Lateef Taiwo, Abeokuta

Former President, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo on Monday, disclosed that total dismantling of the country’s reforms would be retrogressive and destructive.

Obasanjo, however tasked new leaders of the country to unlock and remove the impediment to Nigeria’s attainment of “its divine stature and status and being kept a Lilliputian.”

He expressed regret that most of the leaders in positions lacked the knowledge and understanding of the position craving for, declaring, “you will weep for your nation over their level of emptiness as far as development issues are concerned.”

The ex-President in his keynote address presented via video recording at the launch of the book “RECLAIMING THE JEWEL OF AFRICA” written by former minister, Olusegun Aganga in Abuja, remarked that the author tried to identify, itemize and recommend a way forward in the book.

On the call for reforms, Obasanjo in a statement by his Special Assistant on Media, Kehinde Akinyemi noted that, “Reforms yes, total dismantling is destructive and retrogressive.

He observed that in the book, “adequate emphasis is not placed on leadership as the crucial and critical defining and decisive factor in determining the shape, form, direction, speed, content and trajectory of development for any human organisation and especially for a nation like Nigeria.

Obasanjo said “Leadership is the key to unlock and remove the impediment to Nigeria’s attainment of its divine stature and status and being kept a Lilliputian.

“With leadership issue resolved in terms of character, attributes, value, virtue, orientation, performance and love of humanity with love and fear of God, all other things will be given in terms of achievement and Nigeria will become a Giant in the Sun. We then move from potentiality to actuality.”

He stated that most of the country’s leaders, “If you ask why they want to be in the position they are craving for, you will weep for your nation over their level of emptiness as far as development issues are concerned.

“What do they understand for peace, security, stability, predictability, development, growth and progress to be actualised? I believe that peace, security, democracy and prosperity must be taken together,” he stated.

On his relationship with the book author, Obasanjo noted that Segun was among some Nigerians in the country and in Diaspora that stood out best in their character, professions, attributes, performance and reputation in all walks of life. With such men and women, why are we underperforming at home,” he wondered

“For now, I say without equivocation that Olusegun Aganga stands out as one of the best in these categories of best performers – home and away.

“None of them is perfect nor a saint but all those that I have so recruited particularly from the diaspora have performed creditably well in government.

“Segun Aganga is one of them. So is Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Lesley Obiora, Akin Adesina, Rilwanu Lukman and Bayo Ogunlesi. There are others who secured international appointments after their services at the national level under my watch. Among such distinguished ones are: Amina Mohammed, Babatunde Osotimehin, Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, Oby Ezekwesili and Akin Adesina after he had initially been encouraged by me to serve at home.”

The former President recommend the book to Nigeria’s current leaders at the national and subnational levels in all walks of life, stressing “the huge task of nation-building demands a whole-of-the-society approach.

“Those in the academia and researchers would also find the book quite useful as it contains a lot of evidence-based facts and data.

Obasanjo once again, congratulated the book author “for making this highly impressive contribution to the body of knowledge on Nigeria’s development annals.

“You are welcome to the league of authors on Nigeria’s development endeavours. I hope this will not be your last publication.”