Coronavirus: Obasanjo lists three lessons Nigeria should learn from COVID-19
- Ex-president Obasanjo has listed three important lessons Nigeria should learn from the coronavirus pandemic
- Obasanjo disclosed this at a virtual book launch organised by Afrobarometer, a non-governmental organisation based in Ghana
- The elder statesman also urged the Nigerian/African governments to stop blaming the past for the current economic woes in the continent
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Nigeria's ex-president, Olusegun Obasanjo, has identified three key lessons the Nigerian government and its people should learn from the coronavirus pandemic.
Nigerian Tribune reports that Obasanjo made the observations on Wednesday, May 27, at a virtual book launch organised by Afrobarometer, a non-governmental organisation based in Ghana.
Legit.ng gathers Obasanjo was a discussant at the event alongside other African leaders.
Source: Twitter
According to Obasanjo, there are three key lessons he Nigeria should learn from the coronavirus pandemic.
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The first one is to attach great importance to the issue of food security in the country and take it more seriously in the country’s economic policies and implementations, the former president noted.
The second lesson, according to the Ogun state-born politician, is for the country to take the issue of information and communications technology more seriously
He noted that Zoom and other virtual platforms have given the opportunity to meet for economic activities despite the lockdown, adding that this will be the way to go when the pandemic is over.
Obasanjo said the third lesson for Nigeria and other African countries to learn is to encourage and utilise the Africa Free Trade Agreement among countries by doing bi-lateral and multi-lateral trading within the continent.
He also asked Nigeria and other African countries not to continue blaming the past for the current economic woes in the continent.
The former president said though the past could not be totally ignored so as not to make the same mistake of the past, Africa should not be shackled by the past rather forging ahead for meaningful development.
He said African problems are self-inflicted due to bad leadership and poor institutions bd pervasive corruption, especially in governance.
“So, we should not allow ourselves to be held bound by our past,” he said.
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Earlier, Legit.ng reported that the senior special assistant to the president on media and publicity, Mallam Garba Shehu, predicted that President Buhari will be showcased as a COVID-19 hero in Africa at the end of the pandemic.
The presidential spokesperson who made this known in an interview said that after the pandemic not only would Buhari be celebrated in the country, but also across West Africa.
“I will end this conversation with a prediction: by the time this whole epidemic situation is over, this president will be showcased as COVID-19 hero, not only in Nigeria, but in the entire West African sub-region which he leads,” he said.
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Shehu in reaction to claims that the pandemic has brought a halt to governance said such reports are not true as everyone including the president, vice president, ministers, MDAs are busy at work.
He noted that they are not only focused on containing the viral disease but to also continue the work of governance.
He said: “In the last two months, during this pandemic, we have seen the following: the Social Investment Programme (SIP) is running and is being expanded to provide greater relief during the pandemic.
“The Federal Executive Council has resumed, albeit virtually, and if you have followed the meetings you will be familiar with the various approvals issued, including one for a national agriculture mechanisation programme."
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