Former President Olusegun Obasanjo
said on Saturday in Lagos that Mrs
Folorunsho Alakija, Africa’s richest woman by
Forbes reckoning, was among the 25
billionaires he made during his tenure as
President.
Obasanjo stated this at the 2016 Tony
Elumelu Foundation Entrepreneurship Forum.
Alakija, who spoke before Obasanjo, alleged
that his administration illegally took an oil
block allocated to her company after her
family had invested all its savings to strike oil
in commercial quantity.
“This oil block is in 5000 feet depth of water
and was extremely difficult to explore.
“It took 15 years from the time that we were
awarded the licence in 1993 till 2008 when we
struck the first oil
“When this event happened, 60 per cent out of
our 60 per cent equity in the business, was
forcefully taken from us by the government of
the day without due process.
“We had to fight back by going to court to
seek redress and it took another 12 years for
justice to be served in our favour.
“In all those years it was my trust in God, my
perseverance and the support of my family
that got me going,” she said.
.
She used her experiences to charge the 2000
budding entrepreneurs at the event to be
dogged, determined and not to give up in the
face of challenges.
When Obasanjo spoke, the former president
seized the opportunity to reply to the
allegation by Alakija.
“There is a saying in my part of the world that
when a proverb touches you and you failed to
reply, then you are a coward,” he said.
Obasanjo explained that the action of the
government then was in line with the Mining
Act, which regulates oil prospection and
exploration.
“For you to come here and say that, for no
cause whatsoever, you were denied what was
rightfully yours, is not fair.
“I do not know you from Adam and there is no
reason I would have denied you what
rightfully belonged to you.
“So, you have struggled, and you have struck
oil. God bless your heart.
“My delight is to be able to create Nigerian
billionaire and I always say it that my aim,
when I was in government was to create 50
Nigerian billionaires.
“Unfortunately I failed. I created only 25 and
Madam, you are one of them,” he said.
Obasanjo hailed the vision of Mr Tony
Elumelu for helping to build African young
entrepreneurs with his resources.
He also urged the government to create
conducive environment for people to move
businesses into the country.
The former president urged government to
relax its visa policy and company registration
process to encourage investors.
He said the government should create
certification centres in the country for easy
exportation of agro processed products.
The President of Sierra Leone, Bai Koroma
noted that what transpired between Obasanjo
and Alakija was part of the challenges and
difficulties that leaders lived with in the
discharge of their duties.
With limited resources competing for unlimited
demands and expectations from the people,
leaders were seen to be larger than life, he
said.
Koroma also commended Elumelu for his
project for African young entrepreneurs adding
that his vision resonated with a new Africa
development agenda. Vanguard
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