Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has made it clear that he never regretted what he did as military Head of State and later as democratically elected President of Nigeria even as he admitted that he was not perfect.
“Is there anything I would have wanted to do with the resources that I had, with the knowledge that I had when I was in government, with facilities that I had that I did not do? I would say no.
“Now If I had more resources there are things I would have done differently. But with what I had at the time that I had at my disposal and some of the people who worked with me are here, I did all the things I believe are humanly possible for me to do. Now mind you, I did not say that I was perfect, I would never say that, only God is perfect. I did not have any regret when I was in government.”
Obasanjo, who answered questions from students of the Ijaw National Academy (INA) Kaiama at the school auditorium as part of activities lined up for his two day working visit to Bayelsa, said however that as long as he is alive, he would not keep his mouth shut whenever he sees things or anything going wrong in Nigeria even as he admitted that Nigeria has hope of advancing to the next level.
“If Nigeria does not have hope I would find a rope and commit suicide immediately because then what am I living for? I am an incurable optimist in Nigeria. Nigeria has hope. There are many things we should have done as we should have done them. There is no doubt about that. But that does not mean Nigeria does not have hope.
“Look, hope is what drives any human being. A person without hope is like a person without life. How can I therefore say that Nigeria has no hope? Nigeria has hope and you are part of the hope of Nigeria.
“You asking me that question heighten my conviction that Nigeria has hope. This country in spite of our difficulties, we have hope.
“I just came back from Rome and while there I asked the Ambassador what his major problems are and he told me that there are 1,600 Nigerians in Italian prisons, that is a problem but we shouldn’t because of that say that there is no hope for Nigeria.
“No, I won’t say that. I would say that we have a problem that we have to address and if we don’t address that problem we are postponing the evil day. That doesn’t mean that Nigeria has no hope. Never lose hope. If you lose hope you lose everything. Great hope because of you and great hope because
