As the year 2024 draws to a close, former President Olusegun Obasanjo, has renewed his optimism about Nigeria getting ahead of the current economic challenges affecting her socio-economic growth and development.

?I will say to Nigerians, we are going through hardship, but they should never lose hope. I am an incurable optimist about Nigeria, and we have a great country,? Obasanjo said in a monitored interview on ARISE TV aired on Monday morning.

While expressing his optimism, the former president admitted that the country might not be where it should be at the moment going by the action or inaction of Nigerians and those in Government.

?And where we are is not where God wants us to be. And I believe that sooner than later, we will get to where God wants us to be. God wants Nigeria to be a land flowing with milk and honey, not a desert.

?But God is God of great things for Nigeria. I believe God has great things for Nigeria in the immediate future?, he added.

While giving his New Year message to Nigerians, Obasanjo assured Nigerians of better days ahead, saying, ?| wish all Nigerians a happy new year, a prosperous 2025, and I hope every family, every living Nigerian will see something better in the year 2025.?

On what to expect from a Trump administration come 2025, Obasanjo said that Nigeria can benefit from the incoming American president?s foreign policies by being proactive in our international relations.

?Whether anybody likes it or not, the American people have decided that Trump will be their leader. And I believe there will be policy makers around him that we can reach and we can also talk to.

?I believe that there is no leader that if you present facts and figures and what I would call enlightened interest of that leader?s country ? because America has enlightened interest in Africa ? we should make that known to Trump, and to say, look, this is in your interest, don?t ignore it.

?We are ready to work with you. Give us our respect and dignity that is due to us. Respect our citizens that are in your country, and let us work together for a peaceful world, a world that is secure, the world that is stable, and the world where the prosperity will be shared, where security will be common. I believe Trump will understand that?, he noted. (BusinessDay)

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