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Former President, Olusegun Obasanjo, has warned that Nigeria’s surging population poses a grave threat to national stability, cautioning that failure to address it could unleash a crisis worse than Boko Haram.
Speaking on Tuesday at the inauguration of the Bakhita ICT Centre at the Catholic Secretariat in Sokoto State, Obasanjo stressed that education and knowledge remain the most potent tools for Nigeria’s survival and development.
“By the year 2050, people like the Sultan will be here. I am not praying to be here 25 years from now,” Obasanjo said.
“We will have the problem of 400 million Nigerians that have to be provided with food, work, that have to be satisfied. If we fail to prepare for that, Boko Haram of today will be a child’s play. We have to take care of it now.”
The former president urged Nigerians to embrace unity in diversity and reject divisive narratives being pushed by external actors.
“If our diversity is taken along with good governance with everybody being included, then we will get there. Not only will we be respected, we will be counted among the leading nations of the world,” he said.
Obasanjo also commended Bishop Matthew Hassan Kukah for spearheading the ICT project, describing the new centre as a facility for all Nigerians—irrespective of ethnicity, religion, or gender.
In his remarks, the Sultan of Sokoto, Muhammadu Sa’ad Abubakar III, thanked Obasanjo for gracing the occasion and urged Nigerians to emulate his commitment to promoting unity.
The Sultan stressed the urgent need for collective action in tackling insecurity and fostering development.
Representing Governor Ahmad Aliyu of Sokoto State, Alhaji Aminu Dikko, the Chief of Staff to the state government, praised both Obasanjo and the Catholic Diocese for the initiative.
He assured that the state government remains committed to promoting technology education as a way of creating opportunities for future generations.
