Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has said God wanted Nigeria is supposed to be a land flowing with milk and honey, not a desert, basket case, or failed country. However, the nation is where it is either because of its leaders’ inadvertent or deliberate actions.
Obasanjo, however, stated this when he appeared on the Arise TV Morning Show on Monday. He expressed hope that Nigerians will get to where God wants them to be sooner rather than later.
“I will say to Nigerians, we are going through hardship, but they should never lose hope. I am an incurable optimist about Nigeria; we have a great country. In addition, where we are is not where God wants us to be. In addition, I believe that we will get to where God wants us to be sooner than later.
“God wants Nigeria to be a land flowing with milk and honey, not a desert, not a basket case, not a failed country that we are where we are either with the inadvertent or advertent actions of our leaders and followers to some extent. However, God is the God of great things for Nigeria.
I believe God has great things for Nigeria in the immediate future.”
“I wish all Nigerians a happy new year and a prosperous 2025, and I hope every family and every Nigerian living there will see something better in 2025,” he said.
Obasanjo also paid tribute to former President Jimmy Carter of the United States, who passed away on Sunday at 100.
The former Nigerian leader said, “I fondly remember Jimmy Carter. He exercised patience and subtle diplomacy. He was a man close to God, and God was close to him.
“He was a man of humility. He had the power but did not depend on the power to achieve what he had to accomplish.
“Jimmy Carter knew how to use power. Bringing Israel and Egypt power together is one of his greatest legacies.
“You don’t jump into a problem without understanding it. That is one good lesson we should learn from President Carter. After he left the government, he devoted his life to humanitarian work.”
Speaking on the second coming of Donald Trump, who will be sworn in as the 47th President of the US, Obasanjo said: “Whether anybody likes it or not, the American people have decided that Trump will be their leader, and Trump is American people’s leader, and he will lead America for the next four years.
“He will be the world leader because America is the greatest country in the world for now. It may change in a few years; maybe China will take over and become the largest economy, and maybe China will surpass America in technology and military power.
“But for today, America is that country. We cannot say that we have anything to do with Trump. Trump will be there from the 20th of January for the next four years. And they have to find a way of letting Trump know that what he calls a shithouse is not entirely a shithouse, that there are decent houses in Africa, and we have to make him understand that.
“There will be policymakers around him to whom we can talk. I think that there is no leader that if you present facts and figures and what I would call the enlightened interest of that leader’s country – because America has an enlightened interest in Africa – we should make that known to Trump, and to say, look, this is in your interest, don’t ignore it.
“We are ready to work with you. Give us the respect and dignity that is due to us. Respect our citizens who are in your country, and let us work together for a peaceful world, a secure world, a world that is stable, and a world where prosperity will be shared, where security will be common. I believe Trump will understand that.”
