I’ll be the first victim of revolution in Nigeria

I’ll be the first victim of revolution in Nigeria – Obasanjo

Details: Category: International; Published on Wednesday, 15 June 2011 08:36; Written by Admin; Hits: 1720

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo yesterday said that he will be the first victim if a revolution happens in Nigeria due to threat of unemployment and rising restiveness by youths as is currently happening in some North African and Arab countries. Obasanjo gave the insight to world leaders, employers and labour leaders as a panellist in a meeting on building sustainable societies in the ongoing 100th Session of the International Labour Organisation (ILO) holding in Geneva, Switzerland.

Obasanjo4 The debate was organised by ‘Club de Madrid’ an independent non-profit organization composed of 80 democratic former presidents and prime ministers from 56 different countries.

The ex-president also declared that former Ghanaian President John Kuffuor and other African leaders will have no hidden place if the revolution knocks at his doorstep.

John Kuffour, also a member of Club de Madrid together with other ex leaders was at the debate.

Though he did not state why he will be the first victim in Nigeria, Obasanjo said that if the unemployment situation in African countries is allowed to continue and not checked, the revolution that would take place will be more severe than what is being witnessed in the Middle East.

“I want to underline this as a situation that must signal red alert for us in Africa, I am worried, I am apprehensive about unemployment in our continent, it is not being taken as seriously as it should be, I give the example of my own country Nigeria; we now have 120 universities.

“When I was growing up and I had to go to university, there was only one university in Nigeria. Today, 120; there are other tertiary institutions; polytechnics, colleges of education, when you take all of them together they are more than 200, much more than 200.

“If you count that they are graduating about 3000 every year and some are doing more than that for one tertiary institution. You have well over 600, 000. We are not creating 100, 000 jobs every year for graduates of our tertiary institutions; that is a tinder box on which we are all sitting and the fuse can be ignited anytime,” he said

Speaking on social justice, he said “can we really have social justice with 50 percent of citizens of a country being unemployed or being under employed? Can you really have social justice in a situation where democracy, rule of law and popular participation are absent? Obviously the answer will be no.” (Daily Trust)