“Why Nigeria is not working” — Obasanjo

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has issued a scathing critique of Nigeria’s leadership, warning that the nation is doomed to stagnate as long as it continues to be a “burial ground” for unimplemented policies.

Speaking at a high-profile event in Abuja, Obasanjo expressed deep frustration with the country’s consistent failure to turn its policies into tangible progress, lamenting the backward steps taken by its leaders.

Obasanjo, who has never been shy about holding Nigeria’s leadership accountable, argued that the country is not suffering from a lack of policies but from an inability to follow through with effective implementation.

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“It is not enough for leaders to have policies or make statements. We are not short of policies in Nigeria,” he said. “Unfortunately, Nigeria has become a burial ground of policies that are either unimplemented or unexecuted.”

The former president stressed that nations achieve greatness not by merely wishing for it, but by taking deliberate, sustained actions.

“Those who make progress achieve it not on the basis of wishing to make progress, but by taking actions. They do not take two steps forward and three steps backward,” Obasanjo emphasized.

“Regrettably, this is what we are doing in every aspect of our national life. And as long as we are doing things this way, progress will elude us.”

His comments have sparked renewed debate about Nigeria’s long-standing struggle with policy implementation. Many see Obasanjo’s remarks as a wake-up call to leaders and policymakers, urging them to break the cycle of unfulfilled promises that has plagued the nation for decades.

Obasanjo’s concerns reflect the sentiments of many Nigerians who have grown weary of plans that never seem to materialize, leaving the country stuck in a frustrating loop of stagnation.