Obasanjo said this on Sunday in Bauchi during the inauguration of the dualization of the 7km Awara-Mairuguri Road and the 17.70km Awara-Sir Abubakar Tafawa Balewa National Airport Road.
He also inaugurated 30 kilometers of the Gubiruda-Bida-Siyi-Nasarawa road.
In his speech at the ceremony, Mr. Obasanjo said that education and human capacity development are of critical importance to ensure the development and creation of a safer society.
He said: “The World Bank says there are more than 20 million out-of-school children in our country who should be attending school but are not.
“With a population of about 220 to 230 million people, that means 10 percent of the population that should be in school is not.
“Dear Governor of Bauchi State, Your Royal Highnesses and Brothers and Sisters here, this is the recruitment of future Boko Haram and no one needs to tell us that.
“Apart from the fact that 10 percent of our population does not have the ability to develop their innate abilities to serve themselves, their families, and their communities, we also wonder where we will be in 10, 15 years. We are preparing for them to be drafted into such forms of Boko. Haram, that time will come.
“We’re preparing them for any form of robbery, but by then it might not be kidnapping in the normal sense, it might be coming to a house and snatching people from their house. Think about it.”
Mr. Obasanjo called on leaders at all levels to come together and find a lasting solution to the menace once and for all.
He commended Governor Bala Mohammed for initiating road construction, rehabilitation and duplexing, adding that it will open up new development opportunities.
He further said that the project will significantly improve transportation, boost commerce, create new jobs and make life easier for the state’s residents and farmers.
The governor previously said the roads are part of his administration’s larger transformative vision.
He said, “As of today, we have started construction of more than 116 roads across the state, totaling 1,482.25 km.
“Of these, 79 have already been completed and are ready to open.”
The News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) reports that the Olusegun Obasanjo Foundation, in partnership with the Starkey Hearing Foundation, has begun distributing 10,000 hearing aids to poor people in the northeastern part of Bauchi.
