As President Bola Tinubu and other world leaders pour out their heart to mourn former President Jimmy Carter, his friend and former President Obasanjo has expressed a deep sense of loss.
He recounted how President Carter upon ascending onto office in January 1977 as US President worked assiduously with African leaders of that era to bring an end to the last vestiges of colonialism.
He said President Jimmy Carter was the first President of the United States to visit Africa when he came to Nigeria in 1978.
Chief Obasanjo who spoke on The Morning Show on Arise TV, explained that the moment President Carter was sworn in, he delegated Ambassador Andrew Young to visit him in Nigeria and other front line countries to commence the process that led to the eventual dismantling of apartheid regimes in southern African countries.
He also narrated how he deployed similar soft powers to broker peace between Israel and Egypt under the Camp David Peace Accord.
President Obasanjo said that Jimmy Earl Carter “was a man of humility who had power but who did not depend on that power to achieve what he had to achieve.”
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“In Carter there was the symbol of power,” he emphasised, saying, “he understood how to wield his strength responsibly during his tenure as President.”
Chief Olusegun Obasanjo was the Military Head of State of Nigeria between 1975 and 1979.
In this tribute to President Carter, he recalled the fun times they had working together with other African leaders like President Julius Nyerere of Tanzania, President Kenneth Kaunda of Zambia, Comrade Sam Nujoma of Mozambique, among others.
President Obasanjo enjoined current leaders to emulate the good example of humility as exemplified by late President Jimmy Carter.
He attributed most of the problems confronting the global community today to what he referred to as deficit of leadership.
He said past leaders should follow the Carter example to be active in service of humanity. According to him, if you have the fortune of leading, no matter the duration, you will garner an experience and network which should be put to use to the advantage of the global community.
On the in-coming President Trump of the United of States, he said that is who Americans have chosen as thier president for now and that the whole world should respect their decision and live with it.
“Whether any one likes it or not Trump as President of the United States will be the leader of the world. So, no country can say they don’t have anything to do with America.
So, we should find ways to reach out to him based on mutual respect for both countries and their citizens.”
