Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has expressed serious concerns about youth restiveness due to unemployment, warning that Nigeria may be sitting on a keg of gunpowder. In an interview with the Financial Times, monitored by Channels Television, Obasanjo stated, “Our youth are restive. They are restive because they have no skill, no empowerment, and no employment. We are all sitting on a keg of gunpowder. My prayer is that we will do the right thing before it’s too late.”
This warning from the elder statesman comes in the wake of ongoing #EndBadGovernance protests nationwide, driven by youth discontent over hunger and hardship. Since August 1, protests have escalated, with reports of violence and looting across the country.
Obasanjo further criticized Nigeria’s reliance on crude oil production, describing it as a “deadly mistake.” He argued, “We made a deadly mistake by putting all our eggs in one basket by relying on oil. We had a very important commodity, gas, but we were flaring it.” He blamed the failure of the Nigerian National Petroleum Company Limited (NNPCL), international oil companies, and other national oil companies to increase oil production to meet the country’s needs.
He also lamented Nigeria’s neglect of agriculture, which could have been a significant area of investment. “We ignored agriculture, which could have been the centerpiece of our investment,” Obasanjo said.
Reflecting on Nigeria’s four moribund refineries, despite huge investments, Obasanjo recalled how he tried to persuade Shell to manage the country’s refineries. However, Shell refused, citing poor maintenance and corruption. “When I was president, I invited Shell to take equity and run our refineries. They refused, saying our refineries were not well maintained. We brought amateurs instead of professionals. There was too much corruption in the way our refineries were maintained,” he explained.
Obasanjo condemned the government’s handling of the refineries, noting, “How many times have they told us that the refineries would be fixed, and at what price? Those problems have never gone away and have even increased.”
He also warned that those benefiting from the lucrative fuel importation business would likely try to undermine the Dangote Petroleum Refinery. Obasanjo highlighted allegations from Alhaji Aliko Dangote, the President of the Dangote Group, that some ‘mafias’ were attempting to frustrate his $20 billion refinery project. “Aliko’s investment in a refinery, if it goes well, should encourage both Nigerians and non-Nigerians to invest in Nigeria. If those who are selling or supplying refined products for Nigeria feel they will lose the lucrative opportunity, they will make every effort to get him frustrated,” Obasanjo stated.
Officials from the Dangote Group recently claimed that international oil companies were frustrating the refinery by refusing to sell crude or selling it at a premium. They also accused the Nigerian Midstream and Downstream Regulatory Authority (NMDPRA) of issuing licenses to import dirty fuel. However, the NMDPRA denied these claims, stating that Dangote diesel was inferior to imported fuel. NMDPRA Chief Executive Farouk Ahmed asserted that the country would not stop fuel importation to avoid creating a monopoly by the Dangote Group.
Obasanjo also criticized President Bola Tinubu’s approach to removing fuel subsidies. He argued that the administration should have considered the hardship the subsidy removal would cause and how to alleviate it. “There’s a lot of work that needs to be done. Not just wake up one morning and say you removed the subsidy. Because of inflation, the subsidy that we have removed is not gone. It has come back,” Obasanjo stressed. He emphasized the need for investor confidence in Nigeria, urging a shift from a transactional to a transformational economy.
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