Obasanjo : "We Need Do-Tanks, Not Think-Tanks"

It seems President Olusegun Obasanjo is still firing shots at the presidency. While speaking at his Presidential Library yesterday in Abeokuta, during the celebration of his 78th birthday and 2015 annual summit, the former president said there were too many ‘think-tanks’ in Nigeria, instead of ‘do-tanks.’ Stressing that what we need right now are prayers to get leaders that occasions like this deserve.

Obasanjo went on to say West African countries are worried about Nigeria and even Britain isn’t left out too. They are worried about our security, political and socio-economic challenges. When they call me or I visit them, they ask these questions, he said.


“We are about 180 million now, our brothers and sisters in West Africa are worried and when they talk to me and I ask why they were worried, they always reply that, ‘if half a million Nigerians go to Republic of Benin, we will overwhelm them.

“If two million (Nigerians) go to Ghana… Even Britain is worried, they are worried. They said their problem is that if one million Nigerians go to Britain, they said in 10 years, there will be 10 million Nigerians in Britain and they will rather keep us here.”

He also emphasized that Nigeria is blessed with too many resources for any citizen to suffer.

“My concern is that we have too many think tanks, we need more of do tanks. The point is, we can do and we have no reason why we can’t do and we have also seen that one individual can make a difference.

“There is no reason why any Nigerian child, at this point in time should not have a basic education, food and nutrition. Not only Nigerian child, no Nigerian should go to bed without food.

“We have the resources to achieve all that, that we are not achieving it does not mean we don’t have the resources. It is because we haven’t managed our resources well.


“Employment, if all other things are right, there should be no reason for any Nigerian who wants to be employed not to have the opportunity for employment.”