I left Nigeria better than I met it — Olusegun Obasanjo

Former President, Olusegun Obasanjo, has claimed that his administration was one of the best the country has had so far, especially in putting the economy of the country in good shape before leaving office in 2007.

Obasanjo, while speaking in Abeokuta, yesterday, at the Safe Online Youth Fellowship Bootcamp organised by NerdzFactory Company, supported by Meta at the Youth Development Centre, Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library (OOPL), recalled landmark achievements his administration recorded while in office between 1999 and 2007.

He stressed that he was responsible for setting Nigeria free from the bondage of immense debt, adding that he takes pride in the celebration of the 25 years an uninterrupted democracy, which started during his reign as democratic ruler in 1999.

He said: “When I came in as elected President, I wanted to get debt relief because we were spending $3.5 billion every year servicing debt and the quantum of the debt was not going down. Today, I can say that I made Nigeria better than I found it from an economic perspective.

I found $3.7 billion in the reserves and we were spending $3.5 billion to service our debt. By the time I left, we had a debt of about $36 billion with the debt relief, and I left with a debt of $3.6 billion. Also, I left a reserve of over $50 billion. I also achieved excess crude for the country worth over $25 billion.”

Obasanjo, who simply defined success as leaving a place better than one found it, said that he achieved that in his administration with excellent track records. He admonished the corps members from Lagos and Ogun states, who participated in the three-day boot camp, to dedicate their lives to championing national development.

He said: “National development is a collective responsibility, and education is very important as an instrument that you can use to contribute optimally to national development.” The former President also advised the youths to be dynamic, idealistic, inquisitive, and not take anything for granted.