Former President Olusegun Obasanjo has asked African leaders to find homegrown solutions to the myriads of problems confronting the continent.
Obasanjo spoke on Wednesday while addressing a delegation of students and youths across African countries at the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library (OOPL), Abeokuta, Ogun state.
The delegation, which included students’ leaders from the Ethiopia and the Tigray Region was led by the President of All-Africa Students Union (AASU), Osisiogu Osikenyi.
The students were on a “thank you” visit to Obasanjo for facilitating the Permanent cessation of hostilities agreement between the government of the Federal Republic of Ethiopia and the Tigray Peoples’ Liberation Front (TPLF) in Pretoria last year.
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The former President harped on the need for Africa to consider the peculiarities of its people in designing and implementing workable homegrown solutions to the problems confronting the continent.
Obasanjo said, “It is a great lesson for us to know that yes, whatever may be our problem – political, economic, social in Africa, we can solve them if we go about seeking solution rightly.
“What is very important and which I want you to take very very seriously is that, what we were able to achieve in Tigray, the peace that we were able to achieve in Tigray between TPLF and the Federal government of Ethopia is what you and I will regard as finding African solution to African problem. And this is what our leaders have been clamouring for even from independence in the early 1960s.
“No problem in Africa is too great for us to solve where there may be problem of peace, problem of insecurity, problem of youths unemployment, youths lack of empowerment, youths lack of acquisition of skills, youths frustration and of course general bad governance.”
In his remarks, the President of Ethiopian Higher Education Institutions Students Union (EHEISU), Oli Bedane Wako, said, the African students’ leaders paid a thank you visit to Obasanjo over the role in played in the historic signing of the Pretoria peace agreement among the Federal Republic of Ethiopia and Tigray Liberation Fronts
According to him, the deadliest war in Tigray region of Ethiopia has brought immense tragedy, claiming the lives of countless young individuals and leaving behind widespread destruction and trauma.
He, however, noted the move initiated by Obasanjo has saved countless lives provided a foundation upon which we can rebuild the war-torn region of Tigray.
