Obasanjo criticises Tinubu-led govt, labels Nigeria’s State as “Failing” under ‘Emilokan’
In a sharp rebuke of President Bola Tinubu’s administration, former President Olusegun Obasanjo described Nigeria’s present condition as “glaringly indicative of failure,” pointing to the country’s struggles with corruption, insecurity, and mismanagement. This critique was delivered in a keynote address at the Chinua Achebe Leadership Forum held at Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, USA, and detailed in a statement issued by his media aide, Kehinde Akinyemi.
Obasanjo expressed profound concern over the country’s challenges, declaring: “The failing state status of Nigeria is confirmed and glaringly indicated and manifested for every honest person to see.” He accused Tinubu’s administration of exacerbating existing problems and referred to the government as a continuation of “Baba-go-slow” and “Emilokan” regimes—a reference to Tinubu’s campaign slogan.
Titled Leadership Failure and State Capture in Nigeria, Obasanjo’s address attributed Nigeria’s challenges to pervasive corruption and inadequate leadership. He stressed that increasing immorality and corruption have led to chaos, insecurity, discord, and underdevelopment in the country. Drawing on Chinua Achebe’s book The Trouble with Nigeria, Obasanjo echoed Achebe’s belief that leadership failure remains Nigeria’s root problem, asserting that “The trouble with Nigeria is simply and squarely a failure of leadership…The Nigerian problem is the unwillingness or inability of its leaders to rise to the responsibility, to the challenge of personal example which are the hallmarks of true leadership.”
The former president further discussed “state capture,” a form of corruption where influential individuals manipulate public institutions for personal gain, and its detrimental effect on Nigeria’s development. “State capture can seriously affect economic development, regulatory quality, the provision of public services, quality of education and health services, infrastructure decisions, and even the environment and public health,” Obasanjo warned, noting how powerful elites have exploited public institutions.
Obasanjo concluded by lauding the legacy of Chinua Achebe, whom he described as “a great and distinguished Nigerian.” He called for urgent reforms to address Nigeria’s leadership crisis and reiterated the importance of visionary leadership in charting a better course for the nation.
His speech has since stirred conversations across Nigeria about the country’s leadership issues and the pressing need for a transformative approach to governance.
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