Ebun Francis|
Elder statesman and Nigeria’s former president Olusegun Obasanjo on Tuesday said that the country needs a president that understands how the economy works.
Obasanjo who made the declaration at a public lecture organised by Foursquare Gospel Church in Lagos, noted that even Jesus had a sound knowledge of the economy
According to him, politics must be the most serious game created by man, adding that there must be a balance of politics, faith, and economy for the country to get it right.
Obasanjo said, “There is no doubt at all that if we have to get it right the three (economy, faith, and politics) must go together.”
“One of my international friends, the late Helmut Schmidt, who was a former Chancellor of Germany – he died at the age of 96 about three years ago, I was at the burial – and he said if we in Africa have to make it, all our political leaders must have good grounding in economy.
“As a fact from Bishop Kukah, even Jesus Christ understood the economy and if you have a leader who does not understand economics, then you cannot have a leader that will satisfy the need of the people, the physical and the material needs of the people.”
Many political watchers believe that Obasanjo’s statement was aimed at President Mohammadu Buhari.
The former president who is also opposed to Buhari’s second term ambition has repeatedly said that Buhari has little knowledge of the economy.
Whether the statement is an endorsement of Atiku Abubakar’s presidential ambition remains to be seen.