Nigeria’s former minister of transportation, Rotimi Amaechi, has stated that former president Olusegun Obasanjo is the only person near the point of Nationalism as others are ethnic leaders.
Amaechi stated this while speaking at the 2023 TheNiche Annual Lecture themed “Why We Stride and Slip: Leadership, Nationalism, and the Nigerian Condition,” held on Thursday in Lagos.
The former Governor of Rivers State said Nigeria is still searching for national leaders, and its democracy needs serious rethinking in scope and focus.
While lauding Nigerian nationalists who fought for independence, Amaechi said genuine nationalistic leadership transcends ethnicity.
He said, “The only person near that point of Nationalism, with all due respect, is Ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo. The rest are ethnic leaders.
Truly remarkable national leadership is the ability of a leader to galvanise the totality of a nation around the common national banner with a vision and a sense of mission.
The truly remarkable national leader is the one who can rise above limitations to take the nation and its people to that place they long for but have never been before.
“It is a place of national greatness, pride, achievements, and shared goals, aspirations, and prosperity.”
Amaechi further stressed that most nations are products of the amalgamation of diverse nationalities under a common sovereignty, and many have tried to resolve the problem of internal diversity.
He said many Nigerian leaders are in the corridors of power for the interest of their ethnic groups, noting that the identity of Nigeria is still being tormented by ethnicity.
He added, “There can be no credible leadership for a diverse nation without some form of resolution of the national questions as it pertains to the particular nation in question.”