“Obasanjo: Regionalism is the Root of Nigeria’s Challenges”
Olusegun Obasanjo, the former president of Nigeria, has criticised regionalism as the root cause of the country’s persistent problems.
Speaking during the League of Northern Democrats’ visit to Abeokuta on Tuesday, October 22, Obasanjo bemoaned the fact that the regionalism that was embraced at the country’s independence in 1960 still impedes its development.
Speaking to the delegation headed by Ibrahim Shekarau, the former governor of Kano State,Obasanjo underlined that a leader’s background should not be important, but rather their contributions to government and national development.
Obasanjo said, “Where a leader hails from does not matter.Rather, what he brings to the table in terms of development and governance should matter”.
Additionally, the previous president pushed the organisation to change its name to something more inclusive, proposing that it become the “National League of Democrats” instead of a North-focused regional organisation. He said that Nigeria’s obsession with regional differences, whether they are North, East, or West, has made the nation’s issues worse.
“One of the things that led us to where we are today, and we haven’t gotten out of, is regionalism.Whenever I hear ‘North’, ‘East’ or ‘West’, I get frightened,” he said.
Obasanjo acknowledged the group’s worries on Nigeria’s political situation but emphasised the significance of redressing these injustices from a national perspective.
