeria, and the Immanuel Theology Institute International, based in South Africa, awarded several Nigerians Doctorates of Leadership and Theology.
"Leadership and community service never end until the last breath is taken. Additionally, you are never too old to lead others and to give something to the community in which you lead and serve as a leader, to serve your state, your country, the continent and the world.
And to put it succinctly, what would you say is the modern Nigeria's worst evil? I'm not going to second-guess myself. It is leadership, in my opinion. Self-centred leadership, leadership characterised by a lack of knowledge and comprehension, and leadership that does not view service as the primary tenet of leadership.

"We will succeed in all other areas if we can establish effective leadership." It is admirable and excellent what Prof. Olusesi Obateye is doing. Obasanjo stated, "We need to promote and instill strong leadership at every level of our national life.

Obasanjo praised Prof. Van Den Berg Edward Alfred, the president of the institute located in South Africa, and Prof. Olusesi Obateye, the international coordinator of the Priesthood Leadership Development Initiative, for identifying and supporting a few Nigerians with leadership potential.

Speaking earlier on the conference's theme of "Responsible And Responsive Leadership," Obateye bemoaned the lack of capable leaders and claimed it was to blame for Nigeria's underdevelopment nearly 64 years after the country's independence.
Concurrently, Obasanjo declared that until Nigeria started to feed itself, its issues would persist and not be solved.

He made this statement during a courtesy call on Governor Mohammed Bago at his residence in Abeokuta, Ogun State, over the weekend. The group from Niger State consisted of commissioners and Special Advisers.

The Special Advisor to Governor Bago on Print Media, Aisha Wakaso, made this known on Sunday in a press statement.
"The former president praised Bago's idea and compared it to his own 'Operation Feed the Nation' campaign that he implemented in 1976. He underlined that the impact of such projects can be much bigger than they were previously, given the availability of current tools.

"The problems facing Nigeria will not go away until it starts to feed itself," Obasanjo said, emphasising the vital significance of agricultural self-sufficiency. A country on the verge of collapse is one that cannot feed itself.

In order to guarantee that Nigeria can supply the majority of its own food, Wakaso said, "he urged other state governors to follow Niger State's lead in agricultural development."

The Special Advisor revealed that the former President urged Niger State to keep funding agriculture and look into cutting-edge techniques to improve current practices, expressing his intention to visit Niger State with his team to learn from their progress and exchange ideas to improve and add value to his own agricultural endeavors.
Obasanjo cautioned that Nigeria may soon run out of arable land at the current rate of land use, and he also encouraged people to think about investing in soilless farming. He emphasised that using cutting-edge farming methods is crucial to maintaining the country's agricultural productivity," she said.