Despite the depressing state of affairs in the nation, former Nigerian President Chief Olusegun Obasanjo expressed his unwavering optimism that things will improve for the country “as long as we can look back as a country and correct the mistake of the past.” Obasanjo bemoaned the nation’s lack of unity on Tuesday, saying that it is one flaw that has prevented the country from becoming great and the beacon of the entire Black race.

The former president attributed the long-term lack of unity in the nation to regionalism, which was practiced prior to gaining independence in October 1960, stating that “the truth is that at independence, Nigeria emerged with three leaders and so it is a situation of three countries in one ever since.”

When Obasanjo hosted the 20-member League of Northern Democrats group, which was led by Alhaji Ibrahim Shekarau, the former Kano State governor, in his penthouse inside the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library in Abeokuta, he revealed this information.

The former president stated that “it is high time we began working for the national interest” and that the merit, capacity, and ability to deliver on what we move the nation forward should be of utmost importance when choosing leaders, rather than the question of where you come from.

Yes, you have named your organisation the League of Northern Democrats, but I would rather that you rename it the National League of Democrats since your origins shouldn’t be an issue, Obasanjo stated. My Nigerian identity shouldn’t be undermined by my place of birth. Instead of belonging to the Republic of Oodua, I shall be growing as a Nigerian.

Although I am pleased to be Yoruba, my Nigerian heritage shouldn’t be a hindrance to my Yoruba identity.Regardless of his background, we need to hire the greatest individual for the position. We need to pull ourselves together.

The globe, the Black race, and the African continent all look up to us. They called us giants in the sun when we gained our freedom, but is that really the case now?

“We have let ourselves down, as well as the Black community, Africa, and the entire globe. Our worry is valid; we have disregarded the importance of honesty, love, and integrity, but it is yet possible to turn around. We have to get past the past and strive for Nigeria’s grandeur.

Obasanjo went on to say that he acknowledged the group’s worries about the dire condition in the nation but that, as long as everyone is willing to band together and work as a one nation, it is still possible to turn things around.

“I will always be a proud Black man from the Black race, a patriotic and nationalistic Nigerian, and a Pan-Africanist,” he said.

He said he wouldn’t mind being their patron if he is too elderly to be an active member of the League of Northern Democrats and asked them to think about renaming themselves the National League of Democrats because the principles they upheld are what united the country.

Shekarau, the group’s chairman, stated previously that the nonpartisan organisation was founded around three months ago with the goal of promoting national unity and good administration.

According to the former governor, the group’s concerns include unity, young employment and excitement, education, effective administration, trustworthy government officials, insecurity, and the nation’s overall underdevelopment.

According to Shekarau, the group, which consists of individuals from various professions in the country’s northern regions, came together to discuss how it would affect attempts to solve the nation’s issues, including the appointment of trustworthy leaders and effective administration.

He bemoaned the fact that the country’s 93 million registered voters are unable to elect the governing elite, which he said consists of little more than 11,000 individuals.

“The 93 million registered voters in the country cannot look around and elect credible leaders,” Shekarau stated, referring to the 36 governors and their deputies, the president and his vice, the 469 members of the House of Representatives and Senate, the council members, and the chairmen of local governments. Therefore, as a collective, we want to address all of these through our activism.

The former governor said that in order to give everyone a feeling of community, the group’s name will be changed to National after careful consideration, as the former president had suggested.