Senator Jimoh Ibrahim has criticized former President Olusegun Obasanjo for describing Nigeria as a โfailing state.โ
Obasanjo, who served as Nigeriaโs president from 1999 to 2007, recently attributed the countryโs challenges to โwidespread corruption, poor leadership, and immoralityโ under the administration of President Bola Ahmed Tinubu.
He made the remarks during a keynote address at the Chinua Achebe Leadership Forum at Yale University, Connecticut, USA.
Speaking on Channels Televisionโs Politics Today program,ย Senator Ibrahim, a member of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC), dismissed Obasanjoโs comments, stating they were unbefitting of an elder statesman.
He said, โI disagree with President Obasanjo that Nigeria is a failed state. Furthermore, I disagree with his use of the language of war during peacetime. This is not the time for such divisive rhetoric.โ
Ibrahim also highlighted his credentials as an elder statesman, referencing his national honors โ Officer of the Federal Republic (OFR) and Commander of the Order of Nigeria (CON). โDo you think those are small achievements?โ he asked.
The senator argued that Obasanjoโs assessment was overly focused on the economy and failed to address other pressing issues.
He suggested the former president, with his military background, should concentrate on providing insights into Nigeriaโs security challenges.
Obasanjo had earlier painted a grim picture of Nigeriaโs state, stating, โThe more immorality and corruption persist, the more a nation sinks into chaos, insecurity, disunity, depression, and underdevelopment.โ
In response, the presidency accused Obasanjo of hypocrisy, claiming his administration was one of the most corrupt in Nigeriaโs history.
Presidential spokesman Sunday Dare dismissed the former presidentโs comments as insincere, describing Obasanjo as a man with โa tremendous capacity for mischief.โ
โNigerians know his track record. His remarks at Yale University are just another episode of his penchant for muddling facts and revising history,โ Dare wrote on his X handle.