Beniniose leader tasks African leaders on unity

ABEOKUTA— PRESIDENT Bonni Yayi of the Benin Republic yesterday called on African leaders to put more efforts towards African unity by removing all the “artificial boundaries” which he said had fragmented the African continent.

The President who paid a one-day visit to former President Olusegun Obasanjo  said “the Colonial borders dividing us must be dismantled to give boost to African unity.”

President Yayi said the various borders which divided the “same family” into different countries must purely be administrative, adding that “out of the nine million Republic of Benin’s population, there are two million Nigerians.

He called for good governance and admonished African leaders to learn to serve their people instead of expecting their people to serve them, saying  that was the only way to avoid crisis on the continent.

The President and his entourage were received by Obasanjo and the Ogun State Governor, Senator Ibikunle Amosun at the M.K.O Abiola Stadium at 12.05pm where his helicopter landed and was driven to Obasanjo’s Abeokuta Hilltop residence where they met in a closed door.

Speaking after the meeting, Yayi described “Obasanjo as a great African statesman from whom African leaders could  learn from.”
He said “ Obasanjo is an experienced statesman whose ideas would benefit Africa immensely. It is very important that African leaders work towards one continent with one currency.”

Yayi who spoke the Yoruba language fluently however,, did not say whether he is one of the two millions Nigerians he referred to earlier.

According to him, “It is dangerous for neighbours not to have exchanges of ideas. What is happening in the Arab world is very dangerous. I was one of the four French speaking countries Presidents that visited President Barrack Obama at the White House in America last week and he told us that the Arab leaders are having problems because instead of them (leaders) serving their people, it is the people that is serving them.”