On Saturday, former President, Olusegun Obasanjo, listed the choice of his ‘number two’ ahead of the 1999 presidential election as one of two mistakes he has made.
The second mistake according to Obasanjo was his refusal to accept an asylum when he was told that the late Head of State, Sani Abacha, wanted to arrest him, the action, he said, could have led to his death.
Obasanjo was democratically elected President in 1999 while the presidential candidate of the Peoples Democratic Party in the 2023 elections, Atiku Abubakar, was his vice president.
While not mentioning Atiku in his statement, Obasanjo said it was a mistake he made in good faith but was saved by God.
The former president spoke about his life and achievements both as a military Head of State and as a civilian President.
Obasanjo stated this while answering questions posed by students from selected secondary schools that participated in the finals of the National Exhibition and Awards organised by Students for the Advancement of Global Entrepreneurship.
The event, held at the Olusegun Obasanjo Presidential Library, Abeokuta, Ogun State, featured presentations and exhibitions of some products made by students of the participating schools.
While interacting with the students during a questions and answers session, the former president said he had many mistakes, which he could describe as genuine mistakes in his life but God made him to overcome them.
He said, “One of the mistakes I made was picking my number two when I wanted to become the President. But because it was a genuine mistake, God saved me.
“The second one was when Abacha wanted to arrest me. When he wanted to arrest me, I was told by the American ambassador that they would arrest me and that America had asked that I should be given asylum. I said ‘No’. It could have been a mistake because I could have lost my life.
“I will say there are many things that could have been a mistake but God saved me from them all.”
While speaking on opportunities for the youths to take over the mantle of leadership in the country, Obasanjo said youths can never come into power, if the current trend continues.
He said with the “Not Too Young to Run campaign, and you can see that those that are contesting now are between 70 and 80 years old, how can the youths run?”
He added, “Another thing inhibiting youth from running is the amount of money involved in going into politics. I hope that things should not continue like this.
“I was 39 years old when I became the Military Head of State. Twenty years later, I came back as civilian president, but those there now do not want to allow the youths. If things continue like this, I do not know how you can come in.”
The former president advised the students to imbibe religious tolerance.
He also advised them not to see their own religion as superior to that of another person.
Obasanjo said, “I have no right to say what another man believes in is inferior to mine. If God had wanted all of us to be of the same religion, he would have made it so, and since He did not make it so, no person should attempt to make it so.
“Young people should learn at a very early stage in life that if there are five religions in the world, that is how God wants it to be. If there are ten, that is how God wants it. All religions originate from the same source.
“If you are a Muslim and you did not live the way God wants you to live, you cannot enter Aljannah. If you are a Christian and you did not live the way God wants you to live, the same thing, you will not enter paradise.
“If this is the basis of religion, it is doing the right thing for the benefits of mankind, you don’t have to condemn any person because of what he believes.
“I do not believe that any religion is superior to mine and I don’t believe that mine is superior to another person’s beliefs. I will not allow any person to cast aspersions on my religion and will not do same for another person. Practise your religion the way God wants you to do it and don’t condemn another person.”
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