Former Nigerian President, Olusegun Obasanjo, says Nigerians should not be living in poverty because the country has enough natural and human resources to thrive. He shared this message during a dinner in his honor hosted by the Abia State Government at the Government House in Umuahia.

Obasanjo stated that the main reason for Nigeria’s poverty is poor management of its resources. “God has given us everything we need,”

He said.

“If we misuse those resources, we can’t blame God — we should blame ourselves.”

He praised Abia State Governor, Alex Otti, for making positive changes in the state. Obasanjo noted that many people are happy with the way Otti is running the government and encouraged him to keep up the good work.

The former president also said that if at least 18 governors in Nigeria worked effectively, the country would be in a much better condition. He stressed that his main concern is for Nigerians to receive the good leadership they deserve.

“Even if people don’t greet me or respond when I greet them, what matters most to me is that Nigerians are treated well and get good governance,” Obasanjo added.

Obasanjo also shared a story about former Transport Minister, Rotimi Amaechi. He mentioned that Amaechi didn’t know about an existing national railway plan during his time in office and had to look through old documents to find it.

Governor Alex Otti also spoke at the event. He thanked Obasanjo for his support and talked about how important vision and determination are in leadership. He shared that it took him ten years of struggle before he finally became governor.

“We won elections in 2015 and 2019, but they were taken from us,” Otti said. “People lost hope, but I stayed strong because I believed God had spoken clearly to me.”