Obasanjo remembers how he skilled ‘Igbophobia’ after appointment of Okonjo-Iweala and Charles Soludo when he was president

Former Nigeria President, Olusegun Obasanjo has condemned the “persistent” aversion of some Nigerians to the Igbos, which he describes as \’Igbophobia\’

In Obasanjo’s administration which spanned 1999 to 2007, Soludo served because the Governor of the Central Financial institution of Nigeria (CBN), whereas Okonjo-Iweala, the present World Commerce Director Normal was the Minister of Finance.

Talking at an occasion in Anambra State on Saturday, March 25, to commemorate Governor Chukwuma Soludo’s one yr in workplace, Obasanjo said that Soludo, who labored carefully with him as an financial adviser, “by no means misadvised me”, and the economist’s efficiency impressed him a lot  that he was requested to steer the apex financial institution.

He stated Soludo was the second Nigerian CBN governor who was not a industrial banker.

Obasanjo stated after appointing Okonjo Iweala, he quickly discovered himself being confronted by a dissenting voice.

“Someone got here to me and stated, ‘Wow! You will have ruined the financial system of Nigeria.’ I stated, ‘How?’ He stated, ‘An Igbo girl, Minister of Finance; an Igbo man, Governor of the Central Financial institution? Then you might have clearly accomplished the duty of ruining the financial system of Nigeria.’

“I don’t know why he stated that, aside from what I can name Igbophobia, and I don’t take that calmly. It stays, it persists. However when you might have that sort of factor that was stated to me and the kind of factor that you recognize is happening, as I\’ve simply referred to as it, what can we do with it?

“I imagine we\’ve to return to the scripture, which says we should conquer evil with good. And whoever you\’re, wherever persons are afraid of you, you need to make your self pleasant to those that are afraid of you and earn their friendship by being good to them, and that\’s what we\’ve to do,” Obasanjo stated.

He added that the appointments of Okonjo-Iweala and Soludo have been “in all probability the most effective of the appointments that I made after I was president”.