I Left Nigeria Better Than I Met It – Obasanjo

He said he was responsible for setting Nigeria free from the bondage of immense debt, adding that he takes pride in the celebration of the 25 years of an uninterrupted democracy, which started during his reign as democratic ruler in 1999.

Olusegun Obasanjo

Ex-Nigerian president, Chief Olusegun Obasanjo, has stated that during his tenure, he left the country better than he met it.

Obasanjo spoke in Abeokuta, yesterday, June 18, at the Safe Online Youth Fellowship Bootcamp organised by NerdzFactory Company, supported by Meta at the Youth Development Centre, Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library (OOPL).

He recalled landmark achievements his administration recorded while in office between 1999 and 2007.

He said he was responsible for setting Nigeria free from the bondage of immense debt, adding that he takes pride in the celebration of the 25 years an uninterrupted democracy, which started during his reign as democratic ruler in 1999.

He said: “When I came in as elected President, I wanted to get debt relief because we were spending $3.5 billion every year servicing debt and the quantum of the debt was not going down. Today, I can say that I made Nigeria better than I found it from an economic perspective.

“I found $3.7 billion in the reserves and we were spending $3.5 billion to service our debt. By the time I left, we had a debt of about $36 billion with the debt relief, and I left with a debt of $3.6 billion. Also, I left a reserve of over $50 billion. I also achieved excess crude for the country worth over $25 billion.”