We’ve let Africa and the world down, and Nigeria is sitting on a keg of gun powders

Nigeria’s former leader, Olusegun Obasanjo, is frustrated by the country’s lack of progress despite having been an independent nation for 63 years.

He thinks that not only has the country failed itself, but also Africa and the rest of the globe.

At the book launch for “Reclaiming the Jewel of Africa,” written by Olusegun Aganga, a former Minister of Industry, Trade and Investment and Minister of Finance, the statesman and diplomat stated his case.

The Special Adviser on Monetary Policy to President Bola Ahmed Tinubu, Olawale Edun, introduced the book at a presentation in Abuja.

Obasanjo stated, “Over the last 63 years, we have not lived up to expectations.” We’ve let everyone down, not just ourselves but also Africa, the black community, and the rest of the globe.

To continue, he said, “what Segun (Aganga) has tried to identify, itemise, and recommend in his book is the way forward.”

But recognizing that we haven’t always put the round peg in the round hole is the first step toward plotting a new route.

“We are driven by ego and emotion of self; by selfishness and self-centeredness; by ethnic and religious jingoism; by a complete and utter ignorance of the world in which we live; by a profound and pervasive misunderstanding of what development entails and how to move swiftly and continuously along the trajectory of development.

“These are safety and tranquility, and we cannot have them without a society that is just, equitable, and welcoming of all people. To be honest with ourselves, we have not done well on these measures in the past decade and a half.

I’ll also bring up the problem of education, where over 20 million kids who need to be in school aren’t. The results of it will be obvious tomorrow without consulting an oracle.

Banditry, Boko Haram, kidnapping, and other forms of organized crime do not spring from thin air.

“We are living dangerously on a keg of gunpowder,” said one analyst, “driving more people into poverty through good policies poorly and thoughtlessly implemented, or through bad policy and no policy at all.”