…Lends Support To #EndBadGovernance Protests
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo on Friday said many politicians currently around the corridors of power should ordinarily be kept behind bars over the current economic hardship ravaging the country.
Obasanjo also said Nigerian youths participating in the nationwide #EndBadGovernance protests are fighting a legitimate course and urged the government of President Bola Tinubu to listen to their demands.
The former President spoke on Friday at his residence in Abeokuta, Ogun State, when he received in audience six members of the House of Representatives who are co-sponsors of a bill for a single-term of six years presidency.
The visitors are also seeking the rotation of presidency between the north and the south as well as rotation of governorship slot among the three senatorial districts of each of the 36 states.
The lawmakers were led to the former President’s residence by Hon. Ugochinyere Ikenga, representing Ideato North and Ideato South Federal Constituency of Imo State, in the House of Representatives.
Obasanjo noted that Nigerian politicians must change their ways, stressing that “we have to rethink our democracy, but the character of people in government must change. With all due respect, most of those in government right now should be behind bars or in gallows”.
Speaking on the ongoing #EndBadGovernance protest, the former military Head of State lamented that youths are angry because of the hunger and high level of unemployment in the country.
“What the youths (protesters) are demanding are very legitimate and should be listened to or why should they be denied what rightfully belongs to them? They are frustrated, they are hungry, they are angry, they are unemployed, they deserve to be given listening ears,” Obasanjo said.
He decried the failure of successive administrations to build on the foundation laid by his government between 1999 and 2003.
The former President observed that such failures were the reasons the country had been experiencing drawbacks in her policies and development efforts in the last 16 years.
He said, “More than anything else such as changing our system of government, moving to a single term of six or four years, we must change our ways of doing things in this country. We must decarbonise our brains, we must change our mentality and characters.
“How I wish that the succeeding governments are building on the foundation we laid even if not so fast as one would have wanted it but sadly the blocks we put there are even being removed.
“What I Know about Nigeria is that yes, if we get it right, the leadership, the team, because one tree does not make a forest, you need a good leader but you also need a good team for a well done job.
“The point is that if we get this right in about two and half years, we shall get some of the challenges behind us and in about 10 years we will have gotten a solid foundation and in about 25 years we will be there.
“But what we have always done is to take one step forward, two steps aside and four steps backwards and it is why we are where we are in the country.
“For me it is not so much about the system but we may need to rethink the liberal democracy where we talk of loyal opposition. What we do in Africa is that we sit down and get consensus and after we have done that there is no opposition. Everyone is on the same page and we move together.
“The word for opposition in all African languages that I have looked into is enemies. What do you do with loyal enemies? Nothing like that once you take it, it belongs to you, the winners take all and the opposition goes into the wilderness. That is what we do but this is not good. We need everyone to join hands together and move society forward.
“The issue for me if we get it right whether we have a single term of six years or two terms of four years is that we must decarbonise our brains and mentality.”
Speaking on the planned single term agenda, he said, “Look if you give him (referring to any elected president) a period of single term of six years, he can go ahead and still do the evil he would have done in two terms of four years (each). The only difference is that he would have done that within the period of six years and not four years and that is if he is not reelected for another four years.
“To me, this is not our problem, our main problem is ourselves and until we take care of ourselves. If we like, let us adopt single term of six years, one term of four years among others with the same mentality and same way of doing things, nothing will change.”
