[Mhiz Rebecca]

Ex-President Olusegun Obasanjo
on Wednesday attacked President
Muhammadu Buhari over his
plan to borrow $30 billion to
solve short-term challenges.
Speaking at the first Akintola
Williams Lecture in Lagos,
Obasanjo said it did not indicate
deep thinking, noting that rather
it was a reflection of a desire to
solve short-term issues to the
detriment of medium and long-
term goals. He also lampooned
Buhari for continually blaming his
predecessors for the nation’s
woes, noting that the time had
come for him to take full charge
of the economy and correct its
dwindling fortunes. “Now that we
have had change because the
actors and the situation needed to
be changed, let us move forward
to have progress through a
comprehensive economic policy
and programme that is
intellectually, strategically and
philosophically based,” Obasanjo
said. “It is easier to win an
election than to right the wrongs
of a badly fouled situation. When
you are outside, what you see and
know are nothing compared with
the reality. “And yet once you are
on seat, you have to clear the
mess and put the nation on the
path of rectitude, development
and progress leaving no group or
section out of your plan,
programme and policy and
efforts. The longer it takes, the
more intractable the problem
may become.” He also praised the
Economic and Financial Crimes
Commission and ICPC for fighting
corruption but urged them to
work harder. He also called for
the prosecution of federal
lawmakers accused of padding
the 2016 budget.