Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has said the country is currently facing economic crisis due to the failure of President Goodluck Jonathan’s administration to plan for difficult times.
Obasanjo, who addressed the Iyalodes (women leaders) and eminent women of the South-West at his Hilltop residence in Abeokuta during the courtesy visit today Said: “when I was leaving office about eight years ago, I left a very huge reserve after we had paid all our debts.
“Almost $25bn was kept in what they called Excess Crude (oil) Account; the excess from the budget we were saving as reserve for the rainy days.
“When we left in May, 2007, the reserve was said to have been raised to $35bn; but today, that reserve has been depleted. Our debts was about $40bn, that is including debt forgiveness. The remaining debt was not more than $3bn.
“Our reserve after we had paid off this debt was about $45bn. As I said, they continued till the end of 2007, I heard that the reserve increased to almost $67bn before the end of the year.
“Our reserve now, I learnt is left with around only $30bn.”
The former president, who was responding to a call by the women for him to once more lend his voice to the socio-economic crises rocking the country, said the country did not deserve the situation it currently found itself.
The ex-president said that the price of crude has fallen, but that anyone who is wise enough should know that since we depend on just one mineral resource and since we have no control over its pricing, we should be planning for this type of situation and the way out of it.
“Our inability to have reserve has brought us into this economic quagmire. A leader must be forward looking and plan ahead.
“At the beginning of last year, the budget was based on $78 per barrel. That year, the government spent more on recurrent expenditure and a little on capital expenditure.”
Obasanjo pointed out that the devaluation of the Naira unleashed other consequences on the economy, adding: “that is why the Naira has been falling against the dollar. What would now happen? I learnt if you want to buy a dollar now, it’s about N192 or N195. What it means is this, what you have been buying at N150 to a dollar, now you need N192 or N195 to buy it.
“That is the real situation. Is there any remedy? There is, but it does not come overnight because it means we have to give up all the bad things we have been doing.”
The women delegation was led by the Iyalode of Yorubaland, Chief Alaba Lawson, and the Iyaloja General of Nigeria, Chief Folashade Tinubu-Ojo. [myad]
