Former Nigerian President Olusegun Obasanjo has cautioned African sit-tight leaders against the possibility of witnessing uprisings similar to the Arab Spring in their countries. Speaking at the Indian Council of World Affairs (ICWA) Tuesday, he urged the leaders to address “people’s issues”. Obasanjo who is on a five-day visit to India, said the “seven or eight leaders” heading authoritarian governments in Africa should learn from the people’s revolutions in North Africa and, if they do not, they would be made to learn the “important” lesson by their citizens. “What has happened in North Africa is not just a lesson for nations in Africa, but is a lesson for the world as a whole,” the former president said while responding to a question on what lesson the Arab Spring and the subsequent regime changes in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and Yemen has for Africa after he delivered an address at the Indian Council of World Affairs (ICWA) at Sapru House, Channels Television reported. He also pointed out that the situation vis-a-vis authoritarian rules in the African continent was “much more worse” two decades ago. “But today, the situation is better. “The ‘life presidents’ and ‘sit-tight leaders’ are becoming endangered. If you look at Africa today, you have seven or eight such leaders. At one time, more than 50 per cent of Africa was under such leaders,” he noted. Speaking further, he said: “It is said that history repeats itself. But I say, if you learn from history, it will not repeat itself. A wise man learns from not only his own mistakes, but also from others’ mistakes. And these seven or eight leaders must soon learn. If they do not, they will be made to learn the important lesson.” Talking of Tunisia, the northern-most African nation where the first revolution now popularly called the Arab Uprising or Arab Spring broke out, Obasanjo said before the movement erupted, it was all calm on the surface in that country, but one suicide triggered a wave that engulfed the whole of North Africa. “The situation in Tunisia was anything but unstable, everything was calm on the surface, everybody seemed to be happy. But one individual decided to commit suicide and it erupted into a major movement. Anything can happen,” he said. “It is not so much about democracy, but about unemployment, particularly of the youth. It doesn’t matter what sort of democracy you have, but people’s issues should be addressed,” he warned.