Former
President Olusegun Obasanjo yesterday showered praises on former President
Goodluck Jonathan for his exemplary leadership at his Ibogun country home in
Ifo area of Ogun State, after a closed-door meeting that lasted almost two hours.
Jonathan
arrived at Obasanjo hometown at 11.58 a.m., in company of his former minister
of Special Duties, Alhaji Kabiru Turaki, and other close aides.
The
visit was private, as the duo went into a closed-door meeting, which lasted
almost two hours.
The
visit may not be unconnected to unconfirmed reports of a reconciliation move
between the two former Nigerian leaders, particularly ahead of the 2019 general
elections.
It
was a sharp contrast from his constant criticism of the former president in the
last couple of years.
Though,
details of the meeting was not disclosed, Obasanjo, who spoke to the press
after the meeting, tasked leaders across the world to learn from the exemplary
leadership style of himself and that of Jonathan, saying that Jonathan went into
the office of the President with “little or no experience” but has now amassed
more wisdom and experience on leadership after leaving office.
Obasanjo
said: “I believe that not only Nigeria, West Africa and Africa and indeed the
world will continue to tap into our experiences, our wisdom and I hope and pray
that when the call is made to you, you will be more than ready to put your
experience, the lessons you have learnt into the service of this country, for
African and indeed for humanity in general.
Obasanjo
insisted that Nigeria was not created by error, neither by chance, and urged
all Nigerians, especially the leaders, to continue to work together for the
success of the country, saying: “Nigeria is a good country and we must never be
tired of lifting the country up to the height that God has created it to be.”
He
added: “God has created Nigeria to be great and God did not make a mistake when
he put all of us together and if He doesn’t want us to be together, no power in
the world would have made us come together,” he added.
Obasanjo
also admonished Jonathan to contribute his own quota to the development of the
country and African continent at large, noting: “I believe that not only
Nigeria, but also West Africa and Africa and indeed the world will continue to
tap into our experiences, our wisdom.
“I
hope and pray that when the call is made to you (Jonathan), you will be more
than ready to put your experience and the lessons you have learnt into the
service of this country, for African and indeed for humanity in general.
“I
have said to you (Jonathan) before and I will say again that there are plenty
of opportunities out there, within the country, within West Africa, within
African and indeed in the larger world, where people will want you to make
contributions.”
“I
believe that you (Jonathan) are resting now and when you have fully rested, you
will be hearing from me, because I have this opportunity to be around the world
and I mention your name in dispatch.”
He
continued: “Since you (Jonathan) left office, you hardly have time to sit down
and relax, like you have been able to do today, and I hope, I sincerely hope
and pray for more such relaxed situations, where we can reminiscence situations
of the past that we have been through in this country and we can also look at
what the future portends.
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