Obasanjo: I Managed Nigeria Well, Left Over $45bn in Reserves
Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has asserted that during his tenure as Nigeria's leader, he fulfilled all his obligations to the nation and firmly held the reins of power. Obasanjo, who served as President from 1999 to 2007, made this statement while delivering a lecture in Lagos recently.
Reflecting on his time in office, the elder statesman said, “When I was there, I did everything I should do for Nigeria, and I can beat my chest and say that. I took over the affairs of Nigeria as an elected president with N3.7 billion in reserves, and we were spending N3.5 billion just to service debt. So, I decided we must seek debt relief, and I went out for it. We succeeded, securing relief from a quantum debt of N3.36 billion. By the time I left, we had over N25 billion in what we called excess crude – money saved from the budget and actual revenues – and a reserve of over N45 billion.”
Obasanjo also addressed the perception that Nigeria is a challenging country to govern. According to him, while the nation may be complex, it is not impossible to manage.
“I always say Nigeria is a complex country. You must understand that. But Nigeria is not a difficult country to manage. You just have to be honest with yourself, with Nigeria, and with God,” he added.
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