Obasanjo, Other Leaders Discuss Why African Leadership Problem Persists

Former President Olusegun Obasanjo and other African leaders, including the former Prime Minister of Ethiopia, Mr. Hailemariam Desalegn, have shared thoughts on the economic challenges confronting the continent and how Africa should emulate the development stride of Asian Tigers.

Obasanjo spoke at the virtual launch of 313-page book, titled: “The Asian Aspiration: Why and How Africa should emulate Asia”, published by The Brenthurst Foundation, and organised on Wednesday on Zoom by a Ghana-based non-governmental organisation, under the auspices of Afrobarometer, on behalf of The Brenthurst Foundation of South Africa.

Obasanjo, who frowned at what he described as ‘continued blame games’ by successive governments in Nigeria and other African countries about the past, insisted that African problems were selfinflicted due to bad leadership and poor institutions.

This was as he also reiterated that pervasive corruption, especially in governance at all levels should be blamed for this woe, rather than to continue to blame the colonial masters.

Though, Obasanjo said the past could not be totally ignored in order not to continue to make the same mistake of the past, he, however, said Africa should not be chained or shackled by the past but to forge ahead for meaningful development.

He said: “Hence, we should not allow ourselves to be held back and bound by our past.” Other discussants were former Prime Minister of Ethiopia, Hailemariam Desalegn and former Prime Minister of Thailand, Abhisit Vejjajiva, with Prof. Gyimah-Boadi, the Chair of the Afrobarometer Board of Trustees, as the host and Dr. Greg Mills, Director of the Brenthurst Foundation as the moderator.

The event was attended by leaders of public and private sectors in West Africa and civil society organizations, as well as scholars from Nigeria, Ghana and Sierra Leone and members of the Board of Trustees of the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library Foundation. According to the duo of former Ethiopia and Thailand leaders, even though African countries have much to learn from Asia countries, which have not only overtaken African countries, Asian nations have also left Africa far behind in the level of economic prosperity.

This article was published by New Telegraph.