Nigeria Can Replicate Prosperity of ‘the Good Old Days’, Says Obasanjo

Esther Oluku

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has said that Nigeria can replicate the prosperity of the good old days if leaders show the capacity that makes for the building of a great and prosperous nation.

He noted that this capacity will be reflected in strength of character, knowledge and understanding that will culminate in collective progress for all her citizenry.

Speaking as a special guest at the exaugural lecture and book launch of veteran journalist, Adedayo Oketola, the elder statesman said the exploits of the nation’s glorious years were achieved through the exploitation of available opportunities.

Reflecting on the telecommunications industry’s remarkable growth, Obasanjo praised the transformative impact of sectoral reforms.

Citing Adedayo Oketola’s book, ‘The Catalyst: Nigerian ICT Evolution Through a Journalist’s Lens’, Obasanjo noted that strategic investments in telecommunications unlocked unprecedented development opportunities, yielding benefits that Nigerians still enjoy today.

He said: “The story of mobile telecommunications is a very interesting one. Before mobile telecommunications, we’ve done a lot of things, we’ve spent a lot of money. All sorts of companies were invited from outside from America, France and even from Britain.

“We couldn’t get more than 500,000 lines with all that we have done and people had to queue at the telephone kiosk to call their loved ones abroad and then of course the mobile telephone age came in. When it came in, my predecessor was trying to give it away, I think, to their friend at $3 million.

“Then we said what we will do is to auction it to anybody and the three that came in first, I think they paid $280 million for the line. For what was to be given away for $3 million.

“But not only that, we achieved competition. The three of them were competing. And of course, the one who had the upper hand in terms of spread MTN and then followed by Glo and then Econet.

“Then of course, later we had a fourth one, Etisalat. When they came, they came last, and I said, the last one we gave, it was $280 million we got. Etisalat, if you want the line, you’d pay $450 million. And they did. When they paid $450 million, we went in and gave them.

“That is how we got money to do what we did at the time we did it and that opportunity can still be made available. The money to develop Nigeria is out there but that money will not come in unless a concrete conducive atmosphere for that money to come in.

“What Nigeria had done in the good days when things were going well are still there and can still be done today only if we are honest to ourselves, we show the character, the attribute, the understanding and the knowledge to make this country a great country that God has created it to be.

“It is a land flowing with milk and honey, not a land of insecurity, not a land of lack of prosperity. A land where everybody can have enough for himself or herself and God let it be so.”