Nigeria run by bunch of dullards, most of its leaders are empty-headed – Obasanjo

• The elder statesman disclosed that he is in support of necessary reforms, as total dismantling would be retrogressive and destructive.
• He said visionary, altruistic and assertive leaders are needed to build a nation that would become a metaphor for real development and growth.

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has said Nigeria is grappling with dearth of visionary, intelligent and imaginative leaders who can harness its potential and place it on the path of prosperity.

He asserted that most Nigerians leaders are bereft of the needed knowledge and understanding of the positions they covet as they have nothing in their heads.

Obasanjo made the assertion while delivering a keynote address at the launch of the book, ‘Reclaiming The Jewel of Africa’, written by former minister, Olusegun Aganga in Abuja.

Obasanjo said, “You will weep for our nation over their level of emptiness as far as development issues are concerned.”

The elder statesman disclosed that he is in support of necessary reforms, as total dismantling would be retrogressive and destructive.

He said visionary, altruistic and assertive leaders are needed to build a nation that would become a metaphor for real development and growth.

Obasanjo, who was represented by his Special Assistant on Media, Kehinde Akinyemi, agreed with the author’s call for reforms, saying, however, that “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.”

To him, “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.”

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.”