Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has stated that a government unable to secure lives and property has no justification to exist, citing Nigeria's worsening insecurity and leadership failures. He blamed the country's challenges on poor governance, noting Nigeria's diminished role in global and regional affairs, particularly within ECOWAS. Speaking in an interview on News Central's Soni Irabor Live, Obasanjo said Nigeria is no longer at the table of international decision-making. He referenced past safety, recalling that in 1959, travel across the country, including the North, was safe and unhindered. He criticised the current administration's response to the Niger Republic coup, describing it as lacking nuance despite Tinubu's ECOWAS leadership role. Obasanjo dismissed National Council of State meetings as a waste of time and warned that about 20 million out-of-school children present a long-term security threat. He traced insecurity to post-civil war arms proliferation, the return of mercenaries after Muammar Gaddafi's fall, and the political use of armed groups. On the economy, he maintained that NNPC refineries will not work, citing $16 billion in spending with little result, and contrasted this with the success of the privately driven Nigeria LNG project. Obasanjo opposed a one-party state, calling it harmful to Nigeria, and questioned whether the government would implement security recommendations from NIPSS.
Obasanjo claims the government has forfeited its right to exist over insecurity, yet offers no concrete alternative despite his own tenure overseeing similar challenges. His criticism of NNPC refineries and $16 billion in wasted spending points directly to decisions made during his presidency. If the refineries were doomed under his watch, then his administration shares responsibility for the failures now being condemned. This undermines his moral authority to reject the current government's legitimacy.
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