By Kolawole Ojebisi
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has revealed how he drew the attention of former Minister of Transport, Rotimi Amaechi, who served in the administration of former President Muhamnadu Buhari, to the archive on a pre-existing national railway development which Buhari’s government eventually implemented.
The ex-president stressed that the former Rivers helmsman was not aware of the plan before he drew his attention to it.
Obasanjo said this at a dinner organised in his honour by Abia Government on Friday at the Government House, Umuahia.
“I believe that even if you don’t like me if I have pieces of advice to give you, as I did when you were Minister for Transport, I will give the advice.
“You didn’t know that we had a national plan for railway for this country, to reach every state capital as we have them now and I told you to go into the archives, it is there.
“But again, I believe as Minister of Transport, you got a bit of it right, you got a bit of it wrong.”
Obasanjo added that Nigerians have no business being poor with the country’s vast resources.
He said that the nation is abundantly blessed but is suffering from the mismanagement of its resources.
He said: “Nigerians have no business with poverty because God has given us all that we need.
“If we are mismanaging what God has given us, we do not have God to blame, we have ourselves to blame.”
The former president praised the efforts of Gov. Alex Otti of Abia in transforming the state, noting the wide public acclaim of his administration’s performance.
He affirmed the governor’s impact on governance in the state and urged him to continue to do well.
Obasanjo added that if Nigeria had 18 governors doing well in their responsibilities as leaders, “we will build the country up”.
He reiterated his concern in the well-being of Nigerians and the quality of governance they receive.
“For me, whether you don’t greet me or I greet you and you don’t answer, what is important to me is that the people of this country are getting what they deserve and what they deserve is good governance,” he said.
In his speech, the governor acknowledged the support he received from the former president.
He said that the importance of vision and perseverance in leadership could never be overlooked, recounting the challenges he faced over his decade-long political journey.
Also, Amaechi called on political actors in Abia to begin early preparations for the 2027 general elections.
According to him, the value of a good administration was often only realised after a less competent one takes over.
He pointed out that this had become the experience with many former leaders, but Obasanjo had continually stood out because of his visionary leadership style.
“In your case, no matter who becomes president, you have always stood out,” Amaechi said.
