Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has said Nigeria is at a critical period in her political history, needing a leader with the right character and capacity to turn things around.
Obasanjo stated this at the Ohanaeze Ndigbo National Secretariat in Enugu, where he signed a condolence register opened by the group of elders for the First Republic Minister of Aviation, Chief Mbazulike Amaechi, who passed away in November.
Obasanjo said he was also working with other elder statesmen to usher in a new Nigeria where everyone would have a sense of belonging with justice for all.
Leader of the apex Yoruba socio-political organisation, Afenifere, Pa Ayo Adebanjo, and presidential flag bearer of the Labour Party (LP), Mr. Peter Obi, also signed the register as a sign of respect for the deceased.
Obasanjo said the major problem with Nigeria was the scarcity of leaders with the right character to be trusted with leadership roles.
“So, if I put my hand on someone, it means that compared with the other, I see that there is a merit that will be of benefit to Nigeria,” he said. “And I believe that Chief Adebanjo stands for the same thing.”
Obasanjo said although he had paid his dues in Nigeria, he would not relent in pushing for justice, adding that the problem with the country is not ethnic but national.
He stated, “I have shed my blood for this country. I have gone to prison in this country. So, what are you going to frighten or threaten me with? The only thing that my senior brother (Adebanjo) hasn’t done is that he hasn’t shed his blood, but he has gone to prison.
“What I believe and what I think Pa Ayo Adebanjo believes is not ethnic, it’s not sectional, it is not religious, it is Nigeria. I believe in equity, I believe in justice, I believe in one Nigeria.”
Obasanjo described late chief Mbazulike as a Nigerian patriot and the last of the titans, though regretting that the nationalist would not be around to witness the new Nigeria he had laboured for.
Receiving the eminent leaders on behalf of the President General of the apex Igbo organisation, Professor George Obiozor, Secretary General of the group, Ambassador Okey Emuchay, said the organisation would continue to seek justice, fairness, equity and inclusion in Nigeria, as the late Amaechi did.
Emuchay also thanked the leaders for honouring the late former minister and the entire Ndigbo, stressing that the Ohanaeze remains committed to fairness and equity.
